Electives

Our visual arts classes at CLMS learn about and use many forms of both two and three dimensional media in the creation of expressive works of art. Students work at their own pace. You will see paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramic pieces, metal tooling and etchings to name but a few of the areas of concentration. The bulk of what is learned is “hands on” experience. We display works throughout our school and also in at least four public exhibits a year. Students can even work toward developing a portfolio for future application for Harrison School of the Arts. So, let’s get creative!

All students have the option of joining band in their 6th grade year as a daily class. These students are then led through an evaluation process where ultimately a suitable instrument is selected for each student. Students then begin the process of learning to read, interpret and compose music. Beginning band students perform in the Winter and Spring Concerts each year and are invited to attend other band events as well.

Students who show growth and progression in 6th grade band are then moved up to Concert Band in 7th and 8th grade. The Concert Band focuses on further development of technical and musical skill. In addition to performing at the annual Winter and Spring Concerts, Concert Band is involved in other band activities such as the “All Star Slam Jam”, FSC Band Day, District Solo and Ensemble Festival and the annual Band Lock-in.

Those students who show above average progression and talent in 7th and 8th grade are invited to be members of the Symphonic Band. The Symphonic Band is our top performing group that is involved in several events in addition to all the Concert Band activities. Members of Symphonic Band have earned the opportunity to audition and perform in All – State Band, All- County Band, and the Polk Honor Band. Also, Symphonic Band performs twice a year for local elementary schools and each spring at the Middle School Music Performance Assessment where they are rated by judges in all the areas of musicality and sight reading.

The chorus here at Crystal Lake Middle School does a wonderful job and works very hard on all of their events.  They always do a super job performing at our Open House night and other events thru-out the school year.

Our Chorus director, Ms. Peacock, also prepares some students out of the chorus to go to All-State singing competition that focuses on music theory and sight singing. If selected, they will be a part of a mass choir.

Our school offers Spanish courses starting with Spanish for Beginners, and continuing with Spanish 1 and 2.

Spanish for Beginners is a fun, interactive course for middle school students filled with diverse, multimedia language activities. Students begin their introduction to Spanish by focusing on the four key areas of foreign language study: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each unit consists of a new vocabulary theme and grammar concept, reading and listening comprehension activities, speaking and writing activities, multimedia cultural presentations, and interactive activities and practices which reinforce vocabulary and grammar.

Spanish 1 will provide the student with a general introduction to the Spanish language: sound system, pronunciation, functional vocabulary related to everyday life, cultural information and basic grammatical structures. Emphasis will be on the acquisition of four skills: listening, speaking, reading and limited writing. There are two main objectives to the course. Foremost is to give the students the ability to carry on a simple conversation. The second is to provide the students with instruction that teaches a basic understanding of Spanish culture, vocabulary, and grammatical concepts.

Spanish 2 builds upon knowledge gained in Spanish 1. This course will also reinforce the skills learned in Spanish I: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Emphasis is on perfecting pronunciation, mastery of the basic grammatical structures, and increased communicative proficiency. Acquisition of functional vocabulary is expected. Students will be exposed to the past, imperfect, future, and progressive tenses. Students will be expected to apply them in their writing and speaking.
These courses are aligned with Sunshine State Standards. For a comprehensive listing of state standards, please visit: www.fldoe.org. If students meet the requirements, they can get high school credit in advance for Spanish 1 and 2.

We explore the many facets of video production. From developing ideas and turning them into stories to filming, editing, and showcasing the final product over the airwaves. This class is primarily focused on writing, producing, and distributing the daily news show at CLMS. We also compete in a countywide video competition every spring.  Students will receive the opportunity to work with professional level equipment and software.  This is truly a one-of-a-kind course taught by Mr. James Pennewell. We produce school news shows, commercials, Public Service Announcements, short films and skits, instructional films, parodies, and music videos. We use digital video cameras to capture our footage, Final Cut Pro editing software to piece our footage together to make a story, Apple and PC computers, and Garage Band software for creating music. If you have a desire to produce visual media, enjoy being creative and letting your imagination go wild, can work hard and exhibit dedication, then try out Instructional Television.  We would love to have you in our program.

Why Marine Science? Well, the oceans are part of a thin outer shell of the earth, and Marine Science, is the study of this envelope. From the deep sea, to the shallow coastal oceans, their biology, chemistry, geology, and physics, together, makes Marine Science a richly interdisciplinary science.

As a student in CLMS’s Marine Science classes, you will learn chemistry, mathematics, earth\space science, oceanography, topography, maritime history, and even how to set up and run a healthy salt water fish aquarium. The importance of the oceans, as it relates to the earth’s climate, food supplies and biological stability are being studied, recognized and appreciated every day.

The field of marine science is relatively small, only a few thousand people among six billion. Just a few jobs marine scientists enjoy, member of the United States Coast Guard, commercial fishermen, commercial/recreational divers, polar ice researchers, marine biologist, and of course, marine mammal trainers to name a few.

If you are interested in working in a dynamic environment using multidisciplinary techniques with colleagues who share a passion for the sea and all it has to offer, join us.

The orchestra at Crystal Lake is a vibrant and growing program.  Instruction is offered on the violin, viola, cello and string bass. We perform many different types of music including classical, mariachi, fiddling and pop. The groups perform throughout the year. In addition students from Crystal Lake Orchestra have participated in All County Orchestra, All State Orchestra, Solo and Ensemble and Music Performance Assessment. To participate it is recommended that you provide your own instrument but some instruments are provided on a limited basis. If you want to learn to play an instrument we will make it happen!

Crystal Lake Middle School’s Physical Education Department is not your average PE Dept.  At Crystal Lake Middle School, we pride ourselves in having a well-rounded, diverse program, combining both traditional Physical Education concepts with new-age technology in our program.

Inside our state-of-the-arts gym, you can see technology being integrated into our program on a regular basis. While in the gym, students can find a myriad of technology to use to enhance their physical well-being.

Our fitness center, which features treadmills, elliptical machines, and exercise bikes, as well as a flat screen, was the starting point for technology integration in our gym.
Since the creation of our fitness center, we have gone on to add several more exercise areas that infuse technology into the gym. We currently have 11 X-Box 360 Kinect game systems for students to participate in video game playing without the use of video game controllers. Of those 11 systems, 3 X-Box Kinect systems are dedicated to the Just Dance family of games. These games allow students to dance, move and exercise, all while listening to some of their favorite music.

Our newest addition to our gym is the Opti-Shot Golf Simulator. This simulator has allowed us to teach golf to our students, using motion sensor technology to track their swing, ball striking point, and distance the ball travelled – all in real time statistics. The ability to engage our students with golf, where they can play on real gold courses from around the world has been a great addition to our gym.

If you have not yet seen our gym, at Crystal Lake Middle school, we invite you to come down and check it out for yourself.

Robots and robotic technologies have an intellectual and emotional appeal that surpasses any other type of engineered product. This appeal has attracted the inquisitive minds of children and young adults.

These technologies represent a practical application of physics, computer science, engineering, and mathematics, and provide a very effective and flexible approach to demonstrate a range of engineering concepts. As a result, robotic technology and robots are being used by a growing number of educators at the college level to reinforce computer science and engineering theory, and to teach basic software and mechanical engineering at the grammar school, middle school and high school levels. For the younger learners, robots and robotic technologies offer them interest in the fields of science, mathematics and computer fundamentals, as well as teach them basic life skills such as: responsibility, problem solving, decision making, goal setting, self-esteem, logical thinking, sequencing, troubleshooting, modification skills, engineering basics and computer programming.

Crystal Lake Middle School uses the Project Lead the Way curriculum.