South Lake Middle School

South Lake Middle School
Address
655 West Yale Loop Irvine , California 92614
Information
School type	Middle
Motto	Take care of yourself, take care of school, take care of each other
Founded	1993
School board	Irvine Unified School District
Superintendent	Dr. Gwen Gross
School number	949-936-6700
Principal	Bruce Baron
Grades	7-8
Enrollment	563
Language	English
Area	Woodbridge
Color(s)
Mascot	Shark
Website	[1]

South Lake Middle School, commonly known as Southlake, is a middle school in Irvine, California, serving the neighborhoods of Woodbridge and Westpark. It is part of the Irvine Unified School District. Its school mascot is the Shark. It was named a California Distinguished School in 2009 and was ranked the #1 middle school in Irvine and #2 middle school in all of Orange County, California at the end of the 2008/09 school year.

History

South Lake Middle School was founded in 1993 and was known as Woodbridge Middle School at that time. Currently, this is the 16th year of Southlake.

Schedule

Every student has 4 academic classes dedicated to Math, Humanities (Language Arts and History), and Science, 1 period for P.E., and 1 or 2 electives. For people in Zero Period, there are 7 periods. In Zero Period, you go to school and dress into P.E. uniforms by 7:05 and end at 7:45-7:50. Instead of doing P.E. during the day, they have an extra elective. If a student participates in a interscholastic sports, he or she has the option to take another elctive instead of doing P.E.

There are four schedules in this school: Tutorial Schedule, Advisement Schedule, Modified Schedule, and Mininum Schedule.

Tutorial Schedule (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday)

• Period 0: 7:05-7:50
• Period 1: 8:00-8:50
• Period 2: 8:53-9:43
• Break: 9:43-9:55
• Period 3: 9:58-10:48
• Period 4: 10:51-11:41
• Planner Check: 11:41-11:43
• Tutorial: 11:46-12:16
• Lunch: 12:16-12:48
• Period 5: 12:52-1:42
• Period 6: 1:45-2:35

Advisement Schedule (Fridays or when necessary)

• Period 0: 7:05-7:50
• Period 1: 8:00-8:51
• Period 2: 8:54-9:44
• Break: 9:44-9:56
• Period 3: 9:59-10:49
• Period 4: 10:52-11:42
• Advisement: 11:45-12:15
• Lunch: 12:15-12:47
• Period 5: 12:52-1:42
• Period 6: 1:45-2:35

Modified Schedule (late Start-Tuesday only)

• Period 0: 8:30-9:05
• Period 1: 9:15-9:59
• Period 2: 10:02-10:45
• Break: 10:45-10:57
• Period 3: 11:00-11:43
• Period 4: 11:46-12:29
• Lunch: 12:29-1:01
• Period 5: 1:06-1:49
• Period 6: 1:52-2:35

Minimum Day

• Period 0: 7:05-7:50
• Period 1: 8:00-8:36
• Period 2: 8:39-9:14
• Period 3: 9:17-9:52
• Break: 9:52-10:06
• Period 4: 10:09-10:44
• Period 5: 10:47-11:22
• Period 6: 11:25-12:00

Tutorial

From March 31, 2010, South Lake Middle School initiated a tutorial schedule where students go to classes for help, the lunch tables for homework, fitness center for SSR (Silent Substained Reading), and library for computers for 30 minutes. So far, it has been a huge success. At the end of 4th period, 4th period teachers will check each student's planner to check if he or she has a stamp for a particular stamp. This means that if a student has a stamp for math, then the student must go to a math class or else the student will face detention for ditching classes. If a student has more than 1 stamp, then the student will go to a subject where it is a priority. For example, if a student has stamps for math and science, and that day is a math priority day, then the student must go to a math class.

Layout

This school has a base level and a "basement". The classrooms are numbered by hundreds. Classrooms that are in the 100s and 200s are located in the basement or bottom floor. Classrooms that are in the 300s, 400s, 500s, 600s, and 700s are located in the ground floor. There are stairs that lead from the bottom floor to Thunder Run. There is an elevator for people with injuries to get to classrooms. The MPR and the Media Center are located in the middle of the ground floor and can be accessed by any classroom using stairs and hallways inside the school.

Lunchtime Sports

During lunch, there are tournaments for different sports that last 2–3 weeks. The tournaments are Mamba Ball/Team Handball, Volleyball, Flag Football, 3 on 3 basketball, and tournament of champions. For tournaments like these, South Lake uses seven basketball fields and four football fields. Starting from the basketball tournament, the P.E. teachers have organized separate tournaments for more experienced and less experienced players in hopes of getting more people to participate in the tournament. The groups are Gold Division for less experience players and Blue Division for more experienced players. There are separate tournaments for 7th grade and 8th grade. Usually there are at least 8 teams signed up. Teams will play each other and after a few rounds, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams are determined. The top four of all of the contesting teams move on to the playoffs. The winning team gets gold trophies while the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams get silver trophies.

Disciplinary Action

Sometimes, there are people who commit wrongdoings. Those who are caught doing so first get a notice by doing something called "Campus Cleanup." During lunch, they have to pick up others' trash and to prevent them from slacking off, they are required to pick up a full bag of trash. At the end of lunch, they turn in how much trash they picked up. Most of the time, people stop committing more wrongdoings from there and try hard to meet the requirements. However, if the consequences continue, the crime is very serious, or anyone did not meet the requirements for picking up trash at Campus Cleanup, they can have after-school detentions, where they stay in the office for 1 hour, talk with the vice-principal or principal, and may get suspension or expulsion. Made to look like orangutans.

Media Center

The media center, which is a library and a computer lab, is located in the middle of the school. It is one of the biggest places in the school. The media center is headed by Mr. Fratantaro, Mrs. Neser, and Mr. Tay. There are a variety of books, ranging from The Twilight Series to many magazines, like PC World and Mac Life, magazines, and anime books. During lunchtime, there are anime club meetings and book club meetings. You can borrow chess and checker boards and pieces at request. Also, in the media center there is a storage room, computer lab, a silent workroom (may be used for meetings), and the library area. In the library, there are books, separate tables that could be used to work on homework, and more computers.

Advisement

Advisement is a period of time where a group of around 20-30 students meet with one teacher on Fridays or on necessary days to build a relationship between students and staff. The advisor makes sure that every student is doing well at school, and if necessary, he or she may request a conference with both the parent and the student to talk about his or her progress at school. Once a year, all students must have a conference with their advisor, and at least one parent must join.

Departments

• Humanities Department (Language Arts and History)
  • Language Arts 7
  • Read 180 7 (2 period block that helps others with reading and literacy, this is an elective)
  • History 7
  • Humanities 7 (a combination of English and History for two periods)
  • English 8
  • Honors English 8
  • Read 180 8 (2 period block that helps others with reading and literacy, this is an elective)
  • History 8
  • Honors History 8
  • Do nothing

• Mathematics Department
  • Introduction to Pre-Algebra (Math 7)
  • Pre-Algebra (Math 7)
  • Math Lab (2 period block that helps others with math, this is an elective)
  • Transitional Algebra (Math 8)
  • Algebra 1 (Math 7/8)
  • Geometry (Math 8) (taken at Woodbridge High School)

• Science Department
  • Life Science 7 (2 trimesters of regular science and 1 trimester of health)
  • Physical Science 8

• PE Department
  • Zero Period PE
  • Boys PE (led by Mr. Campbell)
  • Girls PE (led by Mrs. Ho)

Electives

Every student in the school takes 1 elective, and if the student takes 0 Period P.E., then he or she takes 2 electives. There are many electives students can take raning from instrumental music to Spanish I.

• The 6 Primary Trimester-long Electives
  • Art
  • Intro to Spanish
  • Media Literacy (learn about ads in our world and complete a project requiring Microsoft Publisher)
  • Drama
  • Speech and Debate (offered only in 1st trimester)
  • Study Skills (learn how to study, do homework, and organize efficiently)

• Other Trimester-long Electives
  • TA (stands for Teacher Aide, help out a teacher with errands and work)
  • ASB (stands for Associated Student Body, Student Government)

• Year-long Electives
  • Yearbook
  • Directed Studies (helps people who need help in their homework or an academic subject)
  • Math Lab (helps people who struggle in math)
  • Read 180 (helps people who struggle in English)

• Music
  • Concert Band (a group of beginner wind players)
  • Wind Ensemble (a group of more experienced wind players)
  • String Orchestra
  • Chorus

After School Programs

There are a variety of classes people can take after school. Some of them include:

• Math Challengers (only for people in Pre-Algebra, Algebra, or Geometry, prepares people for math competitions, like Math Counts)
• ALEKS (a math class that helps people become better in math)
• Percussion Ensemble
• Jazz Band
• Science Fair Whiz Kids (helps people with their science fair projects)
• Y.A.T. (Youth Action Team, a group of students that help our school and community by going on trips to do community service

References

• http://www.southlakems.org/
• http://blackboard7.iusd.org/
• http://www.iusd.org/
• http://www.ocregister.com/articles/suspensions-241361-expulsions-writer.html (Article about South Lake Middle School)

External links

• Official website
• IUSD's Website