Daniell Middle School Home Page

Ensuring every child receives, benefits, and thrives from a world class education that prepares them for high school success.

Honoring 36 Years of Service to Our School

Friday, February 27, Mrs. Betty Wilson was honored for her 36 years of service to our school by having the cafeteria named in her honor. Mrs. Wilson served all 36 years as a food service assistant at Daniell Middle School. During the dedication ceremony, a breakfast was provided, stories were shared by staff about Mrs. Wilson, and she was given a plaque to commenerate this honor. The plague seen in the above picture will be hung in the cafeteria.

Online Learning during Snow Days

Did you know this past school year was the last time students would take the CRCT? Beginning this year, all students in our state will take the Georgia Milestones. Like the CRCT, it will test students knowledge of what they have learned in math, science, social studies, and language arts. The Georgia Department of Education is telling schools that this test is much more difficult for students and that scores may be lower this year due to increased rigor. Math and language arts questions will have constructed response items where students have to write their answers. Your child's teachers are working to ensure your child's success. But, they need your help. In addition to questioning your student about what they are learning and how they have to show that they have learned their daily objectives in each class, you can help by visiting the teacher blogs and having your child take advantage of the many free online resources we provide for them. One of these resources is USA Test Prep.

Every Daniell Middle School student can benefit from using USA Test Prep to help prepare for the Milestones. This home-based internet program is simple to use. Your child already has a member login account and is using it at school with many of their teachers. Teachers can actually monitor how often your student uses the program. USA Test Prep supports language arts, reading, mathematics, science, and social studies by breaking down questions into the same domains as tested on the Georgia Mielstones through vocabulary, tests, practice, games, and videos. Encourage your child to get started and log as many hours as he or she can, even if just playing the games. And if you are up for the challenge, it makes for great family trivia too! The computer assisted tutorial program can not only help students who are struggling with particular topics in a subject area, it can also help provide enrichment to students to assist them in learning at higher levels. Access USATestprep here.

2014 School Performance Breaks Records Again

Daniell Ranks #7 out of All CCSD Middle Schools

The Sky Is the Limit in Engineering

As with all classes, Engineering has it's plans and pacing guide. But Ms. Forbes, the teacher for Engineering, would like for you to see an example of what these students can do when "differientiating." These two students, within their first week in SolidWorks, completed their first three assignments early. With no assistance, they were then asked to design from scratch the double light switch cover in our classroom to scale. When you search decorative light switch covers, there are thousands. This is theirs! Career Tech, real classes for real life!

Honor Band Weekend

On February 6-8, 2015 at Lovinggood Middle School, five band students participated in Honor Band Weekend. Tarik I., Nassim J., Veronica N., Nate P. and Andy T. participated in rehearsals on Friday evening and all day Saturday with students from across Cobb County under the direction of guest conductors Freddie Martin and Lauren Denney-Wright. The weekend culminated in a fabulous series of concerts on Sunday afternoon at Hillgrove High School.

Congratulations to our Daniell Honor Band students. Thank you for representing us so well!

Looking Ahead to High School

The transition from middle to high school can be challenging for all students. So that 8th graders can look forward to “movin’ on up” to Sprayberry stress-free, Sprayberry and Daniell faculty have planned activities to answer as many questions as possible before they enter 9 grade. On Wednesday, February 4 a group of 22 SHS students came to visit Daniell Middle School 8 grade classrooms. The students, under the supervision of Mr. John Kelly (Principal, SHS) and Dr. Kerri McDougal (AP, SHS), were able to speak to our students about high school life and to answer many of the questions that the 8 graders had. On February 20, Daniell students will visit Sprayberry as part of our transition activities to high school. Additionally, there is a parent night scheduled for March 3 at Sprayberry.

2015-2016 PTSA Officers Wanted

If you are interested in being an officer for the 2015-2016 PTSA at Daniell, please contact Principal Nelson or Wendy Colaiacovo and let them know. The Nominating Committee is now seeking names of those who want to help lead our PTSA next school year. Positions that need filled are president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer.

Community Support Career Day

8 Grade students participated in Daniell’s annual Career Day on Friday, January 30. Our goal is to help middle school students connect the dots between education and their future. Along with that, we want our students to see the many possibilities, traditional and non-traditional, that are available to them post-graduation. In a previous survey 8 grade students ranked their career preferences and on Career Day rotated through 3 different sessions listening only to speakers that were of interest to them. 22 community member and volunteers came to our campus to share their professional experiences with our students. Professions represented included: CCPD, legal, military, cosmetology, automotive industry, design, journalism, teaching, and many more. Career Day was a huge successful and we are eternally grateful for our speakers and the Daniell community for their support!

Speakers pictured from left to right: Chiropractor, Dr. Jodi Dixon, Army Reservist, Jonathan Kiel, Fire Fighter, Lt. Eric Mohrmann, Kabbage representatives, Andy Badstubner & Charles Borowsky, Real Estate Agent, Iliana Icen, Education Advocate, Mark Perez, BBQ Street co-owner, Don Jensen, Veterinarian, Dr. Michael Good, Three-13 Associates, Lilia Harkins, Taylor Hogan, & Jennifer Berton, Teacher, Rick Parker, Professor, Dr. Consuela Ward, Cobb County DA, Vic Reynolds, Weather Channel Producer, Marc McAfee, Software Engineer, Roger Bryant, Chef, Chris Fitzpatrick, and CCPD, Sgt. Dana Pierce.

Speakers not pictured: Mel Boteri Luxury Handbag founder, Melanie Mueller, Shakehouse Boxing Owner, Sammie Milhouse, Automotive Representative, David Samaha, and Logomotion Owner, Patti Willig.

PTSA and Culture Club Sponsor Mix It Up Day

On Wednesday, January 21st Daniell students participated in our first “Mix It Up” day during lunch! This event was sponsored by the Culture Club and Daniell PTSA. Teaching Tolerance’s “Mix It Up” program is a national campaign that helps schools develop an inclusive school climate. On this day, students were asked to sit with students that they don’t normally sit with at lunch. Dr. Ward and Ms. McCullough modeled 2 questions for the students that they were supposed to discuss at the lunch table. The students were told to tell 2 truths about themselves and 1 lie and the students were supposed to guess which the truths were and which was the lie. Students were also asked to share what super power they would want to possess and why. The goal was for students to mingle with and get to know students that they don’t normally interact with and, ultimately, to realize that we are not all that different!

Daniell Students Exceed State and District Scores on the CCRPI

Scores for Daniell Middle School on the 2014 College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) surpassed both state and district middle school scores. The Georgia Department of Education recently released the third year of ratings under the statewide accountability system. The CCRPI measurement is on a 100-point scale rating the academic achievement and progress of individual schools and their school systems. Daniell scored an 81.1. The district average for middle schools was 73.9. The state average for middle schools was 73.2. Click here to see how Daniell did compared to any other middle school in Cobb.

NJHS Sock Drive Results Posted

During the month of December, the National Junior Honor Society completed a Sock Drive service project for MUST ministries. They were assigned to homeroom classes and served as motivators to drive the school’s participation in the collection of socks. After two weeks, the students were able to collect 502 pairs of socks, with the winning homeroom bringing in 115 pairs alone. Way to go Ms. Weaver’s homeroom! Thanks for all of the hard work, as I am sure many individuals will have warm toes thanks to your generosity.

Performing Arts Gives Holiday Concert to Student Body

On Friday, December 12, the 8 Grade Band, Chorus, and Orchestra, Jazz Band and Woodwind Ensemble presented a Holiday Prism Concert for the whole school. There will over 200 performers involved in this annual event that helps ring in the spirit of the season. The performance included traditional Christmas and Hanukkah selections and concluded with a school sing a long.

2015-2016 School Choice Information

The Cobb County School District is again offering School Choice (HB 251 and SB10) transfers for the 2015-2016 school year. Individual school capacity information and applications will be available beginning February 1, 2015 on the District website. For more information, please see our 2015-16 School Choice webpage.

Robotics Team Competing at Super Regionals

Saturday, January 10, Daniell Robotics Team 15027 will be competing at the Super Regional event at Clark Creek Elementary school. This is the next step to possibly competing at the state level. This team worked over the winter break to program their robot for multiple missions and they also worked on and developed a new presentation. They will be competing at a higher level this time as of the teams have more experience. Team leader Poojan M. will be working with fellow team members Anish, Parth, Roshan, Varshith, and Dawson to try and bring us home another trophy and possibly the chance to move forward.

Seventh Grade Band Goes Out for Fun

On Saturday, December 13, members of the 7 Grade Band spent an evening out on the town together. First, students enjoyed dinner at The Varsity at Town Center, and then they attended the Cobb Wind Symphony Holiday Concert at The Lassiter Concert Hall. The students really enjoyed spending the evening together. The wind symphony’s performance included traditional and contemporary Christmas and Hanukkah selections, serious concert band literature, Brazilian influenced music, and concluded with a sing a long.

Mr. Kendall Brings Students Hour of Code

In December Mr. Kendall’s 7 grade Career Discovery and 8 grade Introduction to Business & Technology classes participated in Hour of Code, as part of Computer Science Education Week. The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries, in which students have a chance to explore computer science and learn how to write code for a program.

Daniell Performs at Atlanta Hawks Game

41 Daniell chorus members presented a wonderful rendition of our national anthem at the Hawks vs. 76er’s basketball game on Wednesday night (Dec. 10). After the successful performance students were able to enjoy the game and spend some time with great friends. Great job Daniell Chorus!

Honor Band Results

In December 17 Band students auditioned for Honor Band and All State Band. Tarik I. and Nassim J. made the Honor Band on clarinet. Nate P. was named Principal Snare Drum in the Honor Band, and oboist Veronica N. made the Honor Band and also advanced to the Final Round of the All State Band auditions. Andy T., clarinet and Garrett R., tenor sax were named as alternates for the Honor Band. Honor Band members will participate in Honor Band Weekend at Lovinggood Middle School on February 6-8, 2015.

Congratulations to all Daniell Band students who participated in the audition process. By doing so, you advanced your proficiency on your instrument to another level.

Congrats to Robotics Team

In December Daniell's Robotics Team brought home two awards: Team Work and Programming. Mr. Hawlk is the team's sponsor.

2014 FBLA Competitions Begin!

J. J. Daniell Middle School’s Future Business Leaders of America (F.B.L.A.) is starting off with a vengeance! Eighteen students, two parents, and Adviser Becky Forbes attended the Fall Motivational Rally in Perry, GA. Students were definitely motivated! They saw an amazing Las Vegas juggler with a powerful message, took a variety of practice online competitions, and got to wrap it up with attending the Perry State Fair.

Officers Morgan M. and Kevin P. traveled with Ms. Forbes to Athens for the Fall Leadership Conference. There were over 2,000 students state-wide in attendance. They attended a variety of inspiring leadership workshops.

As you can see from the link below, Joey B. knocked it out of the park in his official FBLA attire reciting the Creed for his Region competition. Yohanna M., Nykyla R., Naty K., and Catalina A. completed their Employability Skills Competition for mailing. They had a make believe corporation they prepared a letter of application, resume, and two-page application for.

Dec. 11 other students will be taking a variety of online competitions to include: business spelling, business computations, marketing, career exploration, computer concepts, and personal finance.

Girls on Track Celebrates with 5k Race

On Sunday, November 9 the Girls on Track team at Daniell Middle School ran their Fall 5k race at Atlantic Station. Girls on Track is an international program that teaches life skills through dynamic lessons and physical activity. The culmination of the program is a celebratory 5k.

After 12 weeks and 24 practices full of lessons and running, 13 girls from Daniell successfully completed the 5k race with their “running buddy.” Running buddies were either a Girl’s on Track coach or an adult friend/family member that was there to encourage the girls along the way. The race events consisted of fun pre-race activities such as color hair spraying and face painting and warm-up Zumba. The race course started at the Dillard’s at Atlantic station and continued up Howell Mill Road to the finish line back at Atlantic Station. The Girls on Track coaches and the Daniell staff members are so proud of all these girls have accomplished!

Superior Ratings Earned at Solo and Ensemble

On Saturday, November 8, 28 Band students participated in the Georgia Music Educators District 12 Solo & Ensemble Festival at Barber Middle School.

Eight students performed solos and all eight earned Superior ratings. Additionally, there were eight different ensembles that performed at the event. Seven of the ensembles earned Superior ratings and one ensemble earned an Excellent rating. Mrs. Holbrook and Mr. Baxley congratulate these students on their successful performances at this event.

PTSA Begins Plans for the 2015-2016 School Year

The Daniell PTSA will be electing a Nominating Committee in December. This committee is charged with the task of finding a slate of candidates to serve as PTSA officers for the 2015-2016 school year. The nominating committee will be made up of five members and two alternates. Committee members must be members of the Daniell PTSA. If you are interested in serving on this committee or are interested in being an officer, please contact Susan McCullough at mcc.susan@gmail.com or at 770/429-0797.

Teachers Take Students to Georgia Educational Technology Conference

On November 5 and 6 Mr. Rick Parker and Mrs. Leslie Keith took a small group of students to the Georgia Educational Technology Conference to present the cool things the students have been doing with DaniellPedia for the last several years.

Around 200 educators from the state stopped by the showcase to watch students demonstrate a variety of great tools and techniques. Daniell students dazzled them with their technical competence, confident communication skills and easy teaching style.

· Mallory and Jordan taught people about Google Docs and provided play by play of a live feed of seventh grade students working on a collaborative project in the Learning Commons back at school.

· Poojan and Ishan provided technical support and demonstrated screencasting and GoAnimate.

Junior Jackets Take First Place

Congratulations to the Junior Jackets sixth grade girls and seventh grade boys basketball teams for coming in first place at the Allatoona Basketball Tournament held on Saturday, November 1.

Band Performs at Bells

Ferry Fall Festival

On Saturday, October 25, the Woodwind Ensemble performed at the Bells Ferry Elementary Fall Festival. Students entertained their audience at the festival by performing a Bach Minuet, The Imperial March from Star Wars, and the James Bond Theme. It was a beautiful day to perform and the ensemble member enjoyed performing at the festival.

CCSD Updates Enrollment Protocol

The health and safety of our students and school staffs is our highest priority. National and international health authorities are currently working to manage an ongoing outbreak of the Ebola virus disease in several countries in West Africa. The Cobb County School District has released an update to the Enrollment Protocol as well a letter to parents informing them of the changes. Please see the links below.

On Friday, October 17, 2014, almost 70 members of the Daniell

Middle School 8 Grade Band and over 45 of their family members attended the Sprayberry Band of Gold’s Annual 8 Grade Night. This event offers 8 Grade Band students the opportunity to attend a football game, spend the evening with the marching band, perform in the stands, socialize with the marching band members, and enjoy an ice cream social to conclude the evening. Daniell Band members had a great introduction to marching band and really enjoyed their time at Sprayberry. Special thanks to Sprayberry Band Directors Andy Esserwein and Terrace Ellis, Middle School Liaison Carla Harper and the many Band Of Gold Boosters that helped make this evening a tremendous success.

Did you know that 39% of the students at Daniell Middle School are in the Band? 6 grade students meet on a daily basis in beginning band classes, and the 7 and 8 grade students are enrolled in either concert or symphonic band classes. Additionally, 7 and 8 grade band students have many opportunities for enrichment. For example, 38 students are preparing music for Solo and Ensemble which takes place on November 8, and 32 students are preparing for the Honor Band/All State audition which takes place on December 6. 7 and 8grade band students can also participate in extracurricular ensembles. The Daniell Percussion Ensemble has 8 members who rehearse after school on Wednesdays, the Daniell Woodwind Ensemble has 13 members who rehearse before school on Fridays, and the first rehearsal for the Daniell Jazz Band is coming up on October 6. We’re expecting a big turnout for that rehearsal and these students will meet every Monday before school to learn about and how to perform jazz and related styles of music. These ensembles will prepare for performances at school and for community functions.

We are also pleased to announce that the Daniell Band recently completed a fully funded DonorsChoose project. Two iPads for students use are in the process of being shipped to Daniell. We hope to pursue additional projects in the future.

If you have the opportunity to come hear us perform this year, we hope you’ll join us! If you’re not attending Daniell yet, we hope that you’ll make the choice that so many have done before you – be a part of the band! There’s a place for everyone in the Daniell Band.

All students will have the opportunity to see the production of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe during their Connections classes on Monday, November 17, 2014. It is dramatized by Le Clanche Du Rand, based on the story by C.S. Lewis, and directed by GET Educaton Director Laurel Crowe. During the production, four actors will portray Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan in their thrilling adventures in Narnia.

An experience tailor-made for middle school students, Courage collides the contemporary experience of today with Stephen Crane’s classic tale, The Red Badge of Courage. Courage re-examines the classic story through the lens of the courageous tales of grown-up challenges facing young people in contemporary Atlanta. Fall into the imagination of characters who explore themes of isolation, respect, duty, and courage through homework, video games, and long waits at the bus stop.

The Daniell Media Center is converting into a Learning Commons. We are a Cobb County pilot school for this new program. The goal of a Learning Commons is to “provide a centralized go-to location for all users seeking help with teaching, researching, and being a global citizen.” A library organized in this way fosters collaborative work and social interaction among users during research and learning. Our goal is to create a bustling place where students’ needs are met and where they want to be. This is a huge shift from the quiet place to just check out books, and we are excited about it.

We are not getting rid of all of the books! We have been weeding out the old dated books that are not being used by our students so that they can see the great relevant books that are available. We have removed several shelves and made room for new technologies. As online resources are often more up to date, we find our students getting more of their factual information from the Internet, so we are focusing on more digital resources for most types of research. As always, we will have a book budget and will continue to purchase new books. We will continue to focus on supporting both the curriculum and our student’s pleasure reading needs in print and digital form. Our e-book collection is off to a great start on the Mackin Via page, which houses the Cobb Digital library, and will continue to grow there.

In terms of physical space, we have ordered new tables and chairs which will arrive in September. These are on wheels so that they can be rearranged for collaboration according to each student’s needs, Crossview Baptist Church has sent volunteers to help us apply a clean coat of paint to the walls, and we are trying to make a more open uncluttered space for moving furniture around and allowing for collaboration and flexibility. We will be providing creative spaces with accessibility to things like scissors, markers, and glue sticks as well as moving my desk out of the office and turning that area into a quiet studio area for students who are doing digital projects that require recording narration or who need a silent place to work.

This transformation is a work in progress and will be continuing throughout the school year. Come by and see the difference!

Visual Art Comprehensive, the required high school class for all subsequent visual arts classes, is now being offered to Daniell students. We are excited to offer this year long class to our 8 grade students for the first time. With the support of Mr. Nelson and our administration and the leadership of Mrs. Cara Hawkins, Daniell Fine Arts Instructor, the art department has grown tremendously over the last five years. Some middle schools in the county are offering this class to a few or a class of 8grade students but we have two very full classes of students who will leave Daniell with this high school credit under their belt.

Taught by Mrs. Cara Hawkins, it is a rigorous art class with great demands on the students where maturity, creativity and responsibility each play a big part. Each student will create their own art website where they will submit assignments electronically. In addition, students will participate in 4 Common Core performance tasks (1 per 9 week quarter). These tasks will be submitted online and be assessed at the county-level. Take a look at the Daniell Art website at http://daniellstudentart.weebly.com/ where you can see the syllabus, and student websites. You can follow Mrs. Hawkins” blog which can be accessed on the Daniell website under faculty and staff. We are looking forward to a great year of watching these artists blossom.

Mrs. Becky Forbes, teacher in Technology & Engineering, will have the pleasure of exposing over our J. J. Daniell students to our phenomenal trend setting curricula in her Technology class. In addition to students learning our new Solid Works engineering 3D software and printing designs on our new Stratasys 3D printer, students are now learning how to integrate math, physics, physical science, and many technology skills utilizing our new Lego Mindstorm EV3 robots.

Please encourage your students to sign up for the Technology course and Mr. Hawlk’s robotics team each year. There are only 8 of 24 middle schools thus far able to provide this type of education in Cobb County.

The 2014 CRCT results have been released. Daniell students performed above the state mean score for 6, 7, and 8 grades in reading, language arts, science, and social studies. Click here to learn more.

Once again, 100% of the Daniell students in the super advanced math class, Coordinate Algebra/Analytic Geometry have meet and exceeded standards on their End-of-Course-Test (EOCT). 18 of 34 students who took the EOCT exceeded. One student even made a perfect score.

This past week, four Daniell teachers were recognized for their service and contribution to the students of Cobb County and Daniell Middle School. From left to right, Mrs. Janes Sanders, Mrs. Rebecca Tidwell, Principal Nelson, Mrs. Dutch Kral, and Mrs. Margaret Lile. During their service at Daniell, the student achievement scores have never been so high. Their service has been invaluable in helping ensure students are prepared to high school success.

Please join us in celebrating the careers of these individuals and their commitment to students.