good evening everyone thank you so much for joining us for the incoming sixth grade parent orientations thank you to everybody in the room a very punctual group I appreciate that and uh we have some people joining us online as well all of this is going to be recorded and then the presentation that you all see up here we'll share with you as well because uh there'll be some things in there you'll probably want to go back and revisit I'm just going to share that same presentation with everybody here at home as well so that we're all looking at the same thing okay this is Barn so what we're going to do tonight obviously welcome you all we'll do some introductions you'll get to me meet some members of the sixth grade team some people that are going to really help you and your child transition into Middle School very smoothly um we'll talk about what you can expect over that first year and then also throughout Middle School what day-to-day life is like at PRM and then we'll do some Q&A at the end because uh I'm sure you'll have some questions but just so you know we are all here to answer those questions I'm sure as you think about everything that we talk about today there will be some things that uh occur to you to ask later and we are here for all of that um so I am Mark mgan I'm the principal of par Miller Middle School um we do have an assistant principal Mike muser has been our our principal he's moving on to take a principal ship in another District we will miss him greatly but we are already in the process of finding uh a new assistant principal uh we have our counselors um and Mrs mlan we'll speak a little bit about what our counselors do tonight and then our sixth grade team of teachers you're dealing with a very experienced group that understand middle school kids as thoroughly as it is possible you know so we we recognize that there are things that they're excited about we recognize that there are things that they're concerned about maybe a little bit anxious about and you could not find a better group of people to welcome them in to really care for them and to help them make this really big step in their school career as easily as possible um so with all that said uh what we're going to do is I'll call up our our teachers one by one so that they can in uce themselves and tell you a little bit about uh their their areas and we'll start with our sixth grade team facilitator we actually we work in teams within the middle school we have three grade level teams and then a team for our special Area Teachers uh that's just one more way that we have a support network around each one of our students so our sixth grade team facilitator is Mrs Barnes R okay so good evening and welcome to Middle School my name is Jennifer Barnes Rizzo and I have the privilege of being the sixth grade teen facilitator I'm finishing up my 23rd year of teaching and my 13th year here at PRM the teachers who make up the sixth grade team are a wonderful group of people who truly understand the uncertainty that comes along with starting Middle School we understand what it's like for your children to begin in a new school and have a new schedule we all have a shared philosophy of sixth grade we work together as a team and meet together twice a week so we can plan events and also meet with guidance and CST and the administration to make sure your students social emotional and academic needs are met at the beginning of sixth grade we nurture and help guide them as they figure out lockers finding classrooms learning teachers names the expectations we have and the expectations they have and what to bring to class and how to stay organized on the first day we meet as a group um together and welcome them introducing them to their teachers and navigate to First Period after a few weeks or so they start to become more acquainted with the routine and take on the responsibility themselves they love the independence and the changing of classes and by the end of the first marking period they truly take on the role of their own with guidance when they need it by the end of sixth grade it's always nice to see the growth and how they have changed into responsible independent individuals the transformation still amazes each of the team members every year over the summer on the Pearl Miller website we will post a welcome letter and a list of supplies that they will need for each of their classes during the first and second week of school we will help organize the children together in class this will help alleviate any anxiety they have and um they will have what they need and how to organize it lastly the start of the school year will be filled with many emotions excitement and as well as some anxiety but remember our team is made up of not only teachers but parents as well and we will conquer this September and next year together here at PRM thank you next Mrs eer social studies good evening and welcome my name is Melissa eert and I have the privilege of teaching your children about history I am finishing up my 26th year here at Pearl Miller school so if you think about it I have spent more than half my life as a sixth grader on a personal note I have experienced both of my own children going through middle school so I truly understand how overwhelming it can be for the parent as as well as the child but we will all work together like Mrs Barnes Rizzo said and we will help your child make a smooth transition the sixth grade curriculum is world's history we use an online student textbook and students will use their Chromebooks daily to access it it's a very Hands-On program students will participate in many exploratory activities we do a cave exploration in during first during first markting period where they roleplay archaeologists and study artifacts that were left behind when we get to ancient China we bring in an earthquake simulator and the students get to experience how um awesome the inventions were during that time period and these activities will really enhance their understanding of the main ideas at the beginning of each unit students make predictions prior to learning about what actually happened in the past and one of our main goals in sixth grade history is to show them how everything that we know today somehow connects back to the past and the history is all around us we'll begin the school year with prehistoric times we then go into farming Villages and then we'll go into our ancient civilizations we'll study Mesopotamia which is modern day Iraq we will then move into Egypt China India will'll study two of the world religions which are Hinduism and Buddhism in six Frid and then in addition to the curriculum current events and geography are embedded right into each unit so it's with their children all year year those skills we end the school year with ancient Greece and Rome which is a really nice transition into seventh grade history because seventh grade history picks up where I leave off in sixth grade which is ancient Rome and as previously stated one of the key focal points throughout the entire year is how the past is connected to modern day by the end of the school year students are able to make real world connections and they've gained a better understanding of how the path is part of of our everyday lives I look forward to meeting each and every one of you and enjoy your summer because September will be here before we know it good evening everyone uh my name is Faith vandery and I have the pleasure of providing you with some information about sixth grade language arts the class intertwines reading and writing skills obviously but also research skills public speaking skills grammar and vocabulary skills as well as technology skills uh used to produce and share their work throughout the year students will be exposed to an array of texts both literary and informational allowing them to engage with various Styles and genres and when reading we practice specific strategies or ways of thinking and commenting on text really these are critical thinking skills so that students can analyze what they reach we push them Beyond responses like for example such and such a character is upset for example in the text it said quote this proves he's upset right so the students will be practicing creating more interesting commentary overall they're just encouraged to Value their ideas and develop that through their written expression when writing we teach and model ways to approach and structure their work according to a variety of writing tasks not everything is an essay they want to call everything an essay but will'll write narratives informational reports poems Journal responses constructed responses which are really just one paragraph they'll even have some opportunities they're optional to enter writing contests and I'm proud to say six of my students had short stories published this year so if your child says they have to write an essay they'll only be accurate some of the time um another thing students get to work on this year is they said will be their public speaking skills which was always a favorite this year my students um conducted a short research project on unsung Heros they had to write a report and create a piece of commemorative art and there was a lot of choice involved the students really loved it but then when it came time to presenting to the class and you know making eye contact and fate worse than death you know but they all got through it they all received applicable feedback no emergency trips to the nurse um so uh All In All by integrating our integrated approach the children really work towards becoming well-rounded communicators her not only proficient in language arts class but um they're Adept at critical thinking and expression in all their classes and in life in general so it's really wonderful to witness and be a part of the tremendous growth you will see in your students uh this year so thank you and enjoy your summer I look forward to meeting and working with your students in September special education hi I'm Mary ranola um I've been in PRM for 11 years so I'm going on your 12 um I have gotten the opportunity to actually work with every single one of these um beautiful lovely human beings up here um and your children are in great hands so um I'm just here to speak on behalf of the special education department I teach six seventh and eighth grade special ed um but I wanted to talk about the services that we offer here for special ed students so we have ptot speech and have a child study team um the special education Academic Program consists of leveled resource rooms and co- talk classes in the resource room setting we parallel the curriculum with the general education curriculum and address the pacing as needed our main goal is to meet the individual needs of every student in the program the largest program that we have is the co- teing program which is also referred to as in-class resource this is when we pair a general education teacher um like one of these teachers up here and myself um in a classroom to deliver instruction in addition to um co- teing we work to assist all the students differentiate and modify instruction um as needed there are co- talk classes in English language arts math social studies and Science and then we also have a support class um that's offered either every day daily or every other day um and that helps with organization and study skills thank you for your time and I look forward to U meeting your students in September Mr Huffer side hi everybody uh so um I really enjoy the sixth graders they're they're U they come in uh they're they're they're little but they're not too little they can still um you know they're cute but they can wipe their own noses um so that's a that's a plus and and it's cute when you see them come in in September because they're all nervous and excited um and that's another reason why I like the the sixth graders because they're they're genuinely happy to be here and they're interested in learning um so uh so the curriculum curriculum is called a curriculum called I which stands for investigate and question our world through science and technology and this was um actually developed by the people that wrote the standards so it it falls right in line with with everything we should be learning in science in Middle School um it's a spiral curriculum which means they're going to be learning uh life science chemistry physics and Earth Science every year little bit in Doses and so few things that are very different from when we were in school there's no textbook uh it's a workbook and the the uh workbook guides investigations and there's some readings and I supplement with Google Slides some some main Concepts that they need to know and understand um and it's so it's also different from how we learned so when we were kids I like to look at it as like top down they they taught us the the complex uh Concepts and then we broke them down and then maybe tested them right so for example um so like the three modes of heat transfer conduction convection and radiation we'd get the definitions make some notes draw some pictures and then we'd maybe like do an activity or a lab I don't remember too much of that in my middle school but I definitely remember that in high school but the way iquest works it kind of builds the concepts up from the bottom so it starts off with a phenomenon um and an investigation and there's lots of class discussions and it tries to build up the concepts so for example um the phenomenon would spark curiosity so it could be anything from a picture to um a plasma globe anything that that's um would spark some interest and and and get some discussions going um so the investigations um go along with class discussions help students piece it all together so here here's an example driving question how do I smell things from a distance all right so so this next unit I'm starting is is the chemistry unit and so we we open it up by opening up a a jar of something that's um has an odor like vanilla or mint so and it takes some time to travel across the classroom and from there they they um understand that there's stuff in the air and then we build on the concepts like there's matter and and it just kind of grows from there so it's not it's not your traditional here's what the information is um it's it's investigating and and building the concepts of um and yeah I think that's it U looking forward to seeing your your your kids next year and uh you know thanks meeting you and see see you in September okay let me see if I'll stop the screen sharing and we'll see if that helps with it okay yeah if anyone has any feedback we just heard that there was uh there are people at home they can't see so uh get a signal if they can okay anyone getting any feedback on whether they can see now I stopped the screen share so hopefully what's on the screen here is visible at home okay great so we will leave it that way people at home while you're not seeing the um the presentation that we are looking at um we will email that out to you and actually I will send that out in a school messenger email while we are presented turn over to Mrs Mcall hello uh hi my name is Alexander McCall I'm one of the sixth grade math teachers so I'm going to tell you a little bit about sixth grade math um there's two levels there's math Six regular class there's math Six enriched class and the enriched class just kind of goes faster through the topics we go more in depth we do harder problems and then we sort of finish a little earlier at the end of the year and we hit we start to hit some of those seventh grade topics to get them ready for pre-algebra we work really hard with the sixth grade ERS to teach them some just good skills of how to be good students so we work with them at how to study how to take notes how to persevere through problems that's a hard one um some good study habits I think I mentioned that working together with other people all of these skills that are good just things to know for school not necessarily just math we all know that math can be hard sometimes we really work with them at persevering and trying their best and not leaving anything blank and it's okay we all make mistakes it's okay it's okay to make them that's honestly how we learn the most so we try to work with them on that we know it's not easy um and I really encourage you when your kids are in sixth grade to talk to them about what they're learning I love teaching sixth grade math we teach them some really useful skills we teach them percents and how to calculate discounts we do things like unit rate and unit price I mean no matter what job they have in their life they will use these skills so I encourage you to talk to them about it we do obviously other things we fractions decimals uh statistics geometry we also do some algebra which is fun um and I like I said I encourage you to talk about it I know it's not always how you may have learned it but uh it's fun for them to teach you and for you to learn a little bit about it yourself we also have an online component so we're really starting to incorporate that for homework for assessments um they're going to start to see that the state test is online sats are now online I think um so getting getting them used to doing math on the computer it's not an easy thing but we we try to work with them on that too so I think that's about it I'm looking forward to meeting your kids in September and yeah next for World Language and a little bit later on a couple slides in we'll talk more about how World Language works in the uh we'll be working next year so I'm Miss McKay Margaret McKay I'm doing French grade six seven and eight uh I've been with kenon now 11 years uh your children are in very good hands here we really want to motivate them we like them to go away with um memories that are meaningful as purposeful and fun um for foreign language we like to look at the three modes of communication the looking at interpretive where they can see something in French or Spanish and try to make sense of it they are afterwards looking at it in a way where they can use language interpersonally and then the third way of communication they'd like to be able to present some of the language um some of our uh projects have dealt with weather where they have to be the weatherman of the day of the week um some of them have also done skits uh for the cafe scene was a big hit for French in sixth grade um we also have uh skit with family uh and we spiral seventh grade eighth grade materials so that we like to bring it back and like to have it reinforced I think our idea for Middle School language is so that they can have fun and use it as a trampoline kind of effect to move them on to high school we want them to continue of course with language hopefully the same one and build upon that until they can get to their highest levels um I believe that um uh we're trying to use the most authentic sources so we like to use poems or songs or current events um maybe CH child uh poem for children or songs for children or anything that's authentic material we like to use to show them what it's like abroad from other countries compare our cultures so we're very excited to see the kids in the fall um don't be nervous about the homework there'll be a little bit but uh you don't have to panic now thinking oh my God I don't remember my Spanish I don't remember my French that'll be our job we also have opportunities for extra health and we're very encouraging to the kids so we really want them to feel comfortable and ready to try their best thank [Applause] you and now Mrs Hendricks for music good evening my name is Bonnie Hendrick and I the sixth grade band director here at PRM um sixth grade band is a continuation of the instrumental music program that some students started at Stony Brook with Mr tadesco but it's also a time of a student's life that any student whether they took band before or not can start an instrument for the first time um in band students will learn how to rehearse in an ensemble music reading and new note skills and musical techniques that are specific to their instrument we also focus on developing our critical listening and creativity skills our composing skills and our basic overall understanding of how music is created and practiced um I hope that your child chooses the opportunity to learn a new instrument and be part of this class we focus on teamwork and performance goals each and every day in sixth grade the students will uh receive one lesson per week on their uh instruments so that they can add to their skill level and then feel comfortable playing in the group that we have and that meets every other their day uh the students will continue to use their essential elements book so the book that they purchased in fifth grade they can continue with that um and they don't say they don't need to purchase a new book the current fifth grade students will also have the opportunity to watch the PRM current sixth grade when they come up for um move up day June 10th and 11th so the students will get a chance to see the band room uh sit and watch just the students that are one year older than them perform for them and I kind of hold a Q&A myself where I show them the instruments and I have them asked questions um and it's a good time for them to kind of get used to it and comfortable with it so that's going to happen on June 10th and 11th if you have any uh questions regarding instrument rentals or our program or any of your child's choices I'll be happy to discuss it with you you can email me anytime for more information and I look forward to having your students in class in September thank you Mrs mle one of our counselors hi everyone I'm also a track coach so I came fresh from me we won we very although it's not about winning they are having a lot of fun a lot of PRS day too so that was a little shout my assistant coach said try to recruit some kids for the trucks and stuff um so I'm T mlan I'm one of the counselors here next year um oh I'll give you a little background so I've been kelan for a very long time this is my 26th year in Kenan I was in Stony Brook School and I I like the ging right now and I have been here for 16 years I was a teacher prior to uh being in in uh as a counselor but I love it this is my jam so um we are divided up in the alphabet Mrs Celly Valerie Celly will be the other counselor here next year and I am the end of the alphabet l through Z last names but we I always say to the kids we share we play nice they come to anyone but we would be your point of reference and it's in it'll be an En course of who you call and I always say if you don't know who to call or what's going on or what to do call us and we'll we'll get you there I know again as many of us have said we've had kids go through middle school and it's like so I I like to think I'm a liaison and I can ease your communication because it's sort of hard to figure out who do you have for what there's two teachers on a lot of the list so use us hope to help your make your life easier um so much like in stonberg counselors assist in a variety of ways we help with social emotional and academic concerns we do organization time management we work with we'll we'll introduce ourselves through social sa classes in the beginning of the year so they know who we are put a face to a name we'll do A needs assessment for them would you like to meet with your counselor do you think you may want some organizational help we also do minute meetings so we'll meet with every single one of our kids it's like speed dating s fun though probably better than speed dating haven't done it but and we just go through the students and then it's just time to connect with them and then they can see where our office is get to get a little feel of our personalities and then we could see okay where might these students meet meet us in the future we work very closely with the sixth grade team of teachers we're at Team meetings and we I mean we really are a team we are here to give your kids so much support and we love doing it it's it's really just what it's our passion we love it um we also run we do games at lunch we don't we don't do games we do play games at lunch but we run lunch groups so we'll do groups what we for all different things we did visual journaling vision boards we did fun and games where they literally play old fashioned board games just to sort of connect with each other we do executive function groups we do really we ask the teachers what are you seeing what are the needs or what what are we hearing at team meeting and then we do groups to sort of meet the needs of kids and every year it's a little different we'll talk about self- advocacy in classroom lessons we'll talk about respect sometimes it's just basic kindness we we've worked on this year a little bit too so really whatever the needs are the counselors are really here to meet their needs to help you with how to navigate sixth grade because there is a lot of different expectations and the organization of all the different the locker and all the different classes so you can think of your counselor as your sort of back pocket Helper and assistant as you navigate through middle school with your child as well um I am also in charge of the peer mentors and our peer mentors will be running organ uh the tours and they'll do question and answer with the incoming sixth graders when Mrs Hendricks is talking about this June 10th and 11th the fifth graders will come up to to PRM from Stonybrook we'll do tours they get to look in some classes they get to meet with the seventh and eighth grade peer mentors which will be a new batch forming next week and um and it's really fun for them and they can relate to the kids so it's not just listening to to another adult in their life they listen to the band get all questions answered a lot of them do decide to take up a new instrument which is great opportunity and they get a feel for the school then again at the end of the summer in August there'll be a tour opportunity and even though if you're not able to attend that's fine but it's really fun a lot of times by then they have their schedule and then the peer mentors once again come they bring them around the school they could show them the actual classes they'll be going to they look at the lockers and again it's just another way to ease that anxiety and um and it's and it's fun for them too so lots of great things to look forward to if you're nervous you can talk to the counselor as well and um but we look forward to not too soon I want summer to go very slow but then we'll look forward to starting in September so nice to meet you [Applause] all yes my name is uh Ben canella I've been teaching here 23 years almost teaching about 30 years total um I do health and fizzed I'm one of the four health and fizzed teachers myself Miss Che with and Mr Stokes and Miss Slater um so let's first talk about the fiz head part about yes they do have to get dressed they have to have sneakers and yes their bodies are changing so make sure they have deodorant okay we don't want them wiping out half the class right they're changing you know and um when uh when they do get dressed they'll have lockers so we asked them to purchase from Pearl's Place the uh lockers so that makes things easier we don't want their stuff to go missing uh so they do get dressed for fiz Ed they will have uh different type team activities team sports uh Cooperative games mass games uh trust games we do a lot of different things uh all throughout the year and they'll have three marking periods of fizzed and one of Health when they're in health in sixth grade they'll learn about nutrition uh taking care of themselves uh they will deal about tobacco okay was the main one out of the three and uh you know what happens is they start to learn about certain things um and dealing with just about themselves okay character okay self-esteem uh supporting one another so these are different things that we talk about in class uh with health uh one of the things that I also do is I coach three Sports here at the middle school so I'm pretty busy I didn't win today okay um but uh but um what I'll tell you about the sports here uh we have many sports that a lot of middle schools do not have anymore you know a lot of mle schools don't have sports and I think it's a great advantage that we have in the fall we have boys and girls soccer as well as cross country which I coach coached across country um in the winter we have girls and boys basketball and then wrestling which I coach the wrestling and we have in the uh Spring Track and Field girl softball and baseball which is what I do one of the things I'll add to it I'm sure miss if Miss Hansen didn't already say it but the biggest thing that we'll tell you about the sports is get your physicals done okay get them done ahead of time get them done before you come in September because that makes the process that much easier especially for the fall Sports because we start up right away and you know if you don't have that physical done then your you know your son or daughter's got to sit there and wait until they get that cleared and sometimes that's a process you know people don't realize they think of oh here's the paper it's done it's and I'm sure she'll tell you it's a process because certain people have to sign off on that so get that done as soon as possible because that makes life very easy for the coaches for the kids for the nurse for everybody okay and then obviously throughout the course of the year we build up to our big field day which ours is coming up this Friday yeah so that's always a huge event I know sixth graders they come in here and they're like why I don't my God I got lockers I gotta change oh what's going on we'll be okay we're we're not oh and also we're not the mean my itis people okay you you always hear about the Mile right with this with but we try to teach him because we want them to understand we're trying to create a healthy lifestyle that's the biggest thing I'm not sitting up at night going oh how can I torture this group okay we're trying to create a healthy lifestyle so that they understand what it means and how important it is and believe me when they're in Middle School they'll oh my God I gota doy I gota do that I got this and then all of a sudden that little light bulb goes off and hey there's so and so running on the street there there's someone down at the track they get it and we do a lot of things that people pay for right now you know we have some whether it's dealing with yoga whether it's dealing with some of the exercises that we do and people are paying people to do that we're doing it here teaching them so they know how to do it so that's the big thing and we're always there if you need us to get in touch with us through email or call but like I said we like to have a lot of fun and it's a great experience and you know we're looking forward to having all of your children here thank you oh I'm sorry so in addition to the teachers who obviously your children will see in classrooms day to day U there is a tremendous support network outside of that too and uh Mrs mlan spoke to that as far as the work that our counselors do um and then also we have our child study team Mrs Malone who's our learning disabilities teacher consultant this Foster who is our school psychologist um Mrs Balia is our media specialist and she is incredibly active coming into classroom working with teachers really helping your children build up technology related skills um that they will use here throughout six seventh and eth grade on into high school and just out in the wider world as well we also have our school nurse Mrs Hansen um and she really does so much just to promote the General Wellness of our students as well she's an incredibly important point of contact if uh your child has an allergy or a chronic condition or even just if you have general questions about Wellness she is a great a great person to talk to um Mr Pella touched on you know the importance of sports visal and the things that go along with you know the physical activities that happen here and uh Mrs Hansen is a point person for all of that as well so um she's going to spend a little time talking with you about that this is handsome thank you okay good evening thank you all for coming um if my name sounds familiar I did have your children in Sony Brook in fourth grade so uh this is my first year here but I've been a nurse for 12 years uh this is my contact information my web page has a lot of information um anytime if you try to call me during the day and if I don't pick up you can definitely send me an email so just want to talk about medications and absences so I know that in Sony Brook they have pickup Patrol we don't have that here so anytime that your child is absent you have to uh either call or you can send it to the uh email address below um another important thing are medication so anytime that your child needs a medication we do have standing orders for Tylenol ad Bill Tums or some throat drops but if your child needs any uh daily Med that they would be taken during the day at home at school uh we need medication orders for that and all the forms are on the web page the link of that is there so sports physical forms this is really important this is a game changer I always say um historically you all probably had to fill out that one page form this is different this is a four-page form I included the um link right there and the first page is a history form so that has to be filled out by the parent and you have to fill out all the headings properly you have to sign the bottom and anytime there's 60 Questions on there so if you answer yes to any of them you have to be more specific in the comment box then there's page two for if your child has special needs and then page three and four is that's where the health care provider the pediatrician will fill it out and it's very important that the date of exam is stated on there and that the pediatrician um stamps the bottom and signs it so the whole process is that I always say I would start now if your if you know your child is going to participate in the sport this summer I would call your pediatrician today and make an appointment because they do get pretty busy because and then another thing is that sometimes this can take over a week so all the forms have to be submitted to me um I don't pref for an email because each page is four pages and there's over 300 students in the school so that's over 1,200 pages I prefer a hands copy so that could be dropped off to the school or your child can just drop it off to me but the summer um I do come in every week just to check my uh forms and I get everything ready so what I do is I review everything to make sure it's done completely and then I have to send it over to our school physician I do not approve sports physicals so that process can take about like five to seven days so if the first day of practice is September 7th I say try to get in at least two weeks before and if anyone has any questions about it you're more certainly uh able to ask thank you thank you Mr Mrs Hansen all right so um as you've heard from the the people that are going to be with your children there are a lot of different facets to middle school and a lot of this is going to be brand new to them um one of the things that is so important to us is making it comfortable for your children and for you as well to ask questions you know if they don't know something that's okay it's expected you know there's if they already knew all this stuff I mean we might as well Advance them right to high school so it's it's completely expected it's encouraged we want to hear questions and we know that's going to happen through those first couple weeks of school um I will tell you this as well obviously changing classes repeatedly is going to be new for them um by about a week in even within a few days in it's going to be second nature to them already it is something that happens uh really very quickly so what can you expect I mean middle school is a transition I think the best way to think about it is the students we are bringing in are essentially fifth graders the students that leave us after they graduate from 8th grade are high school students everything between a fifth grader and a high school student is what we do here so obviously you should expect that there's going to be a lot of transition right that there are physical social emotional cognitive changes there's a lot you'll often hear Middle School described as a tumultuous time it's not the first word I would grab for yes there will be ups and downs in it um tumultuous sounds a little bit scary and it's not all as dramatic as that but you are going to see your child go through changes uh you're going to see increasing Independence and that's what we want as well because again if you think about it what you expect from that graduating eighth grader becoming a High School freshman is of course someone that's going to be a lot more self-reliant than that elementary student that came in so we want that Independence to grow what can you expect from us a rigorous academic program a lot of varied experiences you already heard about sports we have uh a number of clubs and activities that you'll be hearing more about as uh as we go through the year um and then in the classrooms from classroom to classroom subject to subject really varied experiences that get the students engaged very deeply with the concepts that they're learning we go to a much deeper level than they're used to um because we're really promoting that that higher level of learning okay tremendous amount of support from our teachers from our counselors from our administrators um you know everybody in this building is here to help your children and then communication and that is so important okay again if you have a question we don't want you just sitting on it we would love to know about that whether you shoot an email a call stop by whatever it happens to be we want to be able to have that discussion with you and give you all the information that you need we really do want that partnership so that your child has you know a tremendous team at home a tremendous team at school and that team really becomes one together when we talk about a rigorous academic program I mean again we are talking about uh you know higher level thinking promoting uh really getting them to engage it's not just about you know teacher at the front of the room kids in desks and a bunch of memorization it's about thinking through Concepts not only to learn what's in front of them at the moment but to prepare them when they step outside of school and confront a new situation to say you know what I know how to navigate my way through this that's really important for us we talked about those varied experiences Middle School is a time where hopefully your child is going to discover some new interests you know maybe uh they didn't know that uh that they were into robotics but you know through they go to the robotics club and they find out that they love it maybe they didn't realize what a talent they had for writing maybe they didn't recognize um you know that when they get into a pure Mentor group how much they enjoy working with others to to help other students through things so we want them to have all those different types of experiences um as far as support like we said we have that team teaching model so our teams of teachers meet each week to discuss uh what's going on with the grade level plan grade level events if there's a student that may be struggling that's a good time to get together and say oh you know what what's working in this class maybe that's something I can apply to this class over here that will work um reaching out to parents as well having parent meetings uh things like that a tremendous amount of support um special programs run by our school counselors you know organization does not necessarily come naturally to everybody uh a lot of students need help with that a lot of us adults need help with that sometimes we do help them through that because it is a different thing balancing you know the different periods of the day seeing different teachers different teaching styles and things like that being able to navigate all of that together and certainly help them with that as well uh and then we do have our intervention and referral services process this may be something that you're aware of as they do have that in uh Keel and Stonybrook as well if a student is facing some learning challenges if they're starting to struggle then that's a time for our professionals here on this side to put their heads together uh with you as the parents as well and find out what more can we be doing to help the student overcome these obstacles and then for students that uh require that additional level of help we have our child study team as well um for students that have you know uh deeper learning challenges to help them through that okay communication um you know the the typical things that you would expect of course call email anytime um you're welcome to stop 52 uh we are we currently use encourse we are making the transition to real time but that's still that online portal that's going to be able to give you uh a look at how your child is doing over the course of the marking period And as we make that transition to real time obviously we've all been familiarized with encourse so we'll be be doing a lot of uh education type sessions uh giving a lot of resources to help you navigate that as well School messenger so that those emails are very very important uh we use that all the time obviously you saw uh the amount of information we've sent out with that even just preparing for this meeting our newsletter goes out each week via School messenger gets posted online as well um our website you know you saw our district has transitioned to a new website uh it's going to house a tremendous amount of information and I think the new website just you know we're in our beginning of working with it but much better organized uh than what it was before so uh I think you'll be able to find things a lot easier and then home and School Association meetings are a great way to get involved um you know if you have the chance to come in and participate in a meeting that's great uh typically our superintendent speaks at those meetings I do our assistant principal our counselors uh just to talk about what's going on in school and what's going on in our district they also are a tremendous support for your children uh they bring programs like teen canteen which you know you may have heard of already something that uh students really enjoy doing um there are all sorts of uh activities that that are here because the HSA makes it happen and it takes a lot of volunteer effort to make that take place so uh we are very very grateful for them and we hope you can be a part of that too hey so we are actually going to uh a bit of a different master schedule next year uh I'm not going to do a deep dive on this now I know we're throwing a lot at you but next Wednesday evening we're going to do a session very much like this where we do go into the nuts and bolts of what the schedule is going to look like but just to give you a general overview what your child can expect we run an ad day bday schedule uh and what that means is your child is going generally your child's going to have the same classes at the same times each day um there is that first period where they're going to have a world language on one side and then they're going to have a cycle period on the other so that's their their art class that's their um technology class things like that uh their financial literacy class um so that alternates on an A Day b day they will have math every day uh as you can see from that period you know just uh about 50 minutes in there uh they'll have their English language arts class every day they will have lunch every day on the other side of the Lunch Period that lunch period is a little bit shorter than the 38 minute period the other side of the lunch period is also a little bit shorter uh 40 38 minutes as well uh pretty close to what our periods are uh these days actually so they will have their music option in there and then something called the custom option learning time that'll be a a place where they get exposure to a few different things and again we'll go more deeply into that into in our presentation uh next week they have Fizz Ed every day as Mr Cella referenced three marking periods of the year uh that will be fizzed where they get changed put their stuff in their lockers um you know and and do things that are related to physical activities they will have one marking period of Health going over those Concepts that Mr canella talked about like you know nutrition and and things like that uh they'll have science every day in the longer period and social studies every day as well so most of their day will be the same and again I get that you know just that at first glance this might look something that could potentially be a little confusing to them um you'll see that they'll pick it up very quickly it becomes routine for them now as far as school clining just what are the things that happen outside of just classes academics and things like that um full value is something that I'm sure you've heard of through Keel through Stony BR um you see those ideas over here like be here be safe be honest um let go and move on care for self and others those concepts are woven through what we do here so full value is our character education program we actually one of those cycle classes that your child takes they do some team bu building uh full value related type things in there as well U pillars of character we do a lot of catching students being good so to speak um if you have seen our newsletter you've probably seen that periodically there's a list of students in in there um you know who have stood out in the areas of you know just stand out for their character teams will nominate students for that uh we share that with daily announcements within the school we also share that uh in the newsletter as well and at our board meeting okay student council will go into uh in a bit more depth in just a moment team meetings like I said our teachers get together uh with our counselors as well um just to discuss and child study team members just to provide that area of support for students lunchtime uh this is uh a question the first question we usually get about lunch is well how do they figure out where they sit um we've tried it a lot of different ways over the years um and we found that the best thing to do is over the first couple of days in the lunch period we let the students come in they choose where they want to sit um you know we figured out sometimes there are kids where just a group of them will click together right away sometimes it'll take some support from the counselors um but we make sure everybody has a place to sit once that is in place then we make a seating chart based on where the students decided that they want to sit we want lunch to be a social time for them we want that to be a time where they can relate with their friends so um that's why we we go uh that way with it and then with whom should my child speak if he or she has a concern well if it's an academic thing uh obviously if something going on in class they should first go to their teacher if uh you know it's something outside of that if it's a a friendship issue or just like a general concern something they're worried about counselors are a good point of contact if they have something on their mind and they just don't know uh they will see a lot of me and our assistant principal during the school day the office is uh you know uh kind of a hub of the school where they can come in there we will we will get them uh to wherever the answer to their question is so again they are not on their own this they have a complete team of people around them okay student council um our student council is uh a really thriving uh co-curricular in our school uh we do what's called The Cult cup competition so throughout the year we do different Spirit type events like for example having the students wear their grade level colors uh you know there grade level colors are one grade's green one is white one is black um we have the students wear those colors and they just get a point we count them up in Home Room see who has the most points we award points for that we do um different types of charitable Endeavors over the course of the school year uh our student council is very active you know even so much as you know as you were as you walk through the Halls here and you see those water bottle filling stations like right over there instead of uh just the typical water fountain we have those because that was an idea brought up by the student council and then they did some fundraising along with it and now we have those things so we really want students to have a voice like we talked about earlier we want them to grow and become more independent and one of the important things that helps a student to become more independent is recognizing that what's on their mind matters you know it matters to the adults around them and of course not every idea is going to necessarily be practical um you know we get the whole range uh of different types of things but that student will always have an ear to uh someone to listen to them uh and what they are talking about um and then our home and School Association like I said they are such an important part of what we do um and they they do an incredible amount for all of our our students here I greatly encourage you to be a part of that some of the things that you will see early on from our home and School Association um they have moved a lot of their stuff online which makes it a lot more convenient uh home and School Association membership is necessary AR for taking part in things like teen canteen which is uh a night we do it by grade level so the sixth graders will come together uh there's a DJ in here there's food there are games in classrooms there's a giant inflatable in the gym plus you know basketball different types of activities for them to do something that they really look forward to um you know that all happens because of the home and School Association so joining is a really important thing for that um even something like TRS the Entre young entrepreneur program which has really been uh an absolutely thriving program uh that is something that we can only do because of the support of the HSA so we're grateful for them uh to them for that as well uh school supplies this is one that comes up very frequently as well you know we will put post lists uh as Mrs E said or for said we will put those things online so if you prefer to just go out run take the run to Staples and pick up those supplies you certainly can do that uh but the HSA makes that very convenient option of just being able to buy School toolkit everything that your child needs it's just one stop shopping and it'll uh be delivered so it's you know much easy easier that way as well and then locks and Locker Lads so just a word about locks um for the students they each one will have each student will get two locks one for their hallway Locker one for their gym locker um it's going to be very important that they use those locks and I know some of them get a little nervous about will I be able to open it up we can help them through that absolutely uh but they will need to have that lock on it and they will need to purchase it through the HSA because those come with a key entry through the back so that you know if there's something wrong with the dial or something like that we can always uh get them into their locker get them to their stuff so you'll see you'll hear more about that uh as we do our student tours at the end of the summer um how to purchase all of those things and then Locker ladders if they so choose those are a popular item with a lot of students it's just an organizer uh a way for them to make a little more out of that space that is their locker okay so all of that is going to be coming out uh at the end of June and like I said as we get into August toward the end of August we'll be doing tours here that the students will get to walk through their schedules and uh they'll be able to to see those things as well okay so with that said uh we have certainly shared a lot of information with you just to give you um some quick things that we typically hear and then we'll open it up to questions from the group uh first is you know if I'm concerned about something who do I call well again just like with the students it really depends where the issue is if it's something about something in the classroom absolutely reach out to the teacher if it's something like if it's uh a concern about maybe a changing friendship group or something like that um you know that's a good time to call the counsel if it's something programmatic about uh you know whether it's curricular or you know something that we do on the school level you know certainly reach out to me um and if you're just not sure call the main office and we will get you where you need to go we'll connect you with the person that you need um how much homework will my child have is always a question as well and it does vary from day to day and time to time so there are actually two questions that come up very frequently in the homework realm how much will there be and then also what's the right age to stop helping my child with homework okay and with both of those things there's no like easy answer what I would say is this if you see your child and here she's working on the same math assignment and they're starting to get frustrated and they're starting to be tears and things like that like step away put it away you know shoot an email to the teacher let them know hey this was you know what gave it a shot it really wasn't working well it's good for the teacher teach to know that it's good for the teacher to say okay so I know with this particular student that you know I need to give a little more help there that's a good thing um and then as far as like helping your child with homework yes of course we want children to be independent I mean some of your children right now are probably the kind that they come home they sit down they get all their homework done and you don't have to say a word about it some may take some you know what let me see your planner let me see what's in there what what do we really have to do today maybe you're logging into Google Classroom to see what's going on um there's no easy answer but because it is so individualized you know that is something certainly we can help you with you know if if you see your child struggling with homework reach out to us give us a call at the office talk to your child's counselor because we we can help you through that while there's not one quick and easy answer I can give you here there is absolutely an answer for your child and we can work on finding that together um how will my child oh will my child have enough time to get from class to class yes absolutely there's enough passing time to get from math at the end of the sixth grade Wing to science upstairs uh if they need to one of the things that your child will find out will help them find this out is they don't need to go to their locker between every period so maybe as they come in in the morning they take their books for the first couple of periods um you know they'll they'll find a routine or we'll help them find that routine you know they don't need to be laid Laden with all of their books all at once some some kids just for the comfort of it want to put every book and every folder and every binder in the backpack but we really uh or rather carry it with them they don't carry the backpacks during the school day we really discourage that we'll help them find their way to to navigate that um using their locker again if they're having trouble with the combination we can certainly help them with that uh we know they're going to take a little more time at the beginning of the year to work through all that and that's totally fine totally expected that's okay um what do I need to do if I want my child to stay after school and just as I'm saying that I realize that sounds like a disciplinary thing that's not a disciplinary thing I can't imagine you're tell us could you please give my child detention it's not a question we often get what uh what that means is each uh each teacher in our school gives extra help one day a week so on a Tuesday a Wednesday or a Thursday we have late buses that drive children home uh after those sessions so if you're a child you know you feel like they could use just a little extra reinforcement totally okay they can stay after school they can go meet with their teacher um they can ride the late bus home or you can pick them up at 350 at the end of that period obviously it's very important that uh there's good communication about that so you know uh obviously talk with your child let know where they are going and then um you know obviously they they can get on the late bus we don't we don't have like a pre-check for the late bus when students come at the end of the day for the late bus we do a signin sheet so we know who is getting on each bus just one thing to be aware of too though those late bus stops are different uh than your child's current but or typical daily bus stop it's more than likely a fairly good walk from home because we have about 15 or 20 buses that do our runs in the beginning and the end of the day we have two late buses one that does kind of like the uh facing Lake Side of Town one that does kind of the Smoke Rise side of town so um a lot of times what happens is parents will meet their child at the late bus stop some of them you know are comfortable with their children walking and that's fine that's all to your uh your comfort level um it's something good to be able to Avail yourself of and again it does get to that topic of Independence as well uh and then how do I stay connected with what's going on in school like I said um every week you'll see a newsletter that'll have the same announcements that we're reading to the kids during the day so you you'll have a really good read on what's going on if to sign up for something your child is interested in is coming up um special school event things like that uh you will you will see all of those things checking the website is a good thing to do uh HSA meetings are a great uh great way to go as well and then also talking with your child you know I know the stereotypical thing is oh kids get older and they don't really want to talk with their parents well you know that's I'm I would not buy into that blanket statement just as parent who has had four kids go all the way through Middle School like that they're willing to have that conversation if you're willing to have it with them um the so how a school today doesn't really usually yield a conversation but you know a more pointed question about uh hey you know what uh I know you were a little nervous about that math test how'd that go today or like hey what's you know what was the what was the coolest thing that happened in school you know like some something a little more pointed and that opens up that conversation and when that becomes part of the routine when they're used to that when they expect that you'd be surprised how much that conversation stays open so uh certainly you know it's it's a wonderful thing to do because you know it really the best way to really understand where your child is at with everything that's going on is to get it from their perspective as well understanding that you know obviously you know that that may if they're worried or upset about something it may seem like a bigger deal and always a good time to you know check in with us on our side and we can kind of help them navigate situations like that but you know there's always a lot to discuss I I can promise you this there will always be something going on so you know talking with your children about it is a wonderful thing to do um so with that said uh like I said we threw a lot of information at you what questions can we answer for you uh and for the people at home uh I'm going to have my email up so if you want to shoot questions for me I'll take a look at that uh my email is mongan mkin on.org so m n n mkin on.org and with that said let's we will take questions yes yes so what's going to happen is students uh used to pick at the end of fifth grade what language they were going to take for all three years at PRM uh what we are going to do is they're going to take half a year of Spanish and half a year of French and then they'll be able to pick based on having experience with both languages which one they want to take and then they'll take that in seventh grade and take that make yes yes it will remain an every other day thing so it will be pretty much like oh yes uh we actually have set up the schedule that students can take band in choir so that would mean they wouldn't take so the way it works uh right now is uh it's set up in the cycle period so kids that do band in choir don't take a cycle so they just wouldn't take one of those Co options correct correct yes they want to do band inquir Yes so um this is Hendrick you want to talk to that actually Mrs HRI if you want to just for the people at home so uh the question was are the students able to switch instruments going into sixth grade um we do have uh several instruments that there are new that they are able to take um if they have prior experience on an instrument I like them to come in um explain their experience and then I give them a chance in all of September to try all the different instruments so it's better that instead of just going out and getting a new instrument thinking they might like it until they actually try it they might they might not be successful at it so um in September if they they come in with their normal instrument or or instrument that they already played we have that discussion one-on-one and we can pick a new instrument the only instrument that is they always seem to gravitate towards but we always have that fullest percussion so that's the only instrument they're not allowed to like switch to um but there is another 15 choices that they have uh so we try to encourage that and it all depends on how many of each instrument we have so it's a it's a two-way street in September um and we can have that with each yes homor he so uh summer homework summer reading andl there will be a summer reading assignment coming uh that will be the the major thing that that will be going on there have been students invited to a summer Learning Academy which is uh for uh math and language arts reinforcement so uh that's by invitation but um so while there will be work they do over the summer we keep it pretty light yes yes so we do we do get planners because we want them in the habit but things will all also be on Google Classroom everything is on yeah all our all our teachers are on Google password yes yes yes all of our teachers are on Google password yes um yes so the vest if they don't do an instrument uh they can do coral music there are also some other things that could potentially fit in that slot like that's where our guided study program goes which is like basic skills reinforcement and things like that um we are uh looking there's development of a couple other things that are going on in that cold period that can slide over to that but that's something we'll talk about more dep next week yes it's uh there's a placement Matrix that's used that um tastes different performance indicators so it basically looks at their body of work for math um I believe teacher recommendation plays a small role in that but we'll actually so we'll actually be sending out more information about placement because that's also something that we do up here sixth into 7th 7th into 8th and something we already did eth into 9th as we were getting the students ready to go up to high school for their schedule so you'll see more about that as well yes mention that each level teams is that like the core teachers are and they have same stud oh so it's actually one team per grade level so we have a sixth grade team seventh grade team eighth grade team and then our core team which is like Fen special Area Teachers see at home as well he all right any other questions and like I said I'm sure oh yes go ahead soel um yes we do use um so we know I know we're doing summer reading over the summer but as far as ISL work um I have to see yeah yeah yeah yeah just some something to keep their brains active a little bit just yes no oh oh that question was for people at home are we doing a schoolwide book this summer uh no we're uh a choice assignment for summer and Mr canella would like everybody to know that if they start working on their mile time periodically they can really come in and do it well that's right yes [Music] yes um Jazz ban and um honor ban am band will all start up in probably December those are our two extracurricular activities am ban is by audition um depending on how many students we have sixth graders in fact right now there's more sixth graders uh seventh graders and eighth graders jazz band they start anyone who can join jazz band at first and then depending on the student enrollment on each instrument um Mr scanland basically goes through a process and he kind of if your student is you know doing really well in it they'll be a member of it if they're struggling a little he may say try to come back again next year and see what happens so there's no like definite audition practice it's kind of like a process school they're both before school they're both before school so that it doesn't conflict with sports and after school extra health and things like that so um that normally doesn't start until after the first holiday Winter concert so that's more of a springtime thing and they meet once a week before [Music] school sure okay so certain Sports there will be tryouts um like for example I believe the soccer do make cuts um basketball will make Cuts sometimes baseball does this year I didn't have to I had a certain group so I kind of kept the group together um sports like wrestling won't be Cuts track and field won't be cuts um cross country there's no Cuts so really it's it's based on you know obviously performance obviously what they can do but just for an example you know I with baseball I've kept a bunch of sixth graders so I don't want like the kids to be discouraged oh I'm a sixth grader I'm not gonna be able to make it that's not true so when you when when you come in here and you try out based on your performance based on what you do and sometimes it's a fit to the program right so that's pretty much how that goes so that yes there will be some tryouts and there will be some not yes correct correct yeah I mean we encourage them as much you know much experience as they can get you know I know there's a lot you know with the wre program and some things that the wreck holds that we don't have you know obviously like football and Lacross and stuff like that so we understand that you know I think in Middle School sports I think it's a good foundation of having uh your children kind of figure out a schedule how how to schedule their day right so this is how it starts you know I always tell people when they're involved with Middle School sports they have to kind of figure out school the work you know school work and playing sports and seeing that you can do that you know and then that's just we're we're the building blocks of the high school we're just trying to promote the programs so that they get promoted up at the high school and that they go on and do bigger better things right after school usually you know like they'll end about 4:30 4 4:30 uh sometimes if students have a problem they could take the lake bus a couple of days uh and then you know obviously you work with the coaches so sometimes you know sometimes there's things that happen obviously doctors Point things you just you know email the coaches and you work it out through there anybody else so uh in the fall we have all here at PRM soccer and the and the cross country is here um sometimes cross country we go down to the high school bit or do something like something there uh in the winter all here um the basketball's in the gym and my wrestling is in the choir room we have the mats that go in the choir room and then the spring my baseball's here on the back field uh this girl softball do go to kelan recreation park so they get busted over there and the track and field is at the high school and oh and that's right I forgot the volleyball's in between the winter and spring Sports and that's all here in the gym so heard that the girls basketball team doesn't actually play other no basketball has a schedule I think maybe you're mixing up with what was a couple years ago the volleyball had a had a the yeah sometimes the volleyball has a independent type schedule because of the timing of it here because if you look at the high school you know you have the the girls volleyball in the fall and the boys Vol ball in the spring and this is kind of like in the middle so sometimes certain schools don't have that so it's just kind of a independent schedule sometimes to volleyball but girls basketball they have a schedule actually play games yep we we we play the games yeah um so you will have a schedule for all of it so every every sport that that that we have we have a a schedule and there'll be counties for a lot of them like so for example baseball we finish our regular season this week and then next week starts the counties based on our record and and seaing meetings and so forth so correct yep and uh another quick point would be uh what we have on the website a travel release form so let's just say uh there's a game and you have to get your son or daughter to something else you have to do this travel release for about 24 hours prior to the event okay it can't be like uh hey can I just take my cake because you know that puts responsibility on us but that's if you want to pick them up Pi them rather than you do that for them just getting on the bus and coming back to school I know you just want to leave them on the bus don't worry about it just leave them on there but yes that's usually sometimes if there's certain things like that you go on the website and it has there and all theuh information is on the website like you know whether the dealing with the Athletics dealing with the physicals you just jump on there and you go with it from there right thank you all right and uh I know we covered it but it feels like a good time to just say it again this is hands will appreciate it too I know uh the more you can get those sports physicals done ahead of time the better off you are because if you do it right at the beginning of September it's almost guaranteed that your child's going to miss at least some practice time because it does have to be processed it has to go to the school doctor and has to come back if on the other hand you go through that you get everything done over the summer those sports physicals are good for a year so you don't have to worry about it for the fall winter or spring season you're covered you know throughout that time so it's uh it's pretty good if you can get it done during that way that yes the paperwork for athletics is on the website so when you go to our website over on the right kind of middle of the page you'll see uh Athletics click click that tab scroll down you'll see all the forms right there right that question for the people at home was uh when do the tryouts happen so they do happen in the fall after school begins but it's pretty quickly after school begins so again it just BEC everyone to get the physicals done ahead of time okay any other questions [Music] sure the CT period yes yes everyone will have that in their schedule so the CT period uh so they'll have lunch in one of those 38 minute periods and then they'll have that uh C on an alternating day in that we'll talk more about that at the uh the schedule presentation yes sum so that yes so that yes that will take place in August you'll be able to get them so a couple uh couple weeks ahead of time and uh I have put on a lock opening Clinic quite a bit I'm pretty Adept at it time yeah my uh my own children as they were coming through Middle School didn't seem to believe that I could but you know students that come through and recognize that I've spent you know 25 years in middle school they they recognize I can help them with that I'm happy to do it too yes off and away so they can they can bring their cell phone but it must be powered off and it has to be away meaning out of sight so we don't force them to put it in their locker but it does have to be off if they do have it on in school then it's sent down to the office and they pick it up at the end of the day good question that's a that's a very common common question okay any other questions okay well again as other questions occur to you please don't hesitate to reach out give us a call shoot an email uh and thank you so much for making the time tonight the next thing for your children will be they will be uh coming here on June 10th or 11th depending what class they're in in fifth grade to do a tour listen to the band meet the teachers um and then later in August we'll do an orientation this will be once they have their schedules in hand so they'll be able to walk through it so day one in September they'll be coming to a place that's familiar to them and that they know how to navigate and uh it's going to be it's going to be an exciting time so thank you all yes oh yes so that's just so as we're changing our master schedule um which is the time that we uh that we're on that slide that's going to be Wednesday and I will blast that out to everybody the the meeting link and everything like that so we'll do that very much like this although hopefully the screen won't go black for any period of time in the middle of it find out what that's about all right thank you everybody have a great night [Music]