ART

Students who elect Visual Arts will explore art making beyond pen and paper, venturing into three-dimensional art like sculpting and building. While creating their own projects, students will learn about the work of Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and George Segal.

Students love taking art at Davidsen because while they work independently, they can also discuss their ideas and plans with other student artists and have a place to share their creations. They also love having access to the interesting media and tools we provide in the classroom. Young people greatly benefit from making art because they practice creative problem solving, learn to think outside of the box, appreciate and give constructive criticism, and most importantly, they get to experience that wonderful feeling of personal success that comes with creating art. Visual Arts is currently available to 7th and 8th graders.

AVID

AVID’s mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. Students meet one period a day in the AVID elective and learn a variety of skills that will be used in all of their core classes (language arts, math, science, social studies). Students receive instruction on study skills, organization and higher-level thinking. They will also participate in collaborative study groups twice a week. Your child will have the opportunity to continue on the AVID path through high school as well. By incorporating strategies to become better readers and writers and collaborating with both their fellow students as well as adults, and getting organized, AVID students can reach their academic goals and beyond. With hard work and AVID, students have the tools to succeed.

BAND

Whether you have already started learning an instrument or you are just curious, playing in the school band is one of the best ways to expand your horizons by joining forces with other musicians. Tune into the beautiful language of music as a member of Davidsen Band and enjoy playing music every day in school!

6th Grade Students learn basic music reading and techniques, performing on a band instrument, and being a part of a large ensemble.

7th Grade Players expand on their knowledge and begin to perform more complex band pieces.

8th Grade Players will be performing higher grade music as a means to grow as musicians and prepare for high school band. They will be competing in district competitions.

Jazz Ensemble Advanced players may join the jazz ensemble in 8th grade where we will perform in extra special events.

What styles of music do students play? Students learn a wide range of music from different eras and styles. We play everything from Pop music to Folk songs along with more traditional marching band music.

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY

Students who choose Business Technology get a head start in office skills from typing, all the way to Entrepreneurship and Small Business Certification (high school credit). In addition, in Coding Fundamentals students build a personal website using basic HTML coding, and Interactive Games with Drag-and-Drop JavaScript Blocks.

Business Keyboarding – 6th Grade (Q2,3,4)

Computer Applications in Business – 7th and 8th Grade Mixed (Fall Semester)

Coding Fundamentals – 7th and 8th Grade Mixed (Spring Semester)

Digital Information Technology – 8th Grade High School Credit (Full Year)

CHORUS

Davidsen Middle School offers a variety of choral and vocal performance opportunities. We perform three major concerts a year: The fall concert in October, the winter on concert in December, and the spring concert at the very end of April. Students are also offered the opportunity to audition for and participate in the Florida All-State Chorus, Hillsborough County All-County Chorus, Solo and Ensemble, Barbershop Harmony Day, as well as various solo spots during our three annual concerts. At Davidsen, we offer four different choruses. We have a seventh and eighth grade women’s chorus, seventh and eighth grade men’s chorus, seventh and eighth grade Vocal Jazz ensemble, and a sixth grade chorus, during second semester.

CULINARY ARTS

Do you think you might make a great chef one day? Would you love to work in the restaurant business? Maybe you simply are a true "foodie"? If you answered yes to any of these, Culinary might be for you!
As a 7th or 8th grader in Chef Toner's culinary classes, you'll get to learn about and experience what it's like to be in the food business.

What techniques do your students get to practice and what general terminology do they learn?

We learn basic Culinary Terms for the Front of the House and the Back of the house. We also learn how to work with yeast breads, quick breads, and laminate doughs and biscuits. Some techniques we learn are basic knife cuts like: Brunoise, Dice, Mince, and Chop. We also learn stocks and soups sauces, baking, roasting, frying, boiling, poaching, sautés.

Which cultural regions of cooking do you typically cover in your classes?

We learn Asian Cuisine, Italian Cuisine, American Cuisine, and French Cuisine.

How is the kitchen equipped and how often can students expect to be actually cooking?

We have two full kitchens and generally have labs at least twice a month. Students have a chance to serve their food to others in special seatings, and of course they get to eat whatever they make!

DANCE

Davidsen Middle School Center for the Arts launched the Davidsen Dance Program in 2017. We are delighted to bring dance into the daily lives of our talented and hard-working students. As proud members of a dance group, students learn choreography, dance terminology, nutrition, fitness/anatomy, history, and music for dance. Throughout the year during daily practice, dancers build class and performance etiquette, problem-solving skills, and safe studio practices within the dance environment. Most importantly, students showcase their work at the end of each semester to perform for their family and friends on the big stage in celebration of their achievements. The shows bring a beautiful highlight to each semester and have become a fan favorite and highly anticipated Davidsen tradition! Dance is available to all students, but rising 6th Graders who want to dance must fill out a request to take dance in 6th grade instead of P. E. Please contact Dance Department Head Julie Mac for more information on Davidsen Dance for 6th graders.

JOURNALISM & YEARBOOK

Selected journalism students will be responsible for creating the Davidsen Yearbook each year. Students will develop and grow basic journalism skills as well as learning about planning, design, photography, layout, and even the business of selling your product, the Yearbook.

Students in this class will be divided into teams with different roles to play in the process of creating a publication. Teams will work together to present and vote on a theme for the yearbook. This class is recommended for students who have a strong interest in creating content, telling stories, and being involved in the interests of the general student body.

ORCHESTRA

Students who have begun learning a stringed instrument privately will love playing as part of an orchestra. Students who are curious to learn are also encouraged to explore and find out if they find inspiration in the sounds of symphonic music and classical stringed instruments.

BEGINNING ORCHESTRA 1 (6th Grade)
Students learn and practice music reading and techniques, performing on their instrument, and being a part of an ensemble.

INTERMEDIATE ORCHESTRA 2 (7th Grade)
Players expand on their knowledge and begin to perform more complex orchestra pieces.

ADVANCED ORCHESTRA 3 (8th Grade)
Players will be performing higher grade music as a means to grow as musicians and prepare for high school orchestra and beyond. They will be competing in district competitions.

CHAMBER ENSEMBLE (by audition only) – Advanced players may join the Chamber Ensemble in 8th grade where we will have the opportunity to push their abilities each day and perform in extra special events.

SPANISH LANGUAGE

Beginning in 7th Grade, students can enroll in Beginning Spanish. In 8th Grade, students continue to Spanish I where they can earn high school credit. Students are evaluated for their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills throughout the semester and with a midterm and final test.

During the semester students participate in fun projects and activities that help them incorporate their new language skills. They will learn Spanish by making restaurant menus, creating flyers, drawings, and even acting out skits for their classmates. In Spanish class we also sing songs, dance, and learn new games as we study Spanish and Latin cultures.

Special Activities Students make a presentation of a Latin American country or famous Latin American person during the month of September, Hispanic Heritage Month. We also enjoy celebrating holidays like Dia de los Muertos, Cinco de Mayo, and Navidades.