About the School - Lower Dauphin School District

About the School . . .



Important Phone Numbers

School Office........................... 566-5310
Athletic Director....................... 566-5339
Attendance/Guidance Offices........ 566-5345
Nurse's Office......................... 566-5349
Transportation Office................. 566-5340

Office Hours
The middle school office is open from 7:00 AM until 3:30 PM during the
school year. The Guidance Office is open from 7:30 AM until 3:00 PM during
the school year. If you wish to speak with a counselor or principal in
person, it is advisable for you to make an appointment.


Daily Schedule


Homeroom 7:33 - 7:58


Period 1 8:02 - 8:45

Period 2 8:48 - 9:31
Period 3 9:35 - 10:18

Period 4 10:20 - 11:03

6th Grade Lunch A 11:05 - 11:35

Period 6 7 11:38 - 12:20

Period 8 9 12:23 - 1:05

Period 5 6 11:05 - 11:48

7th/8th Grade Lunch B 11:50 - 12:20

Period 8 9 12:23 - 1:05


Period 5 6 11:05 - 11:48

Period 7 8 11:50 - 12:33
7th/8th Grade Lunch C 12:35 - 1:05

Period 10 1:08 - 1:51

Period 11 1:53 - 2:41

Students may enter the building at 7:00 AM and should enter through the
cafetorium doors. Between 7:00 and 7:20 all students will wait in the
cafetorium. At 7:20 students will be excused to their homerooms.

Upon dismissal (2:41), all students should exit the building unless they
are staying after school for a supervised activity. Students must
communicate to their parents/guardian any changes in their afterschool
activities.

Parents who bring their child to/from school by cars should utilize the
drop-off circle, which is the first right turn upon entering the school
complex, or the sidewalks by the field house. Students must be picked up
along the sidewalk / outer perimeter to avoid crossing in front of
vehicles. Parents, please pull ahead along the outer lane as you wait for
your child.


Six-Day Cycle

The school operates on a six-day cycle rather than using days of the week.
The first day of school is Day 1 of the first cycle. Each school day
thereafter is numbered 2 through 6, with the cycle starting over after Day
6. Holidays and vacations do not interrupt the days of the cycle. For
instance, if the last day before a vacation is Day 3, the day students
return from that vacation is Day 4.


School Delays and Closings

In the event it becomes necessary to cancel or delay school due to
inclement weather or other emergency reasons, announcements will be made
over television and radio stations. In addition, notifications will be made
on the district website (www.ldsd.org), informaline (566-5320), and on the
school messenger notification system.


School Safety

Regardless of its size and location, no school is immune from emergencies
or crises. Lower Dauphin School District has been committed to developing
and implementing school safety measures throughout the district. In
addition to having a district Crisis Response & Communication Plan, the
middle school has its own safety program and emergency plans.

Consistent with their proactive approach to safety, all district employees
wear security badges. All entrances to the school from the outside are
locked at the start of homeroom each day. Once the building is secured,
visitors must ring a bell located outside the door to the main office in
order to enter the secured office area. After admitting the visitor, a
secretary will ask the visitor to sign in and to pick up a visitor's badge.

To prepare teachers and students to react appropriately in an emergency,
fire drills, severe weather drills, and intruder drills are conducted
regularly.

Emergency Evacuation Procedures
Under certain emergency circumstances, the middle school may be instructed
to evacuate its students to either Lower Dauphin High School or
Pine Grove High School depending upon the kind of emergency.

Should evacuation be necessary, parents may pick up their students at the
evacuation site using the normal sign-out procedures.

If students have not been picked up at Pine Grove High School within a
couple of hours of evacuation, they will be moved to Williams Valley Junior-
Senior High School, Route 209, Tower City, for parent pick-up.

Copies of the Lower Dauphin Middle School Safety Program and Emergency
Plans are available in the school office for review.


Philosophy

The Lower Dauphin Middle School program is an exploratory one where
students, as young adolescents, are introduced to many unique programs and
opportunities.

LDMS offers a comprehensive education that includes a balance of academic
and co-curricular offerings.


Academic Teams

In keeping with the philosophy, students are grouped in academic teams of
approximately 115 students each. Within a team, teachers and students are
accountable to one another just as persons are within a family.


Parent Visits

The middle school faculty and administrative staff welcome parents to visit
the school on a regular basis. To ensure that their visits are worthwhile,
parents are encouraged to call the school to schedule their visit in
advance. Like all visitors to the school, parents must register at the
office and must wear a visitor's badge prior to visiting a classroom.
Parent volunteers are required to obtain clearances pursuant Board Policy
#916.

Parents who want to schedule a conference with a specific teacher or a team
should call the school office.

Parent-Teacher Organization (P.T.O.)
Established in 1987, the P.T.O. endeavors to improve communication between
school and home, assist the faculty, and provide additional opportunities
for middle school students above and beyond those funded by the school
budget. Parents are encouraged to take an active part in P.T.O. by
attending meetings and helping on one or more committees.


About Academics . . .





Introduction to Curriculum

Comprised of both "core" and "encore" courses, the middle school curriculum
is intended to provide the foundation students will need for more specific
study in senior high school. Core courses for all students include English,
mathematics, science, and social studies. Core courses may include foreign
language classes and reading classes. Encore courses for all students
include art, family and consumer science, music, and technology education.

All students are required to take physical education every year. Sixth and
eighth grade students also take health. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade
students may elect band, chorus, and/or orchestra.

Specific courses by grade are as follows:


Grade 6

Math 6 or Pre-Algebra
Science
Social Studies
Language Arts
Physical Education
Health/D.A.R.E.
Music
Technology Education
Family and Consumer Science
Art


Grade 7


Pre-Algebra or Algebra

Life Science/Honors Life Science
Geography and Early Civilizations
English/Honors English
Reading or Foreign Language Survey
Physical Education
Study Skills
*Music
*Art
*Technology Education
*Family and Consumer Science
(*Two of the four subjects will be taught
in Grade 7)


Grade 8


Pre-Algebra, Algebra, or Geometry

Physical Science/ Honors Physical Science
American History
English/Honors English
Foreign Language Survey
Level I Foreign Language or Reading
Physical Education
*Music
*Art
*Technology Education
*Family and Consumer Science
Health
(*Remaining two of the four subjects will be taught in Grade 8)

Each student is given a course syllabus by each teacher during the first
week of school. The purpose of the syllabus is to provide both students and
parents with an outline of course content and course requirements.

Following is a synopsis of curriculum offerings by discipline:

Language Arts and English
Sixth grade language arts integrates the fundamentals of reading,
composition, literature, grammar, and speech.

The seventh and eighth grade English curriculum
is designed to provide a basic program for all
students on their level. Students are taught the fundamentals of grammar,
composition, speech, and literature.


Foreign Language

An exploratory approach to foreign language is utilized to familiarize
students with languages prior to their electing a language for further
study.


Health

With a focus on daily living, the sixth grade course of study includes the
Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (D.A.R.E.). Taught by an officer of
the Hummelstown Borough Police Department, D.A.R.E. helps students to
recognize and resist the pressures to experiment with drugs, gangs, or
violent activity.

The eighth grade curriculum emphasizes wellness and the development of a
healthy life style.

A co-educational approach is taken with both sixth and eighth grade health
courses.


Mathematics

In sixth grade, students take either Sixth Grade Mathematics or Pre-
Algebra. Math placements are determined by administration after a thorough
review of data related to the students' performance in math.
In seventh grade, students take Pre-Algebra or Algebra.

In eighth grade, students take Pre-Algebra, Algebra, or Geometry.




Physical Education, Dress for


Physical Education, and Gym Lockers

Sixth grade physical education is designed to develop a healthy, physically
fit student population.

Seventh and eighth grade physical education opens in the fall with physical
fitness tests, followed by instruction in sea