Mark Twain Middle School
Encyclopedia
Mark Twain Middle School is a middle school
that is attended by children in grades seven and eight, and is located in unincorporated
Fairfax County
, Virginia
, United States
, south of the city of Alexandria
. It is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools
system. It is located in cluster 5 and feeds into Edison High School
. The student body consists of 7th and 8th graders, with a total count of 837. The school is named after the famous writer Mark Twain
. Chris Hawkins, now residing in Parker, CO attended Mark Twain from 1981-82.
The design of the block schedule allows students to rotate to all seven classes each Monday, then spend longer blocks of time in classes on Tuesdays through Fridays attending odd and even numbered classes. Fifth Period, containing lunch, is held every day and is studied in greater depth than other classes as it is given more time per week. Longer class periods afford flexibility in instruction and opportunities to delve deeply into hands-on projects, labs, presentations, research and other formats for life-long learning. Twain's schedule also allows both teams and departments to meet regularly for planning and conferencing purposes.
Families of Mark Twain Students are invited to connect with the school to support student achievement and enhance the learning environment. Staff members stay in touch with parents through the monthly Twaingram PTA Newsletter, the school website, FCPS 24-7 or Blackboard accounts, progress reports, group and individual emails, Touching Bases, and a variety of informational and fun evening events throughout the year. Students benefit when parents are active as volunteers and advocates!
The Department of Student Services enhances the efforts of teachers and staff by providing students with counseling, tutoring, and assistance with social and emotional development. These educators are an important link between the classroom and the home, and between Mark Twain Middle School and all of the other schools within the Edison Pyramid.
Mark Twain Middle offers the Gifted and Talented program, Special Education program, and ESOL.
, and 51.22% were male
. The ethnicities in the school are as follows: http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/va/other/579
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
that is attended by children in grades seven and eight, and is located in unincorporated
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Fairfax County
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, south of the city of Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
. It is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools
Fairfax County Public Schools
The Fairfax County Public Schools system is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax...
system. It is located in cluster 5 and feeds into Edison High School
Thomas A. Edison High School (Fairfax County, Virginia)
Thomas A. Edison High School is a high school in Rose Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia, administered by Fairfax County Public Schools.In the 1990s, the school's debate and forensics teams gained widespread recognition. The Policy Debate Team won the Harvard Tournament , the Glenbrooks , and two...
. The student body consists of 7th and 8th graders, with a total count of 837. The school is named after the famous writer Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
. Chris Hawkins, now residing in Parker, CO attended Mark Twain from 1981-82.
School summary
Mark Twain Middle School has adopted a Professional Learning Community http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues61.html (PLC) model. Teachers have created "PLC's" or teams of teachers that meet weekly to discuss content instruction. Their purpose is to develop common formative and summative assessments that will help guide instruction, academic intervention and enrichment. Twain students are assigned to teams of approximately 125 students. Each team is coordinated by the four core teachers (from English, mathematics, science and social studies), a guidance counselor and an administrator. Teaming at Twain gives all involved the sense of belonging, the opportunity to share common goals, to support one another, and to create more cohesive, smaller learning communities in the midst of a larger school setting. Twain operates seven teams, each with its own name, and logo. They are the Quasars, Thunderbirds, Superstars, Pathfinders, Mustangs, Patriots and Aces.The design of the block schedule allows students to rotate to all seven classes each Monday, then spend longer blocks of time in classes on Tuesdays through Fridays attending odd and even numbered classes. Fifth Period, containing lunch, is held every day and is studied in greater depth than other classes as it is given more time per week. Longer class periods afford flexibility in instruction and opportunities to delve deeply into hands-on projects, labs, presentations, research and other formats for life-long learning. Twain's schedule also allows both teams and departments to meet regularly for planning and conferencing purposes.
Families of Mark Twain Students are invited to connect with the school to support student achievement and enhance the learning environment. Staff members stay in touch with parents through the monthly Twaingram PTA Newsletter, the school website, FCPS 24-7 or Blackboard accounts, progress reports, group and individual emails, Touching Bases, and a variety of informational and fun evening events throughout the year. Students benefit when parents are active as volunteers and advocates!
The Department of Student Services enhances the efforts of teachers and staff by providing students with counseling, tutoring, and assistance with social and emotional development. These educators are an important link between the classroom and the home, and between Mark Twain Middle School and all of the other schools within the Edison Pyramid.
Mark Twain Middle offers the Gifted and Talented program, Special Education program, and ESOL.
Demographics as of June 2007
As of June 2007, 48.78% of students were femaleFemale
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
, and 51.22% were male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
. The ethnicities in the school are as follows: http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/va/other/579
- AsianAsian peopleAsian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
or Pacific IslanderPacific IslanderPacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...
: 12.22% - BlackBlackBlack is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
: 18.86% - HispanicHispanicHispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
: 22.12% - WhiteWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
: 39.81% - Other: 6.98%
Administration
- Aimee Holleb: Principal
- Jorge Gonzalez: Assistant Principal
- Cheryl Katzenell: Assistant Principal
- Jeremiah Caven: Assistant Principal
- Stephanie Gray: Director of Student Services
- Debra Boullianne: Principal's Administrative Assistant
- Vanessa Thompson: Finance
- Kerry Merek: Attendance
Teams
The school is divided into groups of students called teams. Teams are decided mostly by academic level. (GT would be toghether as a team...) Teams usually share the same core class teachers. The teams usually split into unofficial groups of 30 that the students will share their classes with. The teams are named as follows:- 7th grade: Quasars, Thunderbirds, and Superstars
- 8th grade: Pathfinders, Patriots, and Aces