Timberlane Middle School

Timberlane Middle School is a public middle school located in Pennington, New Jersey. As of the 2007-2008 school year, the school had an enrollment of 973 students and 82 classroom teachers.
The school serves students from Hopewell Township, Hopewell, and Pennington, and is the middle school of the Hopewell Valley Regional School District.
Administration
Core member of the school's administration include:
*Anthony Suozzo, Principal
*Darren Lewan, Vice Principal
*Tana Smith, Vice Principal
Six Pillars of Character
The six pillars of character are the theme of the school, among with the motto 'Be the Change'. They are Respect, Responsibility, Caring, Fairness, Citizenship, and Trustworthiness. Advisory and Challenge Day encourage these valuable traits. Students of Timberlane Middle School strive to follow the six pillars of character in their daily lives.
History and Facilities
Timberlane Middle School was first built in 1965 by the newly regionalized Hopewell Valley Regional School District. Additions since then include the 'C' and 'B' wing, constructed in the 1990s, which is a section of around 20 classrooms and science labs, a technology lab, and court yards.
In 2007, work was completed on additions and renovations approved by voters as part of a 2004 public referendum.
Those additions included a new gymnasium, 9 classrooms, a band room, a house center, a fitness center, and offices for the child study team and other programs. Renovations included locker rooms, roof replacement, student lavatories, two computer labs, the kitchen, and the nurse's suite. The new classrooms featured many 'Green' initiatives, including energy-efficient geothermal heating and air conditioning, as well as energy-efficient lighting. Other design features include floor to ceiling windows and wide hallways. The campus, shared with the neighboring High School, also has WiFi access.
The athletic fields behind the school are used by Timberlane and Hopewell Valley Central High School for the many sports both schools offer. The recreation foundation of Hopewell Valley has funded five such general-purpose fields and two baseball/softball fields in recent years. Plans are underway for a turf field in the near future.
Schedule
Timberlane Middle School runs on a A/B day cycle. This schedule format allows students to pick multiple elective classes. Students are required to take a world language-Spanish, French, or German-as well as a physical education/health class. Some of the many electives include:
* Band
* Orchestra
* Choir
* Art and music exploratory
* Advanced art classes
* For Seventh and Eighth graders, wood shop and family/consumer sciences
* Computer classes such as webpage design and computer exploratory
* Performing arts classes for Seventh and Eight Graders
Teams
Timberlane Middle school has teams for each grade, or the homeroom teacher for a student as well as the four core classes all students are required to take. Those core classes are Science, Social Studies, English or Language arts, and Math. Students have those four classes taught from their team. Advanced math and other advanced classes such as honors English are also offered. The concept of the teams is to give the students more support in the often confusing times of adolescence, as the teams help a student develop important social skills in the team community. The teams are:
For Sixth Grade:
* Gemini
* Apollo
* Mercury
* Discovery
For Seventh Grade:
* Trailblazers
* Explorers
* Voyagers
* Aviators (shared with eighth grade)
For Eighth Grade:
* Adirondacks
* Aviators (shared with seventh grade)
* Rockies
* Sierras
After School Enrichment
At Timberlane, many after school enrichment activities are offered. Activities, such as yearbook club, robotics club, environmental club, computer enrichment classes, garden club, and cartooning, are offered among many others. Jazz Band is also taught after-school The many activities are a fun and educational way for student to help the school and make the experience at Timberlane unforgettable. The computer-equipped Media Center is also open after school for students to study and do homework. Late buses are available for all sports and enrichment activities.
Sports
Timberlane Middle School offers full interscholastic sports for all the seventh and eighth graders, with the sixth graders only allowed to participate in cross country, wrestling, and track/field to help make the transition from elementary to middle school easier for the students and parents. Good academic and disciplinary standing is required to be eligible to play a sport.
For Seventh and Eighth graders, 14 sports are offered. The Blue and Gold Timberlane TimberWolves are highly successful and the athletics program is excellent for student school spirit, sportsmanship, and preparing students for the more intense and competitive sports offered at Hopewell Valley Central High School.
Advisory
At the end of every Wednesday, all students of Timberlane go to an advisory class. Students are assigned a teacher and a group of other students when they enter sixth grade and stay with that group all 3 years they spend at Timberlane. In advisory, students engage in fun and helpful activities. Students also are given the opportunity to talk about any issues they have, which is especially supportive of the sixth graders in their first year. Advisory becomes a memorable experience by the time students leave Timberlane in eighth grade.
Challenge Day
Challenge Day is a day of activities for all eighth grade students who will soon be ending their time at Timberlane and moving on to the High School. The theme of challenge day, which is sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Education Foundation, is to challenge students to be Gandhi's 'Be the Change You Wish to See the in the World'. The activities help students be that change in their school and in their lives.

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