Welcome!
At Dunn Middle School we are committed to making the critical middle school years of our students some of the most productive, transformative, and memorable years of their lives. These are the years when children should have the opportunity to try things that don’t always work without the fear of failure, ridicule, or disapproval. Kids should enjoy the innocence of childhood while learning how to work hard and take responsibility for getting where they want to go. It is during the middle school years that many students discover their passions, and each child begins to develop his/her potential.
We help make this happen by being a place where kids are encouraged to be kids while being challenged by a rigorous core academic program. Core academics are supplemented by diverse enrichment opportunities that expose students to what might later become their calling. Underlying this structure is the carpe diem spirit – a culture of minimizing lost opportunities and maximizing participation. Students learn to be doers rather than bystanders, whether in the classroom, on the volleyball court, at the pottery wheel, or catching a wave on a surfboard.
At Dunn Middle School we are committed to making the critical middle school years of our students some of the most productive, transformative, and memorable years of their lives. These are the years when children should have the opportunity to try things that don’t always work without the fear of failure, ridicule, or disapproval. Kids should enjoy the innocence of childhood while learning how to work hard and take responsibility for getting where they want to go. It is during the middle school years that many students discover their passions, and each child begins to develop his/her potential.
We help make this happen by being a place where kids are encouraged to be kids while being challenged by a rigorous core academic program. Core academics are supplemented by diverse enrichment opportunities that expose students to what might later become their calling. Underlying this structure is the carpe diem spirit – a culture of minimizing lost opportunities and maximizing participation. Students learn to be doers rather than bystanders, whether in the classroom, on the volleyball court, at the pottery wheel, or catching a wave on a surfboard.
Academics
At Dunn Middle School students are enrolled in four core academic classes: math, science, language arts, and social studies. These classes meet for 50 minutes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Classes meet for 35 minutes on Wednesdays. With an average of 10 years of teaching experience, our teachers capably employ a full range of traditional and progressive teaching strategies where genuine problem solving takes place. Long and short-term projects, cooperative learning, hands-on activities, and workshop style learning are emphasized. Each subject is taught by a teacher who specializes in that field.
Students at DMS learn by doing rather than merely watching and listening. In history classes and writer's workshops, students learn the crafts of the historian and the writer from the inside out through reenactments, role playing and storytelling. Math classes regularly relate problems to real life experience, thereby teaching students how to apply what they have learned in addition to knowing fundamental skills. In science classes students frequently design and conduct their own experiments, thus gaining a true sense of what scientist actually do. Students gain a degree of mastery for the discipline of each subject through hard work, trial and error, and watchful mentoring.
Science and social studies classes rotate through a 3-year sequence of topics. Thus, students in all grade levels are studying the same general topics at any point in time, creating a sense that students in all grades are working towards common academic goals. This serves to strengthen the family-like atmosphere that exists at DMS and allows for projects that span grade levels. The topic rotation in social studies is: Ancient Civilizations, Medieval Times, and American History. The rotation in science is: Water, Fire, and Eggs. Throughout this rotation, the language arts and math classes adapt their readings and projects to overlap with and reinforce the topics in social studies and science. Material students learn in their classes is reinforced and shared at community gatherings such as the: East Meets West Festival, Mythology Festival, Science Fair, Astronomy Night, Math Olympics, and Greek Festival.
Students at DMS learn by doing rather than merely watching and listening. In history classes and writer's workshops, students learn the crafts of the historian and the writer from the inside out through reenactments, role playing and storytelling. Math classes regularly relate problems to real life experience, thereby teaching students how to apply what they have learned in addition to knowing fundamental skills. In science classes students frequently design and conduct their own experiments, thus gaining a true sense of what scientist actually do. Students gain a degree of mastery for the discipline of each subject through hard work, trial and error, and watchful mentoring.
Enrichment
Dunn Middle School offers art and enrichment opportunities of unrivaled breadth and depth. Enrichment periods at DMS are filled with the sounds of music, hammers and saws, foreign languages, and students practicing their lines for plays. These are accompanied by the smell of pies baking and the sights of digital photos, paintings, wire sculptures, and pottery.
Enrichment classes meet daily. Sixth graders take various music classes throughout the year while students in seventh and eighth grade choose between Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. All students also choose from a diverse list of electives which include: Surfing, Knitting, Writing for a Cause, Improv, Gourmet Cooking, Bicycling, Woodshop, Swamp Cooking, Ceramics, Theatre, Winter Planting, WebPages, Intro to Painting, and many more.
Elective classes run for 6-week blocks. Enrichment electives are scheduled in two ways. Many meet for 50 minutes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and are integrated into the daily rotation of classes. Wednesday afternoon electives are 2.5 + hours long and regularly enable us to take students off campus to learn about their local community.
Enrichment classes meet daily. Sixth graders take various music classes throughout the year while students in seventh and eighth grade choose between Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. All students also choose from a diverse list of electives which include: Surfing, Knitting, Writing for a Cause, Improv, Gourmet Cooking, Bicycling, Woodshop, Swamp Cooking, Ceramics, Theatre, Winter Planting, WebPages, Intro to Painting, and many more.
Athletics
Since its founding days, Dunn School has subscribed to the belief that participation in organized athletics is essential to the well-rounded development of our students as they challenge their own perceived limitations. Through athletics, students are encouraged to develop confidence and leadership skills while learning the value of teamwork and fair play. Coaches emphasize participation and good sportsmanship, with the expectation that every team member contributes his/her best effort to the group.
Dunn Middle School is a member of the Santa Ynez Valley Middle School Sports League and competes with students from seven other private and public middle schools in the valley. Competitive sports include coed baseball, boys and girls volleyball, boys and girls basketball, and boys and girls tennis.
Each DMS student is required to participate in at least one team sport each year, but most students choose to compete in two or three. Practices are held Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays during the regular academic day, and healthy competitions are held on weekday afternoons and evenings.
In the off seasons, students maintain their physical readiness in P.E. classes. The goal of the PE program is to help students develop the habit of maintaining a physically healthy lifestyle through exercise, goal-setting, intellectual stimulation, game playing, teamwork, and fun. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a diverse array of traditional and non-traditional sports such as Frisbee golf, badminton, yoga, and swimming. We run a P.E. program that physically and mentally challenges students to expand their horizons.
Dunn Middle School is a member of the Santa Ynez Valley Middle School Sports League and competes with students from seven other private and public middle schools in the valley. Competitive sports include coed baseball, boys and girls volleyball, boys and girls basketball, and boys and girls tennis.
Each DMS student is required to participate in at least one team sport each year, but most students choose to compete in two or three. Practices are held Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays during the regular academic day, and healthy competitions are held on weekday afternoons and evenings.
Admission
Thank you for your interest in Dunn Middle School. Our program nurtures the wonder of youth to foster the skills necessary for success in future academic and creative endeavors. We hope that you find this section informative, and we look forward to working with you through the application process.
Step 1. Request information
If you would like to receive a viewbook and application, please call (686-4823) or email (admissions@dunnschool.org) the Dunn School Admission Office.
Step 2. Complete the application
Complete applications must be submitted by March 15, 2011 to qualify for our priority round of admissions. Please click here to download the application.
Step 3. Register for the DMS Placement Test and Schedule an Interview
DMS applicants for all grades need to take a placement test. Please refer to the right hand column for dates and times. This test is used to assess and place new students in appropriate level classes in math and English. Upon completion of the placement test, applicants will have a 20-30 minute interview with an admission representative. Please call or email Chris Young at 686-4823 or cyoung@dunnschool.org to register for a testing/interview date.
Step 4. Attend an Open House
We have two Open Houses scheduled for the 2010/11 admission season. Please refer to the right hand column for dates and times. Each Open House will consist of an overview of the DMS curriculum and a student-led tour of campus. A question and answer session will conclude the event.
DMS Admission Season Opens
December 10, 2011
DMS Open House 3-5pm
January 14, 2012
DMS Open House 3-5pm
February 4, 2012
DMS Placement Test 9-11am
March 3, 2012
DMS Placement Test 9-11am
March 15, 2012
Completed Applications Due
April 1, 2012
Decision Letters mailed
Step 1. Request information
If you would like to receive a viewbook and application, please call (686-4823) or email (admissions@dunnschool.org) the Dunn School Admission Office.
Step 2. Complete the application
Complete applications must be submitted by March 15, 2011 to qualify for our priority round of admissions. Please click here to download the application.
DMS applicants for all grades need to take a placement test. Please refer to the right hand column for dates and times. This test is used to assess and place new students in appropriate level classes in math and English. Upon completion of the placement test, applicants will have a 20-30 minute interview with an admission representative. Please call or email Chris Young at 686-4823 or cyoung@dunnschool.org to register for a testing/interview date.
Step 4. Attend an Open House
We have two Open Houses scheduled for the 2010/11 admission season. Please refer to the right hand column for dates and times. Each Open House will consist of an overview of the DMS curriculum and a student-led tour of campus. A question and answer session will conclude the event.
Key Application Dates
November 1, 2011DMS Admission Season Opens
December 10, 2011
DMS Open House 3-5pm
January 14, 2012
DMS Open House 3-5pm
February 4, 2012
DMS Placement Test 9-11am
March 3, 2012
DMS Placement Test 9-11am
March 15, 2012
Completed Applications Due
April 1, 2012
Decision Letters mailed