Exploratories
First Flight Middle School students participate each day in non core classes, including the required Healthful Living, and another of their choosing. It is a great way to examine areas of interest such as music or STEM!
Art
Jennifer Stewart is the Art teacher at First Flight Middle School. She expands on the elementary foundation in understanding and skills in the visual arts in an exploratory manner consistent with Dare County’s curriculum. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students form a broader knowledge and understanding of our rich and diverse historical and cultural heritage through art. Students explore a variety of media as they continue to build their skills through drawing, printmaking, sculpting, painting, metalwork, sculpture, and weaving. Composition, technique, the elements and principles of design, and attention-to-detail are explored. Art history, art appreciation, problem solving, and critical thinking are integrated into lessons.
AVID
AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) is an elective class offered to 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students who would like to prepare for four-year colleges and universities. Students must have satisfactory citizenship, regular attendance, and teacher recommendations. Applicants must be motivated to work toward college eligibility. AVID students are selected through an interview process while in elementary school. Ms. Hillary Szalkiewicz leads the AVID program at FFMS.
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
The mission of Career and Technical Education (CTE) at First Flight Middle School is to empower students for effective participation in the international economy as world-class workers and citizens. CTE programs are designed to contribute to the broad educational achievement of students, including basic skills, as well as their ability to work independently and as part of a team, think creatively and solve problems, and utilize technology in the thinking and problem solving process.
Our CTE teachers Brandon Woods and Liz Gray bring a wealth of experience to FFMS. CTE courses that are currently offered at First Flight Middle School include: Keyboarding and Basic Word Processing, Coding, Exploring Engineering and Design, and Exploring Technology.
Healthful Living
The FFMS Healthful Living Department is comprised of Meredith Harris, Solomon Dixon, Kim Young, Tray Scott and Kristy Poulos. Our goal is to develop an overall level of physical fitness incorporating strength, agility, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, and balance. We guide the students through activities that encourage teamwork, cooperation, good sportsmanship and respect for others. In health class, we focus on having students understand and practice habits of safe living. We plan to better equip each student with the ability to make healthy choices for a lifetime. A healthy mind and body, as well as emotional well-being, contribute to a student’s success in middle school and throughout life. We hope to empower students with the ability to become active, productive citizens in their communities.
Music
The First Flight Middle School Music Department is under the direction of Suzanne Blackstock (Band), John Buford (Chorus), and Abby Carothers (Orchestra). The music department features five performing ensembles: the Seahawk Band, Seahawk Chorus, Seahawk String Orchestra, Beginning Band, and Jazz Ensemble. Students perform several concerts each year including the Halloween Spooktacular, Oktoberfest, Winter Concert, and Spring Pops on the Lawn. They also perform throughout the community at events such as the Kill Devil Hills Ice Cream Social, Elizabethan Gardens WinterLights, Hotline Festival of Trees, Special Olympics, Relay for Life, Manteo First Friday, and the Baum Center. The music department culminates each year with an annual trip to Old Dominion University and Busch Gardens for the Performing Arts Consultants Music Festival PAC for a Day.
Theatre Arts
Students enrolled in Theatre Arts classes will study Pantomime, Voice, Improvisation, Characterization, and Reading/Writing Scripts following a traditional plot order. They will examine formal and informal dramatic production and communication, and will learn to identify plot structure and themes within a dramatization scene by scene. Students will work collaboratively to research necessary technical work that goes into productions including costumes, set, props, sound, lighting, and structure/organization of all the elements, focusing on what impact these technical elements have on the production. They will also explore different historically and/or culturally significant forms of theatre and a wide range of modern applications for the art of acting beyond theatre, and will demonstrate appropriate theatre etiquette every time they function as an audience member, performer, or technician. The Theater Arts program is led by Ms. AJ Adams.
Ms. Adams also teaches Photography and Web Design to 8th grade students.
