Portsmouth Middle School Prepares to Welcome 4th and 5th Graders

On Sept. 1, Portsmouth Middle School will welcome approximately 1,000 students, which includes an additional 400. The 400 additional students will come from the fourth and fifth grades of  Melville Elementary School, Hathaway Elementary School and the former Elmhurst Elementary School.

Middle school Principal Dr. Joseph Amaral described adding the fourth grade as the "biggest news" for the new school year.

Advisory groups for the transition met in the spring and Amaral said they have implemented the recommendations made. Amaral believes that younger students will greatly benefit from the opportunities and resources that the school provides.

"I am really excited about that," Amaral said.
 
Amaral said that that among the changes for this year is the expansion of the robotics program to grade 7.

The school will also offer math finance in grade 8.

Math finance offers everyday practical knowledge that, Amaral said, will be important for students. Such information includes how to correctly interpret a car loan, as well as how to understand mortgages and the stock market.

One subject-area that will not return to the middle school this year is wood shop. Amaral said that it is an area that is no longer applicable to most 21st-Century learners. The program will be replaced by robotics and computers.

The school will also integrate a more hand-on approach to science. With science-kits provided by the East Bay Educational Collaborative, students will be encouraged to explore cause and effect and come to conclusions through their hands-on experience with materials. Amaral said that the goal is for students to become more inquisitive.

Students in grades 6 through 8 will have four years of math in three years, which is something, Amaral said, test scores reflect.

Other advances in subject areas Amaral discussed were integrating more reading. They plan to target a "higher-level" reading population and make more "high-level" books available. For students that are not performing well, there will computer software for students to help improvement. 

This year, the school will also adopt the national standards in social studies in addition to meeting the state's standards. The national standard includes Roman and Greek studies, Amaral said.

Another addition will be boys and girls soccer teams. The Portsmouth Middle School Athletics Booster Club raised funds to offer boys and girls soccer teams to the sixth, seventh and eighth-graders this year.

The booster club, which began in April, seeks to meet the needs of athletic programs that are not being funded by the school.

The school also plans to expand intramural programs for grades 4 through 8.

There will be new teachers from the Hathaway, Melville and the former Elmhurst Elementary School joining the middle school this year. Amaral says they are ready to maintain "a real comprehensive middle school program that will meet individual needs" of students.

"In time, we are going to see that we will be one middle school, grades 4 through 8," Amaral said.

Class starts at 7:45 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m. The first day of school is Sept. 1.