Specialty Classes
Specialists teach classes in foreign languages, music, art, physical education, library and computer skills.
Foreign Languages
Several languages are introduced in Primary classroom activities. When children enter first grade, parents choose between Spanish and French studies. First and second graders take foreign language once a week; for third through sixth grade, foreign language classes meet twice a week. Weekly French or Spanish lunches reinforce fluency and field trips take advantage of New York's cultural resources.
Choral Music And Strings
Music is part of every celebration at MMS. Monthly assemblies and special events bring students together in song. Weekly chorus prepares students to perform at neighborhood senior homes and citywide contests. Voice and string recitals and the school musical are featured every school year. Extended day students receive instruction in beginners violin, and in first grade children opt to study violin or cello.
Art
Our rooftop art studio provides the perfect setting for art instruction in drawing, sculpting, pottery, and painting. Students enrich their classroom journals with botanical drawings, calligraphy, maps, tessellations, and architectural sketches.
Physical Education
Physical education begins in the Primary years with an emphasis on motor coordination, physical fitness, body control and fun. Older children play sports, learn team building, rules of the game, and good sportsmanship, often using Riverside Park for recess.
Library
Our library is well stocked with current books. The fulltime librarian advises children on book selections, research projects and conducts story time.
Computer Skills
Computers are located in the library and Upper Elementary classrooms. Students practice the basics of word processing and keyboarding by using writing programs and educational software.
Environmental Stewardship Program
Our commitment to Environmental Stewardship is visible everywhere at MMS: our rooftop garden; our healthy food program; our care of the street trees outside the school building; and, in our participation in the Black Rock Forest Consortium. MMS students have access to 4,000 acres of woods and wilderness at Black Rock Forest, which also serves as a research and teaching laboratory north of New York City. Students learn about nature with first-hand observations of the topography of the forest and the indigenous species of flora and fauna. Even our youngest students have tapped trees for maple syrup, built a bridge and hiked through a variety of trails. Additionally, nearby Riverside Park and Central Park have been used by many of our classes for further investigations and observations of nature. Each Primary classroom is responsible for a section of our rooftop garden.
Before- and After-School Activities
Lively before- and after-school programs offer classes ranging from chess and soccer to puppetry and dance.