Overview

Turrentine Middle School one of 6 middle schools in the Alamance-Burlington School System

Alamance-Burlington School System

The Alamance-Burlington School System is a school district covering Alamance County and the city of Burlington. It was created in 1996 by merging the respective systems of the county and city....

. The school was named after William Holt Turrentine who was the operator of the train that took Joe Johnston

Joe Johnston

Joseph Eggleston "Joe" Johnston II is an American film director and former effects artist best known for such effects-driven movies as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Jumanji, The Rocketeer, Jurassic Park III, the period drama October Sky, The Wolfman, and Captain America: The First Avenger.- Life and...

 to Durham for his surrender to William Sherman in 1865. The school has approximately 900 students and around 75 faculty members. Currently, staff members including NC history teacher Allen Wolff are creating a book about the history of the school. The school is located on 1710 Edgewood Avenue in Burlington, NC.

Facilities

Turrentine is a unique 2-story building. The original building was built in 1961 and the newest wing was added in 2005. The gym is the smallest in the county and locker rooms are adjacent to the hall next to the gym. The opposite hall is the music hall containing the music classes. Unique ramps connect the outside of the structure to avoid traffic outside the front lobby and the office. The main hall houses the Guidance offices, the cafeteria, the teacher's lounge, the library, and the EC classes. Lockers are provided for students to keep materials in during school. The entire roof was replaced during the 06-07 school year.

Academics

Turrentine consists of the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. The grades are divided into 3 "teams" each and each team contains 3 or 4 teachers. The core classes are Math or Algebra 1, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies or NC History. The school day is divided into 4 1-hour blocks, 2 45-minute elective classes, and a half hour lunch period. The elective classes consists of Business Skills, Technology, Musical Appreciation, and Art. These courses last half for a whole semester. The year-long Fine Arts classes they offer are Band, Chorus, Orchestra, and Expanded Art. Expanded Art and Chorus are based through a selection process. the musical fine arts classes perform concerts and all of the fine arts classes compete in competitions.
Turrentine also has NC's Academically Intellectually Gifted (AIG) program that puts students in advanced classes such as Algebra 1 in 8th grade. Some students every year get to accelerate their math classes and have the opportunity to take Geometry

Geometry

Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....

 and Algebra 2 before they get out of Middle School. After 3 years at Turrentine, students go to high school at Walter M. Williams High School.

Traditions

Turrentine has many traditions that take place over the course of the school year. The 6th grade hosts an annual Greek Museum which complies with their Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

 unit in language arts and social studies and News 14 Carolina

News 14 Carolina

News 14 Carolina is a 24-hour cable news service offered in North Carolina, USA, by Time Warner Cable on its cable TV systems in the state. There are News 14 Carolina television channels in Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Wilmington each primarily with local news but some local programming...

 came to feature the event in the evening news. Every 4 years the 8th grade has a candidate forum which invites candidates running for office in upcoming elections to come and speak to the students. Notable politicians that made an appearance where Elizabeth Dole

Elizabeth Dole

Mary Elizabeth Alexander Hanford "Liddy" Dole is an American politician who served in both the Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations, as well as a United States Senator....

 and Howard Coble

Howard Coble

John Howard Coble is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1985. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life, education, and pre-political career:Coble was born in Greensboro, North Carolina...

. This event was also featured in News 14 Carolina complete with student interviews. The 8th grade also has a career fair which displays the different jobs that are available to middle school students in the near future. Toward the end of the year, the 8th grade has the annual picnic which takes the students off campus for a day of activities and social time. Each grade has its awards ceremony which recognizes the student body's accomplishments throughout the year. The athletics department is one of the rising athletic middle schools in the state evidenced by an undefeated 2009 football season after going 4-14 the previous three years. The team was led by Quarterback Christian Miles Runninback/linebacker Rahiem Robinson- Jaffar fullback/linebacker Jaylin Jeffries Wide Receiver/Safety Jameion Harvey

Demographics

White: 49%
Black: 34%
Hispanics: 13%
Asians: 4%