The Latest at CSS-MSE

CSS Faculty Votes on House Names

admin — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 18:37:44 -0400

After much deliberation and discussion, the CSS-MSE faculty has arrived at the names of the "Houses" for the incoming 6th grade class. Houses are named to honor heroes of knowledge, whose stories exemplify a lived commitment to the pursuit of truth, beauty, and human progress. Houses of 32 students travel together through their core classes and their seven years at CSS-MSE.

The incoming class of 2015 will be divided into the following houses:

Carson: Named after Rachel Carson, naturalist, author, and catalyst of the modern environmentalist movement.

Gaudi: Named after Antoni Plàcid Guillem Gaudí i Cornet, reknowned Catalan (an autonomous region of Spain) architect whose unique work has had profound influence on modern building and design.

Curie: Named after Marie Curie, a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, the only person honored with Nobel Prizes in two different sciences (Chemistry and Physics), and the first female professor at the University of Paris.

The houses of the class of 2016 will be named after Hypatia, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein.

New Students: Bridge 2 School Program Starts August, 25th

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:54:08 -0400

All new CSS students (incoming 6th grade and NEW 7th grade) are required to attend our summer bridge program, from Aug 25th-29th.

Students and parents, please follow these links to learn more:

The first day of classes for returning 7th graders is Tuesday, Sept 2.

CSS-MSE Wins West-Side Spirit's "New and Noteworthy Middle School," Blackboard Award

admin — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:52:10 -0400

Based on school statistics and the reviews of parents and students, CSS-MSE is proud to announce that we have won the 2008 Blackboard award: "New and Noteworthy Middle School." We owe great thanks to the founding students, parents, and the tireless faculty who have helped us build a school worthy of such recognition. Congrats everyone!

New York Spanish Language Newspaper, El Diario, Features CSS-MSE Island Biodiversity Field Course

admin — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:45:28 -0400

The story of our Island Biodiversity mini-semester course, which included two intense weeks of outdoor learning in Puerto Rico, was picked up by the prominent New York Spanish language newspaper, El Diario. Read and see the online version here!

CSS Learning Environment Survey Results Top the City

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:42:44 -0400

Early this Spring, 52 parents (56%), 6 teachers (100%), and 87 students (93%) submitted a detailed survey administered by NYCDOE to assess the learning environment of schools. CSS is proud to report that our results were among the very top in the city in all categories addressed by the survey.

Using a scale that compares CSS to all other middle schools in the city as a percentage, with 100% being the highest scoring school in the city, the following results are based on an average of parent, teacher, and student responses:

Academic Expectations: 107.4%
Communication: 100%
Engagement: 113.8%
Safety and Respect: 93.9%

*Note that because the survey was done in early Spring these results do not reflect our highly successful June mini-semester courses!

We congratulate the CSS Faculty and Staff, on whose dedicated and passionate shoulders most of the burden and joy of running this school falls, for their extraordinary dedication and service. We also want to thank the parents and students for believing and supporting us in this dream of building CSS together. Lastly, we want to thank Columbia University, for providing us with critical support in this first year of our institutional life.

To see the full results of the Learning Environment Survey for the Columbia Secondary School, we invite you to visit this link.

J-Term Courses End the Year with Gusto!

admin — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:16:53 -0400

Part of what makes CSS-MSE's program unique is the J-Term, a third, month-long semester dedicated to interdisciplinary field learning. This year's J-Term courses included:

Architecture in the City: A NYC-based study of the history and engineering of our buildings, bridges, and parks.
Island Biodiversity: Students performed in-depth research on a variety of tropical organisms and experienced 2 weeks of camping in Puerto Rico , with field expeditions to study marine and forest ecosystems.
Water: From Source to Sink to Sewer. (link to website) A study of the history, engineering, and ecology behind NYCs water supply and sewage systems. As part of this course, students embarked on numerous field expeditions in the Hudson river watershed, including a week expedition upstate New York studying watershed ecology.

Students closed these experiences with culminating projects and multi-media presentations to their classmates during the final days of the school year. What a way to end!

Prof. Nalley Rakes in Two Prestigious Teaching Awards!

admin — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:13:18 -0400

It is with great pleasure and much pride that we announce that Prof. Chance Nalley, CSS-MSE Professor of Math-Coordinator of Afterschool Programs, and 7th grade Faculty Team Leader, has won the Math for America - Master Teacher award as well as the 2008 Blackboard Outstanding Math Teacher Award!

Barnes and Noble Hosts CSS-MSE Bookfair and Student Authors Celebration

admin — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:42:14 -0400

Creative Arts Spring Spectacular Potluck: Encore!

admin — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:36:43 -0400

On Friday, May 16th, CSS families filled the gymnasium with enthusiasm and home-cooked food to celebrate our Creative Arts Program at the second semester Creative Arts Spectacular Potluck and Performances!

Chairity 2008 Finalists Raise $425 for Non-Profit Organizations

admin — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:46:17 -0400

Students didn't believe it was possible. To build a chair out of reused cardboard (using no adhesives) that could support the weight of an adult seemed impossible enough. That their product could be auctioned online and sold to raise money for charity was beyond comprehension. "Who would want one of these things?" many students pondered as they wrestled with their de