WELCOME FIELD FAMILIES!

? TRANSITION QUIZ?

Name one of the TOP FOUR challenges of students

moving from elementary to middle school?

LOCKERS!

Getting their locker open, grabbing their class binders and getting back to

class before the bell rings…. All in 3 Minutes!

Summer Practice can HELP!

THIS WE BELIEVE…(ADAPTED FROM AMLE)

ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTES OF A MIDDLE SCHOOL … Developmentally Responsive… We utilize the

nature of young adolescents to guide all decisions.

Challenging…We hold all members of our learning community to high expectations

Empowering…We provide students knowledge and skills to take responsibility for their life and learning.

Equitable…We believe all students have the right to a challenging and relevant learning environment

ON TO MIDDLE SCHOOL…

Bell schedule/ 7 - 51 minute periods Lunch & Recess -40 minutes total Lockers Weekly newsletters Daily B.E.S.T. class- Basic Enrichment

Skills Time Daily Advisory and 2nd Step lessons Strong community STARRR- Stop Think and Act

Responsible Respectful and Ready

Developmentally Responsive

DAILY SCHEDULE…School starts at 8:05 and ends at 2:35

8:05-8:56- First Period 8:59-9:50- Second Period 9:53-10:44 – Third Period (Specialists) 10:47-11:10 – Advisory 11:13-11:51 – Recess/Lunch 11:56- 12:47- Fifth Period 12:50-1:41- Sixth Period (Specialists) 1:44-2:35 – Fifth grade B.E.S.T period

SEVEN 51 minute periods with 3 minutes passing time

SPECIALIST CHOICES….Field students take a daily specialist course and choose

three specialists classes which meet on a three day rotation.

___ Media Technology ___ Physical Education ___ Art Choices ___ Spanish Foundations ___ French Foundations ___ Beginner Band ___ Varsity Band (experience) ___ Beginning Guitar ___ Intermediate Guitar ___ Beginner Strings ___ Varsity Strings (experience) ___ Concert Choir ___ Madrigals (audition)

DEVELOPMENTALLY RESPONSIVE

Daily Advisory 25 minute period before lunch aimed at building meaningful connections within a smaller class

Second Step-Social/Emotional curriculum Facilitated weekly (school wide) during Advisory. Topics include Empathy, Communication, Problem Solving, Bullying, Substance Abuse and Emotion Regulation strategies.

Student Voice- Student Council, Upstanders, Student Newsletter (after school opportunity)

Multiple Learning Approaches - Active, Relevant and Technology infused classrooms

? TRANSITION QUIZ?

Name another one of the TOP FOUR CHALLENGES of students moving from

elementary to middle school

FRIENDS… Will I have friends? Will people tease/bully me? Will my friends be in my classes/advisory? What about gossip/social media issues? What about dating?

Be an AWARE parent…know who your child is spending time with and set reasonable limits on social media. Ask questions and then LISTEN…

CHALLENGING… AVID Strategies infused in Classrooms MUSIC Opportunities Cornell Notes WICOR... Critical Thinking-WHY/HOW

Socratic Seminars Philosophical chairs

Technology Integration Digital textbooks Edumodo-classroom Facebook Classroom IPads for deeper exploration and differentiation

EMPOWERING…. Interdisciplinary Projects Student Leadership/Collaboration

with Teachers, staff and PTA Cooperative Learning/Tasks- me to we… Increased Student responsibility/ownership

Grades Friends Time/Interests Values/Goals

? TRANSITON QUIZ?

Name another of the TOP FOUR challenges students

experience in middle school…

HOMEWORK…. Middle School expectations will change….

Increased Rigor/Pace More independence/responsibility Students need increased self awareness of their strengths and

areas needing improvement

Parents can help… Provide consistent time, place and structure to their homework

schedule. Check the Parent Portal regularly Encourage your child to self advocate by setting up time to talk

with their teacher if they are confused about their grade or an assignment

STUDENT ATHLETIC OPPORTUNITIES

Field 6-8th graders are invited to participate in school sponsored

extracurricular sports…

Fall (Early Sept. - Mid Oct.) Girls Volleyball, Boys Flag Football

Winter (Late Nov. - Mid Feb.) Girls and Boys Basketball

Spring (Late March - Early May) Girls Softball, Boys Baseball

? TRANSITION QUIZ ?

Name the FINAL of the TOP FOUR CHALLENGES students

face in middle school…

PARENTS! Expect TOO much Too nosy Too Strict Too many lectures Too many rules/regulations/limits

This time period is often a tug of war related to POWER/CONTROL. They want

independence AND relationship, freedom AND limits, control AND guidance…

All of this becomes a complicated balancing act

RESOURCES : MIDDLE SCHOOL TRANSITION…

Websites :http://www.amle.org/Publications/OnTarget/TransitioningtoMiddleSchool/tabid/313/Default.aspx

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/school/middleschool

Books:Parenting Teens with Love and Logic (by J.Faye)Boundaries with Teens (by J. Townsend)

FOR COMING!

Please take a minute to fill out a comment card with any questions that did not get answered tonight and someone will contact you. We welcome your feedback as well!