Pocantico Hills Middle School Staff

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Pocantico Hills Middle School Staff

• English Language Arts
• 6th Grade Mrs. Maureen Tucker
• 7th 8th Grade Mrs. Stephanie DiMartino
• Social Studies
• 6th Grade Mrs. Maureen Tucker
• 7th 8th Grade Mrs. Mary Flannery
• Mathematics
• 6th Grade Mr. Al Sancton
• 7th Grade Mr. Joseph Stutz
• 8th Grade Mr. Al Sancton, Mr. Joseph Stutz

• Science
• 6th Grade Mr. Al Sancton
• 7th 8th Grade Mr. Vince Cook
• Foreign Language
• Spanish Mrs. Ann Mancini
• French Ms. Marilyn Sable
• Special Education Staff
• Mrs. Madeline McDougal
• Ms. Loretta McCarthy
• Ms. Felicia Peterson
• Mrs. Barbara Quinn
• Mrs. Karen Smith
• Mrs. Eileen Vail

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Pocantico Hills Middle School Mission Statement
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The Pocantico Hills Middle School staff believes
that each student is a complex and unique
individual. We are committed to helping all our
children realize their complete personal
potentialsacademic, creative, emotional. We will
ask all our students to stretch themselves and
we will help them to discover the rewards of
working hard.We will establish a learning
community built on mutual respect and compassion.
We will encourage all students in our care to
become productive, empathetic members of this
community and of society at large and so, we will
help them develop into educated, honest, fair,
kind and self-disciplined young adults.
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CURRICULUM MAPPING GOALS/OBJECTIVES

• Re-examination of New York State English Language
  Arts learning standards and existing Pocantico
  Hills Middle School content area curriculum
• Creation of draft documents that visually align
  current middle school content area instruction
  with established state ELA learning standards
• Establish criteria for future curriculum
  development that will build on existing
  instructional structures

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MAPPING PROCEDURES

• Examination and outline of existing curriculum
  and instructional practices in all content areas
• Alignment of content area curriculum and
  instruction with established state ELA learning
  standards
• Creation of draft documents highlighting the
  specific ways in which middle school instruction
  and assessment instruments incorporate state ELA
  learning standards

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CURRICULUM MAPPING OUTCOMES/FINDINGS

• Middle school content area instruction is
  currently aligned with the established state ELA
  learning standards through reading, writing,
  listening and speaking across the curriculum
• Middle school content area instruction
  incorporates a range of reading, writing,
  speaking and listening instructional strategies
  designed to meet the needs of all students by
  creating a community of active learners
• Middle school content area instruction encourages
  academic and individual growth within this
  community through a variety of learning
  experiences
• Middle school content area instruction across the
  curriculum provides Pocantico Hills students with
  solid preparation for high school level work

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STANDARD I

• Students will read, write, listen and speak for
  information and understanding
• As listeners and readers, students will collect
  data, facts, and ideas, discover relationships,
  concepts and generalizations and use knowledge
  generated from oral, written, and electronically
  produced texts. As speakers and writers, they
  will use oral and written language to acquire,
  interpret, apply and transmit information.

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Students read, write and listen for information
in mathematics.

• Student generated geometry posters demonstrate
  ELA learning standards as applied to middle
  school mathematics

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Reading and writing for information in sixth
grade science.

• Using a range of sources, students created and
  presented research posters.

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Reading, Writing, Listening Speaking for
Information in 6th Grade ELA.
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Seventh grade scientists research and report on
their favorite animals.
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STANDARD 2

• Students will read, write, listen and speak for
  literary response and expression.
• Students will read and listen to oral, written,
  and electronically produced texts and
  performances, relate texts and performances to
  their own lives, and develop an understanding of
  the diverse social, historical, and cultural
  dimensions the texts and performances represent.
  As speakers and writers, students will use oral
  and written language for self-expression and
  artistic creation.

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Addressing ELA Standard 2 in Spanish class.

• Seventh graders composed odes in Spanish, using
  the work of Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda

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In foreign language, students flex their creative
muscles.
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Students explore literary expression and response
through poetry in sixth grade ELA.
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Students create primary source documents in
Social Studies 7 8
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Students write creatively in English 7.

• A variety of weekly Writers Notebook
  assignments allows students to experiment with
  written language for self-expression

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STANDARD 3

• Students will read, write, listen and speak for
  critical analysis and evaluation.
• As listeners and readers, students will analyze
  experiences, ideas, information and issues
  presented by others using a variety of
  established criteria. As speakers and writers,
  students will present, in oral and written
  language and from a variety of perspectives,
  their opinions and judgments on experiences,
  ideas, information and issues.

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Meeting Standard 3 in English 8 the critical
lens essay and a personal essay
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Social Studies students analyze and respond
critically to issues via examination of editorial
cartoons
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Laboratory work demands critical analysis

• Through experimentation and direct observation,
  students record data and draw valid conclusions

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Sixth graders make a pitch at Stone Barns
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STANDARD 4

• Students will read, write, listen and speak for
  social interaction.
• Students will use oral and written language for
  effective social communication with a wide
  variety of people. As readers and listeners, they
  will use the social communications of others to
  enrich their understanding of people and their
  lives.

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In both Social Studies 7 and English 8, students
effectively use language for social interaction,
as debaters and letter writers.
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Response to scientific content in popular cinema
as an example of listening, speaking and writing
for social interaction in Mr. Cooks science
class.

• Students watched the video Lornenzos Oil
• Students took notes and responded to the
  scientific content and social issues raised by
  the film

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Role of Special Education

• To provide strategies that help students meet the
  standards
• To accommodate different learning styles
• To work as a team member in adapting curriculum
• To employ best practices in meeting the needs of
  all children

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Meeting the Standards
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New York State

• Mathematics Standards/Assessments

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Content Strands

• Number Sense Operations
• Geometry
• Measurement
• Statistics/Probability
• Algebra

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General Observations

• Content is generally less varied in topics in
  grades Pre K-4 than in the current Core
  Curriculum
• Content in grades 5-8 has significantly more
  Algebra and Geometry than in the current core
  Curriculum

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General Observations (continued)

• Grade seven and eight content has been
  dramatically modified
• Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trig have
  replaced Math A and Math B

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Assessment Information Grades 3-8

• Assessments will be scheduled for March of each
  school year
• The assessment test will cover content from the
  April of the prior year.
• Each grades curriculum is organized into a
  Pre-March/Post-March list

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High School

• Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2 Trig
• Three math credits required for graduation
• Algebra regents scheduled for June 07
• Algebra receives a maximum of 2 credits
• Geometry regents scheduled for June 08
• Graduation requirement - one regents exam in math

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Things to do

• Familiarize teachers with the new math standards
• coordinate curriculum across grade levels
• establish a math steering committee