Keene Middle School
Keene, New Hampshire

Dear Parent,

I am pleased to be able to provide you with the 2008 - 2009 Edition of our “Parent Handbook”.  It contains important information about your child’s school and should serve as a resource for you.  Please take some time to review it before the school year actually gets underway.

Keene Middle School continues to offer a comprehensive program, which strives to meet the needs of each student while stressing good citizenship and behavior.  Your regular support and encouragement should help your child to derive maximum benefits from the opportunities provided.
                                                     
Please do not hesitate to maintain regular contact with your child’s teachers, counselors, and administrators and let us help you if we can.

Sincerely,

Dotty Frazier
Principal

KEENE MIDDLE SCHOOL PHONE DIRECTORY

MAIN NUMBER                                    603-357-9020
HEALTH OFFICE                                 603-357-9027
SPED OFFICE                                        603-352-5830



Mission Statement

Keene Middle School embraces the educational philosophy which seeks to meet the intellectual, social, emotional and physical needs of the middle school learner. Located in downtown Keene (next to City Hall), the school provides 6th, 7th and 8th grades for the children of Keene and for several neighboring communities. KMS offers a challenging and enriched curriculum, an abundance of extra curricular opportunities and a qualified and caring faculty. The school is large, yet the "school within a school" configuration creates small communities of learning that give each child the individual identity that is so important to preadolescent development.


Keene Middle School has been approved by the New England Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges, is a member of the New England League of Middle Schools and the National Middle School Association. KMS meets or exceeds all state standards as approved by the New Hampshire Department of Education.



Middle School Information

Middle schools differ from junior high schools in a number of ways. Primarily a middle school attempts to structure its program and techniques to the needs of the targeted age group. This impacts on many things both within the classroom and within the school. Students are assigned to a "team" of teachers for English, math, science, social studies and, in grade six, reading. This group is termed a "cluster." Teachers have these student assigned for blocks of time during the day which may be switched around for the benefit of programming or instruction. Team teachers also have a common time during the day to meet. This time may be used to discuss students, programs, techniques or to conference with parents. During certain times in the six-day cycle students may schedule sessions of sustained silent reading. This is a time when everyone in the cluster reads for enjoyment. Advisory is a random group (within the cluster) of 12 to 17 students who meet with an assigned staff member. The block of time may be spent discussing school wide themes such as school rules, career education or transition to next grade. At other times it will be decided by the advisor and advisees how to best utilize this time.