William Davies School -

Davies Dragon

We are the William Davies School Community . . . committed to learning, growing and achieving together."

Mr. Michael J. Muldoon, Principal
Principal's Message

As part of our middle school philosophy, we continue to provide meaningful programs to all of our students.

We believe that it is our responsibility to educate the “whole child.” By this, we mean that education does not

just begin and end in the classroom. We want to encourage student daily involvement throughout the building.

Once again, we have created a student and staff schedule that will emphasize Mathematics and Language Arts Literacy. For the past seven years, our staff has been trained in presenting a middle school curriculum that is all-inclusive. Our goal, as always, is to better prepare our students for high school academic life. Below are listed three major concepts that one will immediately notice when at the Davies School:

Block scheduling in all of our mathematics classes at all grade levels (length of time – eighty minutes).

Block scheduling in all of our Language Arts classes at all grade levels (length of time – eighty minutes).

Home room time (20 minutes). This will provide opportunities for students to take advantage of our breakfast program and also allow time for students to meet with their teachers to discuss make-up work, to take missed tests, or to receive individual instruction.

Identified students will be scheduled into Basic Skills Instruction (BSI) classes in both Mathematics and Language Arts Literacy. Our intent is to provide services and support for those students requiring it, while maintaining the quality of a rigorous curriculum. Each day, we will provide additional instructional assistance during the homeroom period for identified BSI students.

During this school year, we will continue to revise specific subjects at all grades as part of our continuing five year revision cycle. The courses being addressed are the following:

This year we will implement a supplemental period of thirty minutes each day for academic assistance. This designated time will allow and encourage our students to receive help in their various subjects during regular school hours. It will be known as "Davies Developmental Time," and will provide every student with the opportunity to become more knowledgeable individuals.

As a result of our Talent 21 Grant, all of our sixth grade students will be loaned a notebook (laptop) to use during this school year. Technology will be emphasized and infused into our curricula. This will be a great opportunity for staff and students to experience 21st Century instruction.

We will continue to provide a program for accelerated students in Mathematics and Language Arts Literacy. This is known as homogeneous grouping.

For all of the other subjects, and most of the Mathematics and Language Arts students, we will provide heterogeneous grouping. This type of instruction enables us to group all ability levels in the same classroom environment.

Utilizing both types of grouping, we truly believe that we can meet the needs of school-wide curricula that are demanding for all of our students. In both styles, our staff employs the use of differentiated instructional strategies for optimal learning, thereby increasing our academic rigor.

· Students will receive four marking periods (of nine weeks each) of the related arts, over the course of the school year. This provides more exposure to the arts, as well as reducing the class size to fifteen students or less. We will designate each school day as either an "A" Day or a "B" Day. This means that on alternating days, students will have Health/Physical Education, and then on the other days, over the course of the year, they will be exposed to: Art, World Language (Spanish), Music, and Technology Education.

· As in the past, students in grades seven and eight will have the opportunity to take enrichment related arts classes by opting out of the other ones being offered. For example, an eighth grade student may choose to take four marking periods of Spanish instead of the traditional subjects of Band, Art, Technology Education, and Spanish.

It is our intention to continue to emphasize our Character Education and Anti-bullying programs, by presenting a variety of programs and assemblies. Some of these include: the Second Step Program, The Renaissance Program, Peer Mediation, and student and staff mentoring.

Some of these are as follows: Art, Band, Chorus, Student Council, and National Junior Honor Society. We hope to provide additional activities in the future for our students.

As always, we welcome all of our students and their parents to the Davies School. We are certainly excited about our upcoming school year and expect great things from our student body. It is everyone's feeling that the William Davies Middle School is a wonderful place to "hang one's hat!"

We are continuing to move in innovative ways to provide our students with a challenging and academically excellent education. Our philosophy of "focusing on learning, and not teaching," is creating an exemplary educational experience for all. Through staff meetings, workshops, consensus building, and increased internal and external articulation, our vision is to continue to revitalize parental communication, allow for more varied instruction and assessment, and to further ensure student achievement. As we continue to "raise the bar" on our standardized test scores, we believe that together we can be proud that our district will continue to be among the best in the State.

In closing, we as the primary stakeholders, also believe that this foundation will produce successful citizens by providing the essential skills necessary for our children’s future growth. "Every Student, Every Day, Every Way," is our district objective, and we, together as a team, are optimistic and certain that we will achieve our goal!

© 2000-03 Created by William Davies Middle School, 1876 Dr. Dennis Foreman Dr., Mays Landing, NJ 08330
Revised: August, 2009

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