Principal's Message
Dear MDMA Parents and Guardians:
It is amazing to think that we are already at the end of the school year. Over the past academic year our students have had many opportunities to demonstrate their hard work and knowledge academically, artistically, musically, and athletically. The closing of a school year is a great time to reflect on all that is going well at Miles Davis Magnet Academy. We have received wonderful accolades from the US Department of Education. The evaluators have recognized and praised our school for our many accomplishments over the past year. Teachers have worked collaboratively to create exciting units for our students and implement the Illinois Learning Standards. None of us could have imagined how MDMA would flourish as the first Children’s Engineering School in Chicago! Both students and staff have embraced the excitement of engineering along with all of the clubs and technology available to us. As you read our many accomplishments this year I think you will agree that our students have risen to meet all of the challenges presented to them this year.
As our accomplishments continue to grow, so does the administration and staff’s commitment to make Miles Davis Magnet Academy a first rate educational experience. Our goal is to assist each child achieve preparation for high school and college. Our faculty and staff are committed to this goal and we know that with the assistance of our parents and community, we can make dreams a reality.
The closing of a successful school year is a time to reflect on all that we have accomplished and plan for the future. As MDMA prepares for the 2010-2011 school year, our commitment to our students and community will be our top priority.
MDMA Happenings 2009-2010
Our teachers developed and taught engineering curriculum units in every class at every grade level, and we provided introductory engineering instruction for primary and intermediate-level students through Engineering is Elementary and specialized engineering instruction for our middle school students through Project Lead the Way’s Gateway to Technology.
Students from Miles Davis Magnet Academy participated in a variety of engineering-themed fieldtrips including trips to Lego Discoveryland and the Michigan Avenue Bridgehouse.
Miles Davis Magnet Academy developed partnerships with several engineering organizations, including the University of Illinois at Urbana, Purdue University and Project Syncere. As part of the school’s partnership with U of I, students attended a field trip to Urbana, where they participated in a Saturday Science activity,
This summer a group of our teachers will be travelling to the Purdue University to participate in engineering education activities through the College of Engineering’s INSPIRE Institute. Project Syncere, has partnered with Miles Davis Academy to provide professional development to our teachers and engineering activities for our students during summer day camp and after-school programming.
First grade students and their parents participated in Chicago Pre-College Science and Engineering program (ChiS&E). Students who participated in the program visited the Museum of Science and Industry on eight Saturdays during the school year. Students learned about chemical engineering and participated in hands-on activities with their parents.
Three teams of students participated in the First Lego League robotics competition. As part of the competition, students built robots to perform a set of challenge tasks. Students also wrote and performed skits on science and engineering topics and were judged on their teamwork and gracious professionalism. The middle school girls FLL team – the Angel Bots – won the best presentation award at the South Regional FLL competition and won an opportunity to compete in the state tournament.
A team of seventh grade students took part in the National Engineers Week Future City competition. As part of the competition, students created a city of the future using SimCity software. Students then created a model based on their city and wrote a research paper about emergency housing. Our Future City team won prizes at the competition for Best Mechanical Engineering, and a Go to 2040 award for best representing the principals of regional city planning.
Twelve teams of students in grades sixth through eighth prepared entries for the University of Illinois’ Middle School Design Competition (MSDC). As part of the university’s annual Engineering Open House the students traveled to Urbana to participate in the statewide MSDC contest.
Miles Davis Academy students were visited by the University of Illinois Extension’s Science on the Go mobile science bus. On board the bus students learned about worms, their lifecycle and the use of worms to recycle paper and food waste as compost.
Volunteer engineers visited classrooms at Miles Davis Magnet Academy to discuss careers in engineering and to help student with engineering design challenges. Volunteers included engineers from Motorola, IBM and Raytheon.
Miles Davis Magnet Academy held its first engineering day camp in the summer of 2009. At the camp, students learned about force and motion, rocketry, structures, and solar energy. Miles Davis Magnet Academy held its first engineering day camp in the summer of 2009. The 2nd annual MDMA Engineering Camp will be held June 28th – July 1st.
At the end of the school year, Miles Davis Academy held a special end-of-the-year event, Engineering My Future. At Engineering My Future, students displayed work from their Engineering is Elementary classes and from classroom engineering activities. During the event, students took part in competitions involving WeDo robotics, sumobots, dancing robots and rocketry. Students also watched a science show by Mad Science, and participated in hands-on activities related to solar energy.
Students took part in a chemistry club and participated in the citywide You Be the Chemist program. Students learned about chemistry and conducted experiments after school, and attended a culminating event at the Museum of Science and Industry.
The Chicago Younger Chemist Committee visited Miles Davis Magnet Academy and led kindergarten, seventh and eighth grade students in science activities. Kindergarten students learned about environmental engineering through donated aquariums, and the seventh and eighth grade students used liquid nitrogen to make ice cream.
Two girls’ math book clubs (a 5th/6th grade group and a 7th/8th grade group) met after school to read and discuss Math Doesn’t Suck and Kiss My Math, books that explain math principles using real world examples.
In the spring, third and fourth grade students took part in a WeDo robotics program after school. Through WeDo, students learned the fundamentals of robotics design and construction and discovered how to create software programs to operate robots.
Miles Davis students formed a National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Junior chapter. Student members of NSBE participated in a field trip to the DuPage County Engineering Expo where they participated in hands-on activities and met engineers who work in the Chicago area.
Three students from Miles Davis Magnet Academy were awarded scholarships to the Illinois Math and Science Academy’s summer day camp in Chicago, and four of our students will attend the camp.
Two teachers from our faculty made a presentation at the national Magnet Schools of America conference on the topic of integrating engineering instruction with other areas of the curriculum. Faculty members also attended national conferences on math, science and engineering to learn about best practices in their fields and to improve their classroom instruction.
Additional Student Clubs:
• Girl and Boy Scouts
• Boy’s and Girl’s Basketball
• Cheerleading
• Flag Football
• Chess Club
• Selective Enrollment Preparation Class
• Geek Squad
• Adobe Youth Voices
Additional MDMA Partnerships:
• Lindbloom High School
• Ghafari Engineering
• Illinois Department of Corrections
• Reach Leadership
• Not in My Shoes
• Team Englewood
• Chicago Police Department (Dare and Great Program)
• Illinois Math and Science Academy
• IIT
• Chicago State University
I believe that reading is the foundation for academic success. Research indicates that the more students read the better readers they become. In an effort to support our students become better readers your child is coming home with a reading log. Please encourage your child to read daily over the summer and return their reading logs to MDMA on the first day of school.
In closing, I want to thank all of the parents who have helped in such an incredible way this year. Your presence in our school truly makes us a community. I continue to be impressed by the support, trust, and energy that parents contribute to MDMA academics and activities.
Have a safe and restful summer! We look forward to seeing you on August 9th for the first day of school.
Warmest regards,
Cheryl Armstrong- Belt Kimberly Simon
Principal Assistant Principal