BRANDYWINE HUNDRED — A change in scheduling philosophy is poised to make a big difference in the academic experience of middle school students at Immaculate Heart of Mary School in north Wilmington. In particular, the move to block scheduling, introduced last year, proved to be a huge success, according to principal Tina Morroni.
Block scheduling, which provides an opportunity for students to meet every day for a period of time instead of once a week for a semester or school year, allows teachers to get more in-depth, and students take the subject more seriously with better success, she said.
At IHM, the scheduling has been implemented for “specials,” such as music, art and computer science.
“Middle schoolers don’t always take those kinds of courses seriously, especially if they’re only visiting the teacher once a week. In an actual middle school model, the students in those courses are starting to branch into areas of interest that feed ultimately into pathways of practice in high school.”
This year, the number of specials available will expand. Students were asked to choose two, and most will get their top two options. All students will take physical education, health and technology. Fifth- and seventh-graders will take a general art course, while sixth- and eighth-grade students will take music. Students were surveyed on what they would like to have available. Morroni said IHM has added a class on watercolors, print design, ukulele, guitar, keyboarding and music production, as well as coding and yearbook.
Coding has been very popular, she continued. A lot of the eighth-graders have chosen the yearbook course. Ukelele has been offered in the past as part of the music curriculum, and students have performed on the instrument at the school Christmas show.
“This is actually like a ukulele 2 for students who want to go in greater depth past what they perhaps have been generally exposed to as a part of the general music class. It’s very popular,” Morroni said.
When Morroni arrived at Immaculate Heart four years ago, younger students were learning on recorders, a woodwind instrument, and the ukulele “was a spinoff of some degree.” It provided exposure to another instrument that is relatively easy to learn, she said, and something the school could keep on hand without an inordinate investment.
“When we thought we’d try it, we didn’t have any idea how successful it would be, and it was hugely successful,” she said.
She credits her specials teachers for coming up with multiple ideas of courses that could be added without too many prerequisites. Not every idea has been implemented, but the staff will keep an eye on what works and what is popular. Morroni said the mandolin could come in the future.
Those classroom additions are not the only changes this year at IHM. There were some physical improvements over the summer as well. The girls’ bathrooms have been renovated and now have new partitions and touchless faucets. There is new lighting in the hallways and new vinyl flooring around the wood floor in the gymnasium and in the stairwell leading to the cafeteria. The school office also has new carpeting, and Morroni can take advantage of an updated bell and intercom system.
Outside, LED lights were planned for the parking lot and also for the soccer field that sits behind the school.
