Advice for rising 7th grader/middle school?

[Anonymous]

Any advice for a transitioning to middle school for a rising 7th grader? Tips on getting organized, handling block schedule, homework, time management, strategies that helped your kid. TIA!

[Anonymous]

Do your assignments at school and as you get them. Helps with organization.
Take retakes if you need to.
Stay away from the drama.
Go to bed early.

[Anonymous]

Focus at school so you don't need to learn the material at home.
Limit your phone use.
Be kind to your friends.
Never send something in a text that you wouldn't want the whole world to read.

[Anonymous]

If not AAP, take all honors. None honors class do not move fast enough to keep up with the curriculum.

Do work in school when you have time.

Don't be too quick to ditch old friends for new friends, but know that friend groups will take a couple of months to shake up and solidify

[Anonymous]

Have different binders for odd and even days. In it, have a folder for each class held that day.
Keep an organizer of calendar book agenda type thing. They used to hand them out at school but don't any longer.
Try to keep things in the same place every time, i.e. pencils and pens in this backpack pocket, laptop power cord in that compartment, etc.

Sincerely,
Middle school teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do your assignments at school and as you get them. Helps with organization.
Take retakes if you need to.
Stay away from the drama.
Go to bed early.

+1

It took DS and us (DH and me) too long to figure this one out.

[Anonymous]

Do work the day it is assigned! Don't delay because "it is not due tomorrow."

[Anonymous]

1. Prioritize academics.

2.Choose friends wisely.

3. Do your work.

4. Do not turn things in late just because you can. The work will pile up and become unmanageable.

5. Be kind. Always.

6. Get involved in clubs, school sports, or the school play.

7. Stay off computer games during classes.

8. Ignore the people who are rude because they think it makes them cool. They are not cool.

9. Use the bathroom between classes, not during class.*
*unless it is an emergency

10. Put in your best effort. You're building the skills you need for success in high school, college, and adult life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have different binders for odd and even days. In it, have a folder for each class held that day.
Keep an organizer of calendar book agenda type thing. They used to hand them out at school but don't any longer.
Try to keep things in the same place every time, i.e. pencils and pens in this backpack pocket, laptop power cord in that compartment, etc.

Sincerely,
Middle school teacher

Another middle school teacher here to recommend the agenda/planner to keep track of assignments. Even though most teachers post to Schoology, keep track of assignments on your own as much as possible.

Also, parents, learn each teacher’s style of organizing Schoology with your child early on. Same goes for establishing homework and studying routines. Put in the work to start to help your child figure out what works for them and find good habits.

[Anonymous]

OP here…Thank you for all the great tips. Please keep them coming!

Regarding binders for odd/even days. Love this. Is this one large binder with individual sections/folders for each class that day? Or just individual binders for classes but separated by days? Managing the classes and schedule is going to be the biggest challenge and anything to start off strong/organized and build good habits is appreciated.

Do kids actually use their lockers at Robinson?

[Anonymous]

NP and two binders, one for even days and one for odd days. Put in dividers that double as folders and some loose leaf paper. Sometimes individual teachers have certain supply reuniting this worked well for both of my kids. Backpacks are heavy enough so you don’t need individual binders.

Buy extra pencils. They tend to disappear a lot.

Listen to the rumors on which bathrooms to use or to avoid. They tend to be true.

Branch out and be nice to new kids. Don’t be surprised when friend groups change. It’s normal and don’t take this personally. Having different groups of friends is a good thing. It doesn’t mean you should be mean to the old friends but they may need space.

Bring a lunch. The lines are long and portions are small.

Don’t post anything you don’t want shared. Don’t share anything mean or illegal or comment on anything mean or illegal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here…Thank you for all the great tips. Please keep them coming!

Regarding binders for odd/even days. Love this. Is this one large binder with individual sections/folders for each class that day? Or just individual binders for classes but separated by days? Managing the classes and schedule is going to be the biggest challenge and anything to start off strong/organized and build good habits is appreciated.

Do kids actually use their lockers at Robinson?

My daughter just finished 8th at Robinson. She had a locker in 7th grade but never used it, other than a brief period when she was doing cross country and left her running shoes in there so she didn't need to carry them all day. At the end of 7th she also brought home the coat I made her wear to the bus stop one day in December, since I didn't understand that middle schoolers wear hoodies, not jackets lol. I got the feeling it wasn't unusual for kids to use them as long-term storage or for sports gear and not something they'd attempt to visit between classes (because there just wasn't time). She didn't bother requesting one for 8th.

This year she ended up doing a single binder for Gold days and a binder for each class for Blue days, just because of how her class schedule worked out; I think 7th was similar. Not much is done on paper though so it's not hard to manage. Her language class was the only one to consistently use a text book.

Honors classes are not difficult and I would definitely default to choosing honors for everything including math. She was in all honors and the little homework that she had she was able to finish during RAISE (study hall on Gold days). For example she had a research paper for English this year, but it was only 2-3 pages and they worked on it during class for over a month.

Teachers were excellent across the board, they were really the best part of the middle school honestly. I can only think of 2 that she didn't enjoy having over both years and one of them left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here…Thank you for all the great tips. Please keep them coming!

Regarding binders for odd/even days. Love this. Is this one large binder with individual sections/folders for each class that day? Or just individual binders for classes but separated by days? Managing the classes and schedule is going to be the biggest challenge and anything to start off strong/organized and build good habits is appreciated.

Do kids actually use their lockers at Robinson?

My daughter just finished 8th at Robinson. She had a locker in 7th grade but never used it, other than a brief period when she was doing cross country and left her running shoes in there so she didn't need to carry them all day. At the end of 7th she also brought home the coat I made her wear to the bus stop one day in December, since I didn't understand that middle schoolers wear hoodies, not jackets lol. I got the feeling it wasn't unusual for kids to use them as long-term storage or for sports gear and not something they'd attempt to visit between classes (because there just wasn't time). She didn't bother requesting one for 8th.

This year she ended up doing a single binder for Gold days and a binder for each class for Blue days, just because of how her class schedule worked out; I think 7th was similar. Not much is done on paper though so it's not hard to manage. Her language class was the only one to consistently use a text book.

Honors classes are not difficult and I would definitely default to choosing honors for everything including math. She was in all honors and the little homework that she had she was able to finish during RAISE (study hall on Gold days). For example she had a research paper for English this year, but it was only 2-3 pages and they worked on it during class for over a month.

Teachers were excellent across the board, they were really the best part of the middle school honestly. I can only think of 2 that she didn't enjoy having over both years and one of them left.

Sorry, I meant running club, cross country was this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have different binders for odd and even days. In it, have a folder for each class held that day.
Keep an organizer of calendar book agenda type thing. They used to hand them out at school but don't any longer.
Try to keep things in the same place every time, i.e. pencils and pens in this backpack pocket, laptop power cord in that compartment, etc.

Sincerely,
Middle school teacher

I love the odd even binder idea!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here…Thank you for all the great tips. Please keep them coming!

Regarding binders for odd/even days. Love this. Is this one large binder with individual sections/folders for each class that day? Or just individual binders for classes but separated by days? Managing the classes and schedule is going to be the biggest challenge and anything to start off strong/organized and build good habits is appreciated.

Do kids actually use their lockers at Robinson?

I am the first middle school teacher poster, the one who recommended odd/even binders: two binders is sufficient with folders in it for each class. The binders don’t need to be particularly large.

Another thought: some students like to put a pencil pouch at the front of their binders to keep supplies. Keeping supplies in backpacks is fine too; it’s just best to choose one method and stick to it so your child doesn’t have to root around to find things.

I agree with the person upthread who recommends getting extra pencils.

Charge that laptop every single night!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. Make it a habit to have your child plug it in at some designated time and place. Also, have them label and carry their charger. Some of the laptops don’t hold a charge for long.