Gunston Middle School
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Gunston Middle School
| Re-Established | 1994 |
|---|---|
| School type | public school |
| Principal | Ms. Maragret Gill |
| Location | 2700 South Lang Street Arlington, Virginia 22206 |
| Enrollment | 605 |
| Colors | Teal and Violet |
| Nickname | Hornets |
| Rival School | Kenmore Middle School |
| Homepage | Official Site |
| Feeds | Wakefield High School Washington-Lee High School Yorktown High School |
Gunston Middle School is located at 2700 South Lang Street in Arlington, Virginia. It's current principal is Ms. Margaret Gill and is administered by the Arlington Public Schools system. As of 2006-2007, there are 605 students enrolled and over 69 teachers (41 of which have their Master's Degree). It is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Gunston's athletes are so named the Hornets and wear the colors teal and violet.
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[edit] History
Gunston Middle School is administered by the Arlington Public Schools, and as of 2006-2007, there are 723 students enrolled and over 69 teachers (41 of which have their Master's Degree). It is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
The school was closed in 1978 after a major decline in enrollments. It reopened in 1994 to address overcrowding in other area schools.
[edit] Building Structure and Location
(photo by Daniel Ryan)
Gunston Middle School is located at 2700 South Lang Street in Arlington, Viginia. After the re-opening in 1994, it subsequently went through a major renovation, funded by the 2000 bond package. Construction was completed in 2003. It was built as a two story building with a public recreation center and public auditorium. Upon entering the building, there is one main hall with smaller halls and classrooms on either side of the building. The gym can be accessed from the outside as well as inside.
[edit] Location
Gunston Middle School is located in South Arlington, between S. Arlington Ridge Road and S. Glebe Road and between I-395 and Route 1. It is for students mainly in South Arlington, but also administers students from North Arlington due to housing the Spanish Immersion Program for the middle years. Students of Gunston feed to Wakefield High School, Washington-Lee High School, Yorktown High School, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax, Virginia.
[edit] Student Life
[edit] Demographics
Unlike many middle schools in the United States, Gunston is not predominantly White.
Its demographic breakdown of the 2006-2007 school year is as follows:[1]
- 43.8% Hispanic
- 25.1% Black
- 22.5% White
- 07.9% Asian/Pacific Islander
As of 2006-2007, 112 students receive ESL support.
[edit] About the Students
[edit] The School Day
The entirety of the school day is the same for all students. There are 7 periods and an additional Teacher Advisory period. After school, students are privileged to partake in various academic and athletic activities. An "activity bus" is provided for students who need a ride home. If athletic activities succumb to long hours, a "sports bus" is provided later in the day.
[edit] The Traditions
- Gunston offers a Back-to-School ice cream social hosted by the PTA serviced to the students of the school.
- Potluck Dinners: [[Hispanic Heritage Month, African-American History Month
[edit] Clubs and Activities
Gunston offers many opportunities for students to participate in various clubs and activities to support their academics and challenge them to learn and grow outside the classroom. Such activities include:
- National Junior Honor Society
- Student Council Association
- Academic Hallmarks
- Math Team
- Drama Club
- Girls on the Run
- Teen Advisory Board
- TV Production Club
- Chess Club
[edit] Performing Arts
Gunston's Music Department travels every Spring to participate in the Music in the Parks comptition. The troup travels to various amusement parks and play against other elementary and middle schools. Each group (chorus, orchestra, band) usually come home with grade II honors. In recent years, the troup also comes home with the Esprit de Corps honor (usually given to the school with the most poise and discipline).
[edit] Academics
[edit] Focus
Gunston Middle School is committed to providing our community with top quality education for our sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. We are dedicated to providing students with educational programs that challenge academically, set high expectations and stimulate intellectual curiosity. Gunston is a school with a diverse population. We see this diversity as strength. We do not recognize barriers to academic achievement. We believe that all students can learn and welcome the challenge to help all of our students to achieve at the highest levels. Gunston offers a variety of traditional middle school courses in math, language arts, science, social studies and electives. Students are also encouraged to engage in the numerous clubs, sports and after school activities offered daily.
In addition, we are also the site of the middle school Spanish partial immersion program for Arlington. This program is one of the very few programs nationwide that offer content based language immersion instruction at the middle school level. Students in this program receive instruction in language arts, science, and social studies in Spanish.
Gunston has an outstanding fine arts program. Our music, drama and art students consistently are honored in the local area and in statewide competitions for their hard work and talents. Our technology program is equally exceptional. In addition to the computers in our classrooms, we have three large state-of-the art computer labs, a media center computer lab, business, technology education, and family and consumer science labs, three portable laptop labs, and a distance learning classroom. This year we will have 30 laptops for students to take home as part of the Gunston at Home project. This has been made possible through a grant from the Beaumont Foundation and a joint partnership with Arlington Public Schools and Comcast. Our teachers are skilled in the use of technology and have a made a real commitment to using technology to improve instruction for all students. Gunston Middle School also provides opportunities for students to participate in our special exemplary project, Network 21. Computer technology and television productions are used to enhance the Arlington Public Schools curriculum. All students at Gunston are exposed to the exemplary project through core classes and electives. This exciting program is unique to Gunston.
Extensive building additions and renovations, completed in January 2003, has provided our students with an exceptional facility in which to learn. These improvements have increased classroom space and provided state of the art laboratories, computer labs, music rooms, as well as, up to date gyms, locker rooms, and athletic fields, an outstanding library, and a building plan that supports the middle school team concept.
The staff at Gunston is dedicated, energetic and skilled at what they do. Our families are involved and supportive. Students benefit from this spirit of cooperation between home and school, making Gunston a place where children succeed.[2]
[edit] Teams
Currently, there are four "teams". A "team" consisted of a team of teachers to teach a certain group of students. These were the following:
- 6th Grade: The Gators, The Geckos
- 7th Grade: The Super Sevens
- 8th Grade: The Great Eights
[edit] Special Programs
- Gunston's main academic program is the Spanish Immersion program which allows students to involve part of the school day to be solely in the Spanish language, including the Spanish language course.
- Gunston participates in the program, Adventure into the American Mind, which allows students to use the Library of Congress as a primary resource in student assignments.
- Gunston's Summer Express Program allows students to learn how to express his-/herself via creative writing and the visual arts.
[edit] Testing
Gunston is a fully accredited school based on the SOL exams conducted by the state of Virginia.
[edit] Athletics
Gunston's athletes are so named the Hornets and wear the colors teal and violet.
[edit] List of Teams
| Boys Athletics: | Girls Athletics:
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[edit] Stadiums
Gunston's outdoor athletic fields underwent the implant of synthetic fielding in 2002. Gunston is the only middle school with the new fields in addition to the three high schools.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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The Arlington Public Schools System of Arlington County, Virginia |
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Elementary Schools |
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Middle Schools |
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High Schools |
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Alternative Programs |
