Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School
Encyclopedia
Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School (MEMS) is an American
seventh
and eighth grade
public middle school
in Manalapan Township
, New Jersey
, United States
, as part of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District
.
As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,420 students and 104.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE
basis), for a student-teacher ratio
of 13.7.
The area of MEMS is over 67 sq ft (6.2 m²). Since there are about 1,400 student
s, MEMS sorts its many students into ten "communities
" that are named after Greek
letters. This school also runs through an A-F schedule.
MEMS currently has two stories and underwent renovation
from June 2005 to September 2006 (fifteen months, which yielded twenty-seven new classroom
s, air conditioning
throughout the school, a new courtyard
, two new science laboratories
, one new computer lab
oratory, an expansion of the cafeteria
, an expansion of the nurse's office, an expansion of the art classrooms, and a new gym
. Facilities include girls' and boys' locker rooms, more than one soccer
field
, a track
, and a cafeteria. MEMS is noted for its electronic equipment
, including smart boards, three to five computers in every room, 20-30 computers in each computer lab, and an electronic account for every lunch-purchasing student.
Clubs, teams, and committees include a student council
, a newspaper called the Paw Print Press, a soccer team, a basketball
team, a yearbook
committee, a cheerleading
squad, a tennis
team, a track
team, a softball
team, a baseball
team, a wrestling
team, a field hockey
team, a math
club, a Battle of the Books
team, etc. There are also programs such as Teen Talk, in which students meet in groups with a guidance counselor
to discuss their problems, and a stamp club, in which students meet with the elderly, who share their collection of stamps and sometimes photographs with them. MEMS also has their own television channel on all televisions in MEMS. MEMS Television 64 is on every morning at 7:40 and give all important announcements and upcoming events
This school is noted for its Academically Talented and With Distinction programs for each subject, which are special projects for those students who wish to challenge themselves. To participate in a WD project, the student's grades in that subject must be B+ or higher, and in AT projects, the student's grades in that subject must be A- or higher. AT/WD projects are usually submitted in competitions such as the New Jersey Social Studies Fair. MEMS is also noted for its above average scores in the Grade Eight Proficiency Assessment (GEPA) in the math department.
Other significant programs in MEMS include SITES, a program for advanced science students. It is a year long class which challenges students to exceed in the scientific field while keeping up with the normal science curriculum. Many SITES students participate in the Jersey Shore Science Fair; several of them place each year.
Lockers are either full-sized (five or six feet), half-sized (two to three feet), or medium sized (two to three feet with a separate compartment on top). They used to be all beige (with some dark blue ones), but after construction, were painted either red, blue, or yellow.
Communities in MEMS are named after Greek letters. There are "community days" once in a while, in which students in each community enjoy a group activity during which they bond and get to know one another. The 7th grade communities are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Zeta. The 8th grade communities are Kappa, Lambda, Sigma, Omega, and Theta. Each community has a sister community with the same schedule; for example, Zeta and Omega are sister communities and have identical time schedules. The exception to this are the sisters Delta and Sigma; Delta has extended periods on B, D, and E days, while Sigma has double periods on these days. Sigma and Delta are usually the largest communities, with Zeta and Theta being the smallest by far; however, starting the 2007-2008 year, Zeta and Theta were supposedly being made into full-size communities.
Schedules usually include sixty to seventy minute classes (homeroom
is not a separate period) and seven periods, with a different double period for a different core subject each day. The only communities that do not have to follow this rule are Delta and Sigma (sister communities), which have extended periods for all the core subjects instead of one double period for one core subject. MEMS uses an A-F day system; on days ACE, the 8th grade communities have a double period while seventh graders have physical education or health class, and it is vice versa on BDF days. Students are sorted into three levels of classes (Levels 1, 2, and 3, 1 being the highest).
2006 Test scores show that 2% of 7th graders at MEMS are at or above the level for Language Arts Literacy, as compared to 80%, which is the New Jersey state average. 18% of 7th graders are at or above the level for Math in 2006, as compared to the 64% state average. MEMS is noted for two of its Cycle classes (Cycle classes are similar to electives), which specialize in preparing students for the GEPA standardized testing in 8th grade.
8th grade 2006 scores include 23% in science (state average 79%), 34% in language (state average 74%), and 32% in math (state average 65%).
The MEMS yearbook has been the top 10 list of USA yearbooks for the past eight years.
Two to six students have placed in the Jersey Shore Science Fair for the past ten years.
During the 2009 year, 14 students placed and several students received "honorable mention" awards.
at 1:00 PM that same day. Police dog
s were sent in to sniff for explosives; firemen and policemen investigated MEMS. It turned out to be a false alarm; the fourteen-year-old student who wrote the note was caught and arrested at 8:00 PM on March 2 and sent to Monmouth County Youth Detention Center. On March 2, Mr. Williams and the vice principal encouraged students to give up any information they had about the bomb threat.
Each eighth grade community was paired with a seventh grade community and sent to an elementary school for nine day
s in September 2006; in total, six elementary schools were used as hosts to the middle school students. There, classes took place in the elementary school classrooms and gyms; there was one class per classroom and four classes per gym, which resulted in confusion and not much learning. These three weeks were half-day sessions from 7:25 AM to 11:35 AM. Students had to take shuttle buses and then regular buses, which, in the first few days, took up large amounts of time because they had to stop at every elementary school. After three days, the bus rides became shorter as kinks in the system were smoothed out. After the Certificate of Occupancy
was received, the MEMS students moved from their various elementary schools to the newly renovated MEMS.
The elementary schools used were Clark Mills Elementary School, Pine Brook Elementary School, Taylor Mills Elementary School, Milford Brook Elementary School, Wemrock Brook Elementary School, and Lafayette Mills Elementary School. Alpha and Theta went to Taylor Mills, Beta and Zeta went to Wemrock Brook, Gamma and Kappa went to Pine Brook, Delta went to Milford Brook, Sigma went to Clark Mills, and Omega and Lambda went to Lafayette Mills. The elementary school students' schedules remained as it normally would, though they did not have gym classes and some classes might have been placed together as one temporarily to give classrooms to the middle schoolers. Sigma and Delta got whole elementary schools to themselves because they are the two largest communities.
After construction, there were twenty-seven new classrooms, air conditioning throughout the school, a new courtyard, two new science laboratories, one new computer laboratory, an expansion of the cafeteria, an expansion of the nurse's office, an expansion of the art classrooms, and a new gym.
The school underwent some criticism for its delayed opening, its system of housing different communities at elementary schools, and the sometimes poor bus system while the students were at the elementary schools. However, while some thought that the school handled the situation poorly, others believed that the administration did the best it could under the situation.
Eighth graders are given a graduation
ceremony. It used to be held outside Manalapan High School
, but is now held at Brookdale Community College
. At the time it was at Manalapan High School, the ceremony was moved inside in case there was inclement weather. Now that it's at Brookdale, all graduationas are held in Collins Arena, rain or shine. Eighth graders practice for this ceremony for about a week in one of the school gyms. They practice walking in, sitting down, standing, and receiving their diploma
s. All students are given a red robe; the measurements for this robe are taken in the beginning to the middle of the school year
. One cannot graduate if they have library books they owe, debt in their lunch account, or, obviously, if their grades are not acceptable. The ceremony is typically two to three hours long.
The school holds an essay contest to see who gets to read a speech during graduation. There are two winners per community. The class president also reads a speech, alongside important figures such as the school principal. Each household receives three tickets to the graduation ceremony. Additional tickets cannot be bought due to space issues. Typically, the students walk in to graduation music, sit down, listen to speeches, receive their diplomas, and then the ceremony ends. After the ceremony, students go to specially marked flags with their community and meet up with their parents there. After that, they may take pictures and/or leave. Graduation is the last day of school, and students do not attend school; they head straight to Brookdale.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
seventh
Seventh grade
Seventh grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The seventh grade is the seventh school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 12–13 years old. Traditionally, seventh grade was the next-to-last year of elementary school...
and eighth grade
Eighth grade
Eighth grade is a year of education in the United States, Canada, Australia and other nations. Students are usually 13 - 14 years old. The eighth grade is typically the final grade before high school, and the ninth grade of public and private education, following kindergarten and subsequent grades...
public middle school
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...
in Manalapan Township
Manalapan Township, New Jersey
Manalapan Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 38,872. The name "Manalapan" comes from the Lenape word for "land of good bread or good land to settle upon."...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as part of the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District
Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District
The Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District is a regional public school district serving students in grades K - 8 from the suburban communities of Englishtown and Manalapan Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States...
.
As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,420 students and 104.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE
Full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent , is a unit to measure employed persons or students in a way that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of hours per week. FTE is often used to measure a worker's involvement in a project, or to track cost reductions in an organization...
basis), for a student-teacher ratio
Student-teacher ratio
Student-teacher ratio refers to the number of teachers in a school or university with respect to the number of students who attend the institution. For example, a student-teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students for every one teacher...
of 13.7.
Overview
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s, MEMS sorts its many students into ten "communities
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
" that are named after Greek
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
letters. This school also runs through an A-F schedule.
MEMS currently has two stories and underwent renovation
Renovation
Renovation is the process of improving a structure. Two prominent types of renovations are commercial and residential.-Process:The process of a renovation, however complex, can usually be broken down into several processes...
from June 2005 to September 2006 (fifteen months, which yielded twenty-seven new classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
s, air conditioning
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
throughout the school, a new courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
, two new science laboratories
Laboratory
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
, one new computer lab
Computer lab
A computer lab, also known as a computer suite or computer cluster is typically a room which contains many networked computers for public use...
oratory, an expansion of the cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, an expansion of the nurse's office, an expansion of the art classrooms, and a new gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
. Facilities include girls' and boys' locker rooms, more than one soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
field
Playing field
A playing field is a field used for playing sports or games. They are generally outdoors, but many large structures exist to enclose playing fields from bad weather. Generally, playing fields are wide expanses of grass, dirt or sand without many obstructions...
, a track
Race track
A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...
, and a cafeteria. MEMS is noted for its electronic equipment
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, including smart boards, three to five computers in every room, 20-30 computers in each computer lab, and an electronic account for every lunch-purchasing student.
Clubs, teams, and committees include a student council
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
, a newspaper called the Paw Print Press, a soccer team, a basketball
Basketball
Basketball 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...
team, a yearbook
Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks...
committee, a cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading 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...
squad, a tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
team, a track
Track and field
Track 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...
team, a softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
team, a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team, a wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
team, a field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
team, a math
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
club, a Battle of the Books
The Battle of the Books
The Battle of the Books is the name of a short satire written by Jonathan Swift and published as part of the prolegomena to his A Tale of a Tub in 1704. It depicts a literal battle between books in the King's Library , as ideas and authors struggle for supremacy...
team, etc. There are also programs such as Teen Talk, in which students meet in groups with a guidance counselor
School counselor
A school counselor is a counselor and an educator who works in elementary, middle, and high schools to provide academic, career, college access, and personal/social competencies to K-12 students...
to discuss their problems, and a stamp club, in which students meet with the elderly, who share their collection of stamps and sometimes photographs with them. MEMS also has their own television channel on all televisions in MEMS. MEMS Television 64 is on every morning at 7:40 and give all important announcements and upcoming events
Other significant programs in MEMS include SITES, a program for advanced science students. It is a year long class which challenges students to exceed in the scientific field while keeping up with the normal science curriculum. Many SITES students participate in the Jersey Shore Science Fair; several of them place each year.
Lockers are either full-sized (five or six feet), half-sized (two to three feet), or medium sized (two to three feet with a separate compartment on top). They used to be all beige (with some dark blue ones), but after construction, were painted either red, blue, or yellow.
How MEMS Operates
Schedules usually include sixty to seventy minute classes (homeroom
Homeroom
Homeroom or advisory is the classroom session in which a teacher records attendance and makes announcements. It can also be called Registration or Planning Period...
is not a separate period) and seven periods, with a different double period for a different core subject each day. The only communities that do not have to follow this rule are Delta and Sigma (sister communities), which have extended periods for all the core subjects instead of one double period for one core subject. MEMS uses an A-F day system; on days ACE, the 8th grade communities have a double period while seventh graders have physical education or health class, and it is vice versa on BDF days. Students are sorted into three levels of classes (Levels 1, 2, and 3, 1 being the highest).
2006 Test scores show that 2% of 7th graders at MEMS are at or above the level for Language Arts Literacy, as compared to 80%, which is the New Jersey state average. 18% of 7th graders are at or above the level for Math in 2006, as compared to the 64% state average. MEMS is noted for two of its Cycle classes (Cycle classes are similar to electives), which specialize in preparing students for the GEPA standardized testing in 8th grade.
8th grade 2006 scores include 23% in science (state average 79%), 34% in language (state average 74%), and 32% in math (state average 65%).
Awards
Two to six students have placed in the Jersey Shore Science Fair for the past ten years.
During the 2009 year, 14 students placed and several students received "honorable mention" awards.
News
On March 1, 2007, all students and faculty were evacuated from the building at approximately 12:30 PM. The principal, Mr. Robert Williams, stated over the school loudspeaker that it was a drill and did not allow students to contact their parents. Students and teachers boarded buses to the nearby Wemrock Brook Elementary School. However, it wasn't a drill. A note stating that the school would be bombedBomb threat
A bomb threat is generally defined as a threat, usually verbal or written, to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage, death, or injuries, whether or not such a device actually exists...
at 1:00 PM that same day. Police dog
Police dog
A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...
s were sent in to sniff for explosives; firemen and policemen investigated MEMS. It turned out to be a false alarm; the fourteen-year-old student who wrote the note was caught and arrested at 8:00 PM on March 2 and sent to Monmouth County Youth Detention Center. On March 2, Mr. Williams and the vice principal encouraged students to give up any information they had about the bomb threat.
Construction from 2005 to 2007
During the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school year, construction took place at MEMS. The construction took place from June 2005 to September 2006. This resulted in the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year being spent at various elementary schools and the first day of school being canceled because the school had failed to receive a Certificate of Occupancy before the school year began. The year began on September 12, 2006 instead of September 11, as originally planned.Day
A day is a unit of time, commonly defined as an interval equal to 24 hours. It also can mean that portion of the full day during which a location is illuminated by the light of the sun...
s in September 2006; in total, six elementary schools were used as hosts to the middle school students. There, classes took place in the elementary school classrooms and gyms; there was one class per classroom and four classes per gym, which resulted in confusion and not much learning. These three weeks were half-day sessions from 7:25 AM to 11:35 AM. Students had to take shuttle buses and then regular buses, which, in the first few days, took up large amounts of time because they had to stop at every elementary school. After three days, the bus rides became shorter as kinks in the system were smoothed out. After the Certificate of Occupancy
Certificate of occupancy
A Certificate of Occupancy is a document issued by a local government agency or building department certifying a building's compliance with applicable building codes and other laws, and indicating it to be in a condition suitable for occupancy....
was received, the MEMS students moved from their various elementary schools to the newly renovated MEMS.
The school underwent some criticism for its delayed opening, its system of housing different communities at elementary schools, and the sometimes poor bus system while the students were at the elementary schools. However, while some thought that the school handled the situation poorly, others believed that the administration did the best it could under the situation.
Graduation
Graduation
Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the ceremony that is sometimes associated, where students become Graduates. Before the graduation, candidates are referred to as Graduands. The date of graduation is often called degree day. The graduation itself is also...
ceremony. It used to be held outside Manalapan High School
Manalapan High School
Manalapan High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Manalapan Township, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Freehold Regional High School District. The school serves students from all of Englishtown and portions of Manalapan...
, but is now held at Brookdale Community College
Brookdale Community College
Brookdale Community College is an accredited coeducational public community college in Lincroft, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Brookdale Community College was founded in 1967 and has Higher Education Centers in Neptune, Freehold, Hazlet, Long Branch, Sandy Hook, and Wall.Brookdale is an...
. At the time it was at Manalapan High School, the ceremony was moved inside in case there was inclement weather. Now that it's at Brookdale, all graduationas are held in Collins Arena, rain or shine. Eighth graders practice for this ceremony for about a week in one of the school gyms. They practice walking in, sitting down, standing, and receiving their diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
s. All students are given a red robe; the measurements for this robe are taken in the beginning to the middle of the school year
Academic term
An academic term is a division of an academic year, the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. These divisions may be called terms...
. One cannot graduate if they have library books they owe, debt in their lunch account, or, obviously, if their grades are not acceptable. The ceremony is typically two to three hours long.
The school holds an essay contest to see who gets to read a speech during graduation. There are two winners per community. The class president also reads a speech, alongside important figures such as the school principal. Each household receives three tickets to the graduation ceremony. Additional tickets cannot be bought due to space issues. Typically, the students walk in to graduation music, sit down, listen to speeches, receive their diplomas, and then the ceremony ends. After the ceremony, students go to specially marked flags with their community and meet up with their parents there. After that, they may take pictures and/or leave. Graduation is the last day of school, and students do not attend school; they head straight to Brookdale.
External links
- Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School website
- Data for the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District, National Center for Education StatisticsNational Center for Education StatisticsThe National Center for Education Statistics is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States...
- Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School profile provided by schooltree.org
- Manalapan-Englishtown Middle School profile provided by greatschool.net