Robert Frost Middle School

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Robert Frost Middle School


Address	9201 Scott Drive Rockville, Maryland 20850
Contact Information	Phone: 301-279-3949 Fax: 301-279-3956
Established	1971
Community	Suburban
Type	Public Intermediate
Student Body	Co-Educational
Student to Teacher Ratio	18.5
Grades	6 to 8
Enrollment	1157
District	Montgomery County Public Schools Area Four Wootton Cluster
Nickname	RFMS (pronounced riff-miss)
Mascot	Eagle
Colors	Blue and Gold
Mottoes	School of Excellence Where Excellence Soars
Newspaper	The Eagle Eye
Distinctions	1997 Maryland State Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
School Website	Home Page
Administration Dr. Joseph N. Jones, Principal Mr. Andrew Fields, Assistant Principal Ms. Kimberly Williams, Assistant Principal Ms. Diane D'Ambrosio Morris, Student Support Specialist

Robert Frost Middle School is a middle school in Rockville, Maryland. Its namesake is poet Robert Frost. The school was founded in 1971 and is part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. The majority of the students, after graduating, attend Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School. The current principal is Dr. Joseph N. Jones.

1 Academics
2 Student government
3 Basketball team
4 Math team
5 Dessert Theater
6 Music department
7 Science bowl
8 Notable alumni
9 Statistics
- 9.1 Ethnicity
- 9.2 Standardized testing
10 External links

[edit] Academics

Most students who attend Frost go to Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School for high school. Many students, however, qualify for and enter the Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet Program at Montgomery Blair High School and the International Baccalaureate program at Richard Montgomery High School.

[edit] Student government

Students from Frost actively participate in Student Government Associations at various levels. These include the

Robert Frost Middle School Student Government Association (school level)
Motgomery County Junior Council of Student Government Associations (county level)
Maryland Assembly of Student Councils (state level)

[edit] Basketball team

The Frost boys' basketball team had a 28-game winning streak as of their 2004-2005 season until they lost their last game of the season against Herbert Hoover Middle School. They recuperated, though, winning all their games in the 2005-2006 season. The girls' basketball team did not perform as well, losing multiple games each season.

[edit] Math team

The Frost math team won all four meets of the 2005-2006 season, and they even won first place in the county at their first meet, with a record-breaking 57 points. They also won all four of their meets in the 2004-2005 and the 2003-2004 seasons, as well as winning the last two meets in the 2002-2003 season. Hence, the team has been undefeated for the past fourteen meets, and, as of the end of the 2005-2006 season, was fourthin the county overall as well as the top non-magnet team in the county. Some of the math team's players even qualify for the county's ARML math team, a very prestigious honor as it is usually a high-school competition and only the top fifteen middle school students in the whole county are invited. Montgomery County has one of only two middle-school teams in the country at ARML.

Mrs. Smith, algebra teacher and long-time math coach (noted for her fourteen-meet winning streak) is retiring at the end of the 2005-2006 school year, and Mrs. Stolz, another math teacher, will take over.

[edit] Dessert Theater

Since 2001, the Robert Frost Drama Department directors have created original scripts for the spring production. These shows take a year to plan, four months to prepare and are performed over three days in March. Two of the shows also include dessert, which is served by the cast, in costume, during intermission. Each year, over 200 students audition for a limited number of spots, with less then 1/3 making the show. Students bring their talents in dancing, singing, acting, painting, lighting and sound to produce a high quality show that is found nowhere else in the county.

The shows include:

2001 - Rock Around the Clock - Directed by Donna Paoletti, Valerie Powell, and Julie Gummo
2002 - Back to the Future - Directed by Elaine Lee, Craig McKee, Donna Paoletti, and Valerie Powell
2003 - Fifteen Minutes of Fame - Directed by Elaine Lee, Craig McKee, Donna Paoletti, and Kristen Kaelin
2004 - School of Rock - Directed by Craig McKee, Kenneth Reddington, Jamie Zellers, and Donna Paoletti
2005 - The Unusual Suspects - Directed by Kenneth Reddington, Craig McKee, Donna Paoletti, and Jamie Zellers
2006 - Wicked'er - Directed by Craig McKee and Kenneth Reddington

The cast ranges from 50 - 80 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who act, sing and dance. Former cast members have also returned to help choreograph and work with the actors and signers.

The crew ranges from 15 - 20 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who work on painting, wood working, prop construction, and also running the sound and light board. Former crew members have also returned to help paint and construct sets and teach new crew members how to work the sound board, mics, and lights.

Addition lighting and sound equipment is provided through Barry Parzow at Sonic Non-Profit. Barry Parzow also works closely with the directors on sound and lighting logistics, special effects, and blocking.

[edit] Music department

The Frost jazz band, concert band, and orchestra compete at a local and national music festival every year. The local festival is part of the Montgomery County Public School system and the national festival was Festivals of Music every up until 2006, when Frost started attending Allstar Music festivals. The chorus also started participating in the local festivals in 2005.

All three bands have earned a "superior", the highest possible rating, at every national festival for the last twenty years. Unfortunately, the concert band broke that trend in 2006 with an "excellent", the next-highest rating. That year, all three bands earned first place in their category (even without a superior rating for the concert band). The orchestra also won the award for the highest single score, and the entire school won the "sweeps" award for the highest average score.

The jazz band also performs yearly at the Fish Middleton East Coast Jazz Festival at the Doubletree Hotel in Rockville, Maryland. The jazz band had two concerts there in 2006, one on Thursday as the kickoff band for the entire festival and one on Saturday during prime time. The jazz band has at least ten performances each year and is regarded as a prominent figure in the middle school music groups.

Frost also has an intermediate band (which sometimes performs at local festivals) and a sixth grade band and orchestra.

Frost also has an excellent seventh and eighth grade chorus directed by Elaine Lee, an alumnus of Frost and Wootton. Lee also teaches Theater and Musical Theater.

[edit] Science bowl

For more information, see the 2005 national contest results.

Robert Frost sent a team to the 2005 Virginia/Maryland Regional Middle School Science Bowl on March 5, 2005. The Robert Frost team won first place in the regional competition and advanced to the nationals, which were held June 23 through June 26, 2005. The team was even publicized in numerous newspaper articles including: The Washington Post, Rockville Gazette, and the Potomac Gazette and a Press release from the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, the laboratory that hosted the regional event.

At the National Middle School Science Bowl at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, the Frost team won fifth place out of twenty-four teams in the academic competition and third place out of twenty four teams in the hydrogen fuel cell car competition. The team was again publicized, including mentions in the Rockville Gazette, the Potomac Gazette, and the Aspen Hill Gazette, as well as the Press release from the United States Department of Energy website, which sponsored the event.

[edit] Notable alumni

The school's most notable alumni are four of the members of the American rock group Of a Revolution. After Richard On, Benj Gershman, Marc Roberge, and Chris Culos graduated from Robert Frost Middle School, they attended Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School and formed the band.

[edit] Statistics

The following are statistics concerning Frost.

[edit] Ethnicity

The ethnicity in percentages for Robert Frost Middle School, on the left, and the state of Maryland, on the right, for grades sixth through eighth are:

Ethnicity	Robert Frost Middle School	State of Maryland
African American	4%	36%
Native American	<1%	<1%
Asian	30%	4%
Hispanic	4%	5%
White	62%	54%

[edit] Standardized testing

According to the Maryland School Assessment in 2003, 87% of 8th graders met the state standards in mathematics and 91% in reading. The results of a passing score on the MSA in this school according to race and economic status are shown below:

Math
The state average for middle school math was 44% in 2003. At Frost, the statistics were as follows:
92%	Asian
50%	African American
62%	Economically Disadvantaged
65%	Hispanic
78%	Limited English Proficient
57%	Students with Disabilities
89%	White
87%	Total

Reading
The state average for middle school reading was 64% in 2003. At Frost, the statistics were as follows:
93%	Asian
75%	African American
52%	Economically Disadvantaged
65%	Hispanic
33%	Limited English Proficient
67%	Students with Disabilities
94%	White
91%	Total