Student Life

At City Knoll Middle School, we guide and encourage our students to pursue opportunities which will shape their middle school experience within and beyond the classroom. In addition to our rigorous academic program, we offer a variety of programs to enrich, engage and acknowledge our students. Students can explore opportunities in the arts, athletics and academics and grow their perceptions of self.

Clubs & Activities

Geezer Gators Lego Robotics

Engaging in Lego Robotics provides a multitude of benefits for students. In addition to exposing and enriching students with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Lego Robotics has offered our students the following gains:

Deepen critical thinking and problem solving skills
Develop leadership and teamwork skills
Explore passion
Communicate across different technology platforms

In 2017-2018, our after-school Lego Robotics Team competed in the First Lego League, a global robotics competition, qualified for an invitational at the University of Arkansas and ranked 14th in the national competition. The following year the team ranked 5th in New York City and won the presentation award. In addition to being a source of pride for our school, it helped broaden our understanding of our students, who thrive when engaged in hands-on technology-based projects.

In response to our growing success with Lego Robotics as an afterschool program at City Knoll Middle School, we began offering Robotics in the 2019-2020 school year. Our Robotics Class offers coding fundamentals with a focus on automation. The legos are used for the application of code. Students begin with the coding framework called pseudocode and translate it into usable code to be uploaded onto the robot. The students analyze the data to improve on the code through the debugging process.

National Junior Honors Society

City Knoll Middle School has been a chapter of the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) since 2018. The NJHs is the nation's premier organization to recognize outstanding middle school students. NJHS serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, Character, and Citizenship. These characteristics have been associated with membership in the organization since its beginning in 1929.

In order to be considered for eligibility to NJHS, students must:

Demonstrate strength and commitment to the five pillars of NJHS (scholarship, leadership, service, citizenship and character)
Have a grade point average of 80 and above in all core subject areas
Complete the application process, which includes an essay of interest and commitment

Once eligible students have been approved by a selection committee, which includes the NJHS staff advisors, students participate in monthly NJHS meetings and engage in the required community service hours.

Student Council

The CKMS Student Council is a group of student leaders, elected by their peers, who work with two advisors to impact our school community in positive ways. The purpose of the student council is to give our students the opportunity to develop leadership by organizing and carrying out school activities and service projects. In addition to planning events that contribute to school spirit and community well-being, the student council is the voice of the student body. They help share student ideas, interests and concerns with the school-wide community.

The structure of the CKMS Student Council includes two student representatives for each grade (6-8) as well as a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.

In order to participate in student council, student members must maintain a minimum grade point average and uphold all NYC and school-wide behavioral and academic expectations.

Student of the Month

Every month, teachers collaborate in grade teams to determine a Student of the Month in each class based on criteria set by the team. Such criteria includes but is not limited to: students who show greatest improvement or greatest strength in a particular area, students who serve as role models for their peers, students who demonstrate good citizenship and/or students who exhibit a positive attitude towards learning.

During a monthly Town Hall Meeting, students, teachers, staff and administration gather to recognize the Students of the Month. Students of the Month are also invited to a special breakfast with administration.

Student Wellness Council

Studies show that there is a direct correlation between a healthy lifestyle and academic achievement. Therefore, in conjunction with the Office of School Wellness Programs, the CKMS School Wellness Council helps provide healthy lifestyle opportunities to our students, staff and families.

Some upcoming events provided by the School Wellness Council include:

Yoga classes
Family Dinner Night
Healthy eating and nutrition workshops
Fitness Wellness Week

In This Section

100 Cameras Art Spotlight

Photographers tell stories using images. One image or a series or group of images.

Our City Knoll photographers used images to tell stories. They used different elements including exposure, grid point, cropping, perspective, aperture and flash to help tell their story.