Matoaca Middle School
Encyclopedia
Matoaca Middle School is school for grades 6-8 located in Chesterfield County, Virginia
. The school was built in the Fall of 1975 The school derives its name from the Algonquian
princess who was better known as Pocahontas
.
.
The East campus, the old Matoaca High School, was re-opened as a Middle School and was given 8th graders from the local school district as well as gifted 6th, 7th and 8th graders from around Chesterfield County
. As an old high school, there are several advantages in the "East Campus" including a bigger wood shop as well as increased Science labs.
The Matoaca Middle School language department is based in the East Campus.
Discontinued or Clubs on Hiatus
Girls' Sports
The below chart is in descending level of advancement
Algebra 2 can be taken alongside Geometry A Student can skip a level of language if deemed able to by the school The only requirement to take Earth Science is to be enrolled in 8th Grade Science
. Civics classes were divided into several "campaigns" to run a month long "get out the vote" effort which culminated in 1 Town Hall formatted debate, and 1 Normal formatted debate.
Started in November 2007, the project took off to gain county support in supplying a water supply as well as helping in the acquisition of pavement and other necessary materials. Representatives of the garden, known as Matoaca's Sustainable Garden (MSG), took part in VSU
's Randolph Farm Field Day.
People who visit during the night frequently report the cutting off of the lights, drop in temperature, and banging of the walls from an unknown force. However, no proof of a ghost (besides reports from a small group of people) has ever been verified.
One of the school's drama productions during its middle school time, has been based on this topic, The Phantom of the Auditorium. It is based on the play Phantom of the Opera, but the same concept of having a ghost of the auditorium is still present.
Male-Female Breakdown
Grade Level
Ethnic Breakdown
Testing Averages.
Table Data retrieved from greatschools.net
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...
. The school was built in the Fall of 1975 The school derives its name from the Algonquian
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
princess who was better known as Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
.
School boundaries
Matoaca Middle School's attendance zones are North from Lake Chesdin to River Rd at Second Branch Rd; East on River Rd; Northeast to Woodpecker Rd at Bundle Rd. North to Newbys Bridge Rd, East to Courthouse Rd, South across Beach Rd (including Gates Bluff, Woodland Pond and The Highlands); South along Iron Bridge Rd, South at Lewis Rd across Bradley Bridge Rd, East to Branders Bridge Rd; South on Branders Bridge Rd to Colonial Heights City Limits. The school has two buildings which are both considered "Matoaca Middle School". They are divided into the East Campus, and the West Campus (see below). The location of each are the following, West Campus: 20300 Halloway Ave. Matoaca, Virginia. 23803 and East Campus:6001 Hickory Rd. Matoaca, Virginia. 23803Administration
| Position | Holder |
|---|---|
| Principal | Wayne Carter |
| Administrative Assistant | John Murray |
| Assistant Principal | Shannon Bramble |
| Assistant Principal | Patricia Fox |
| Assistant Principal | Curtis Fry |
| Gifted Coordinator | Karen Speers |
List of Principals
- Wayne Carter; September 2009–present
- Carla Matthews; September 2007 - June 2009
- Jeff McGee; Unknown - June 2007
Building structuring
Unlike other schools in the county, Matoaca Middle school utilizes two separate buildings, one being the original Matoaca Middle schools and one being a discarded section of Matoaca High SchoolMatoaca High School
Matoaca High School is an American secondary school in the Matoaca community of unincorporated Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. This is the newer campus of the school, the old school campus was converted into a middle school, currently Matoaca Middle School. The school's mascot is the...
.
East Campus
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...
. As an old high school, there are several advantages in the "East Campus" including a bigger wood shop as well as increased Science labs.
The Matoaca Middle School language department is based in the East Campus.
West Campus
After the opening of the East campus, over-crowded was vastly reduced in the West Campus as it now only carried 6th and 7th graders living in the district. Language is offered to 7th graders at the West campus.Clubs & Sports
At Matoaca Middle School, there are several after-school clubs, along with athletics. They include the following: http://www.chesterfield.k12.va.us/Schools/Matoaca_MS/facts.htmlClubs
Current Clubs- World Languages Club- For the benefit of students who take a Foreign Language
- Crime Solvers Club- A school program about awareness and education about Crime Sovler Incorporated
- Student Council Association (SCA)- The Student Government of Matoaca Middle School. Position include President, Vice President, Historian, and more.
- Drama Club- The club that organizes and produces the school play.
- FCA Bible Club- Fellowship of Christian Athletes a religious sports club
- Pre Engineering Club- Gives the students a feel about the Engineering World, and usually participates in the annual Future City Competition.
Discontinued or Clubs on Hiatus
- Risk Club- A club dedicated for the playing of Risk, the board gameRisk (game)Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
(Fate undetermined) - Chess Club- A club for the art of chess (hiatus)
- Science Olympiad - Organizes teams to compete in a national Science Olympiad.
Athletics
Boys' Sports- Soccer
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- TrackTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
Girls' Sports
- Soccer
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- TrackTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- CheerleadingCheerleadingCheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
High School Course Offerings
Matoaca Middle School offers several High School CoursesThe below chart is in descending level of advancement
| Subject | Offered High School Course | Pre-requiste(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Math | Algebra II | Algebra I |
| Geometry | Algebra I | |
| Algebra I | Pre-Algebra | |
| World Language | Spanish 3 | Spanish 2, Spanish 1 |
| Spanish 2 | Spanish 1 | |
| Spanish 1 | None | |
| French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... 3 |
French 2, French 1 | |
| French 2 | French 1 | |
| French 1 | None | |
| Latin Latin Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and... 3 |
Latin 2, Latin 1 | |
| Latin 2 | Latin 1 | |
| Latin 1 | None | |
| German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... 3 |
German 2, German 1 | |
| German 2 | German 1 | |
| German 1 | None | |
| Japanese Japanese language is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an... 1 |
None | |
| Science | Earth Science | None |
- - Math
- - Algebra (1 and 2)
- - Geometry
- - World Language
- - Spanish (3, 2 and 1)
- - French (3, 2 and 1)
- - Latin (3, 2 and 1)
- - German (3, 2 and 1)
- - Japanese (1)
- - Science
- - Earth Science
Events in the news
Matoaca Middle has periodically appeared on online and local media for an array of events.2008 Mock Election
Matoaca Middle gained local news attention for a mock election it held which ran opposite the 2008 Presidential ElectionUnited States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
. Civics classes were divided into several "campaigns" to run a month long "get out the vote" effort which culminated in 1 Town Hall formatted debate, and 1 Normal formatted debate.
Sustainable Garden Effort
The local community also took notice as students from Matoaca Middle School took part in a project to raise a "sustainable" garden to serve to both train students in Ecology and Financing (The Financial decisions associated with maintaining any organization).Started in November 2007, the project took off to gain county support in supplying a water supply as well as helping in the acquisition of pavement and other necessary materials. Representatives of the garden, known as Matoaca's Sustainable Garden (MSG), took part in VSU
Virginia State University
Virginia State University is a historically black and land-grant university located north of the Appomattox River in Chesterfield, in the Richmond area. Founded on , Virginia State was the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for black Americans...
's Randolph Farm Field Day.
Haunted Auditorium
At the old High School (Current East Campus), a persistent rumor of a ghost in the auditorium goes on. The story goes that, when the building was a High School, a girl who attended the High School was involved in the school's play. However, on the night of the performance, she died due to lights of the stage falling on her. The rumor has it that the auditorium has been haunted with her spirit. Recently at a matoaca middle school orchestra concert there were reports of flashing lights during the concert. everyone that attended the concert has said the same thing. The lights appeared to be flickering in beat with the music.People who visit during the night frequently report the cutting off of the lights, drop in temperature, and banging of the walls from an unknown force. However, no proof of a ghost (besides reports from a small group of people) has ever been verified.
One of the school's drama productions during its middle school time, has been based on this topic, The Phantom of the Auditorium. It is based on the play Phantom of the Opera, but the same concept of having a ghost of the auditorium is still present.
Demographics
In general, Matoaca Middle has many fewer Asian and Hispanic students than the Virginia average and has around an addition 15% Black and White population in comparison to the Virginia Average.Male-Female Breakdown
- Male - 53%
- Female - 47%
Grade Level
- 6th - 383
- 7th - 314
- 8th - 368
Ethnic Breakdown
- WhiteWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
- 63% (Virginia Average 56%) - BlackBlack peopleThe term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
- 34% (Virginia Average 26%) - 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 :...
- 2% (Virginia Average 5%) - Hispanic - 1% (Virginia Average 8%)
Test scores
City-data.com ranks Matoaca a 56 on a scale from 0 to 100 (100 being best; 0 being worst) in terms of SOLStandards of Learning
Standards of Learning ' is a public school standardized testing program in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It sets forth learning and achievement expectations for core subjects for grades K-12 in Virginia's Public Schools...
Testing Averages.
Table Data retrieved from greatschools.net
| Grade | Course | % passing 2006 | % passing 2007 | % passing 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | English | 85% | 90% | 89% |
| Math | 28% | 64% | 69% | |
| 7th | English | 85% | 91% | 88% |
| Math | 53% | 66% | 96% | |
| 8th | English | 77% | 87% | 90% |
| Civics | N/A | 100% | N/A | |
| Science | 85% | 87% | 91% | |
| Math | 74% | 87% | 80% |
- 90% or over passing
- 61% - 89% passing
- 60% or under passing