Mountain Top Middle School D.R.M.S. By: Ellie Atkins, Jonathan Cody, Emma McClellan & Ellen Watson

Our Philosophy “To push every student, every day to become outstanding 21st century learners. We strive to maintain a personal connection to student families and our surrounding community, while also creating a strong sense of unity among the students and faculty at Mountain Top Middle School.” “Climbing to Success!” Motto: Every student should strive to be the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time)

Support Personnel Principal: makes administrative decisions and leads the teachers. Vice Principal: works with teachers and staff for disciplinarian decisions. Guidance Counselors (2): Organizes conferences with parents, teachers and students, while also helping with advising. School Psychiatrist: Works with individual students seeking emotional or mental help, while working with the guidance counselors. Is available Mon & Wed 8:00 to 12:00, on-call Fridays. School Nurse: Is available Mon-Thur 8:30 to 1:30, can be on-call Office Staff: helps with minor needs when nurse is not on site, deals with visitations, helps staff relay messages to appropriate person. Resource Officer: Helps with extreme disciplinarian situations and directing before & after school traffic. AIG/EC Specialists: Work with individual students, in specific classrooms to provide aid for teachers and students. Teachers: Provide daily lessons, available after school through and telephone. Also,once a meeting is set in place, teachers will meet with students and/or parents.

Interdisciplinary Teams Each of grade level has two teams, each containing four teachers. 6th grade: Team Appalachian, Team Smokies 7th grade: Team Rockies, Team Alps 8th grade: Team Himalayas, Team Andes Our school has 800 students, containing 200 students per grade level. Each team is responsible for 100 students, 25 per classroom.

Schedule 6th Grade 8:00-8:10 Homeroom 8:15-9:15 1st Block 9:20-10:20 2nd block 10:25-10:45 Advising 10:45-11:25 Lunch 11:30-12:30 3rd Block 12:35-1:35 4th Block 1:40-2:30 Exploratory 1 2:35-3:25 Exploratory 2 3:30 Dismissal 7th Grade 8:00-8:10 Homeroom 8:15-9:00 Exploratory 1 9:05-9:55 Exploratory 2 10:00-11:00 1st Block 11:05-11:30 Advising 11:30-12:10 Lunch 12:15-1:15 2nd Block 1:20-2:20 3rd Block 2:25-3:25 4th Block 3:30 Dismissal 8th Grade 8:00-8:10 Homeroom 8:15-9:15 1st Block 9:20-10:20 2nd Block 10:25-11:15 Exploratory 1 11:20-12:20 3rd Block 12:20-1:00 Lunch 1:05-1:55 Exploratory 2 2:00-3:00 4th Block 3:00-3:25 Advising 3:30 Dismissal

Advising Goal: To make sure that every student knows that they can be a G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) How To’s: ●Set your goals and accomplish them ●Explore self-interests ●Find realistic ways to manage time ●Explore options for future skill sets (Careers/College) ●Help with school scheduling needs ●Have a close peer relationship with each advising member and teacher ●Eighth grade, high school preparation and substance abuse education. ●Seventh grade, sexual education and positive-peer relations discussions. ●Sixth grade, stress management and puberty discussions. Advisory Role: At Mountain Top Middle, we try to make sure that our student advisors are more of a guide rather than a director. By addressing the students in a more informal manner, they are left more room to make decisions for themselves while still being under structured supervision. Even though the students have more decision- making power, we still ensure that no “goat” is left to wander off, and each student gets the education they deserve.

Exploratory Courses Exploratories give each student a chance to discover their personal interests with certain classes offered here at Mountain Top MS. 6th grade: Band, P.E., Chorus, and Art. 7th grade: Above Listed Foreign Language, Sign Language, Technology Course, and Dance. 8th grade: Above listed, Weight Lifting, Photography, Intramural Sports, and Gymnastics. Our exploratories can change and adapt based on the numbers of enrollment and/or students’ interest. Each exploratory class can help each student to build confidence, peer relationships, and spark interests.

Curriculum Mountain Top Middle School has been recognized as a school of excellence for the past 13 years and we plan to stay on that track. With an exceptional faculty, you can expect your student to learn at the highest caliber for all three years that they are in attendance. As a staff, we adhere to teaching the Standard Course of Study at Mountain Top Middle and we make sure that no goat is left falling behind throughout their time spent here. Our middle school program includes both core classes; such as Language Arts, Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies: and a wide range of challenging and relevant exploratory classes.

Teaching Methods ●Our teachers will successfully collaborate within their interdisciplinary teams to extend a single lesson or topic throughout the subjects. ●They will incorporate technology and several forms of media practices into their lesson plans to keep the learning interactive. ●Our teachers will make an effort to incorporate every type of learning style into their lessons so every student can grasp each learning objective to their full potential. ● Because we are a middle school, each teacher will provide an inclusive environment and provide group work to help successfully socialize each student.

Exceptional Learners At Mountain Top Middle we believe in inclusion. We think it is best to have all students, on all levels, together in the classroom. Our support personnel travel within the classrooms with students to help aid the learning process. Due to the flexibility of the advising time in the day, this is when students can be pulled from the classroom for individual assistance.

Family & Community Home Involvement: Student-Led Conferences ●Weekly Newsletters ●Interactive Website (Updated Daily) ●PTA ●Family Dances Community Involvement: ●Attendance in Sporting Events ●Fundraisers ●Picnic in the Plaza ●Sponsorships ●Tutoring