Our School

History

The word "piccowaxen" is a Native American term meaning "ragged, pierced, or broken shoes/torn moccasin." Long before Maryland was settled, it was home to a confederacy of 327 villages of the Piscataway tribe. (Piscataway means joining of water.) The area of Southern Charles County (now known as Cobb Island, Rock Point, and Newburg) were the villages of the subtribe Conoy, which means whirlpool. A subtribe of the Piscataway-Conoy was the Piccowaxen tribe. There are many families of the Piscataway-Conoy who still live in the area.

The language of these villages was Algonquin, a term that represents a combination of similar languages of many tribes of the northeastern seaboard. Algonquin is a language rich in descriptive terms. In the early 1700s, the Piscataway tribes were put under the protection of the Iroquois Confederacy (New York and Canada) by Maryland's Governor Bradford as a strategy to reduce the Native American population. Many Piscataway tribes were moved north; however, the borders were closed and the remaining tribes stayed when the Susquehanna, a warring tribe located in Pennsylvania, began to encroach and protective assistance was needed for the settlers.

Our Mission

Through the guidance of a dedicated, caring, and talented staff, Piccowaxen Middle School's mission is to promote social, academic, and behavioral success for students and most importantly, instill a positive attitude toward life-long learning.

Our Vision

To accelerate academic achievement through authentic experiences that provide students the opportunity to explore and problem solve as well as opportunities to learn through cross curricular integrated curriculum. To provide a safe learning and work environment and look for ways to build home-school-business-community partnerships. To value and promote high quality instruction through professional learning communities that are committed to improving instruction and to create opportunities for success in college and careers for ALL students.

There is a procedure in place for the periodic collaborative review of the school vision by the school community. Piccowaxen's protocol is to solicit input and review the vision at the opening faculty meeting each year as well as the first PTO meeting of the year. This review took place at the August 19, 2013 faculty meeting. The vision and new protocol was also reviewed at the January 13, 2014 PTO meeting.

Our Motto

Strong Instruction, Strong Relationships, and Strong Classroom Management

Our Pledge
By my words and actions, I pledge to be respectful, responsible, safe, and proud, and remember, you can’t hide that Picco Pride!