Anonymous
Post 09/03/2025 21:54     Subject: Re:How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
DD made 3 new friends on transition day. But, she's very social.
Anonymous
Post 09/03/2025 20:50     Subject: How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Mine adjusted to MS pretty easily. I feel this is really an individual thing and more times than not about how kids themselves are changing (puberty, maturity, interest). I also feel that parental and 4th/5th grade preparation matter.


Can you say more about what kind of preparation you think matters/helps most? (Nervous mom of a 10 year old here.)


DP. For us it was helpful that they rotated between 3 teachers in 5th grade core subjects -- each going to their own schedule and not following the same kids around all day. It's not the same as a 7-period schedule, but it is helpful.
Anonymous
Post 09/03/2025 13:28     Subject: How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
Anonymous wrote:Mine adjusted to MS pretty easily. I feel this is really an individual thing and more times than not about how kids themselves are changing (puberty, maturity, interest). I also feel that parental and 4th/5th grade preparation matter.


Can you say more about what kind of preparation you think matters/helps most? (Nervous mom of a 10 year old here.)
Anonymous
Post 09/03/2025 09:43     Subject: How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
Mine adjusted to MS pretty easily. I feel this is really an individual thing and more times than not about how kids themselves are changing (puberty, maturity, interest). I also feel that parental and 4th/5th grade preparation matter.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2025 22:39     Subject: How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Middle school is awful all around. My kid is now in high school and one week into the school year he and his friends are already so much more engaged than they were in middle school. I think it's a combination of hormones and the terrible educational environment of MCPS middle schools.

In HS he feels challenged and to me it feels like I have my sweet kid back.

I have to say that we really like our MCPS MS and they’re doing a great job helping our 6th grader adjust. My DC enjoys it so much they are making sure their binder is in order, all assignments are completed, etc. They did not behave this way in ES, so it is surprising and a big relief.

My point is that not all MCPS MS have a terrible educational environment.


Amazing-which MS?
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2025 17:34     Subject: How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Middle school is awful all around. My kid is now in high school and one week into the school year he and his friends are already so much more engaged than they were in middle school. I think it's a combination of hormones and the terrible educational environment of MCPS middle schools.

In HS he feels challenged and to me it feels like I have my sweet kid back.

I have to say that we really like our MCPS MS and they’re doing a great job helping our 6th grader adjust. My DC enjoys it so much they are making sure their binder is in order, all assignments are completed, etc. They did not behave this way in ES, so it is surprising and a big relief.

My point is that not all MCPS MS have a terrible educational environment.


This.

Awful for some kids, but not all. Our kids really had such a great experience at TPMS.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2025 14:34     Subject: How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
^^posting again to say I agree with 14:17. My 8th grader has had a positive experience at middle. It's not been terrible at all. We're at one of the smaller MS, which probably helps. It's also not a W-feeder or magnet, i.e., the academic challenges are reasonable, which gives them more bandwidth to deal with the social stuff.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2025 14:31     Subject: How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
My older two are at a non-magnet middle and adjusted very quickly. IMO, that's due to a combination of them having fall birthdays, a small middle school, and generally being confident kids with no academic issues.

My youngest has a spring birthday and dyslexia, so I'm guessing it will be a tougher transition.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2025 14:17     Subject: How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
Anonymous wrote:Middle school is awful all around. My kid is now in high school and one week into the school year he and his friends are already so much more engaged than they were in middle school. I think it's a combination of hormones and the terrible educational environment of MCPS middle schools.

In HS he feels challenged and to me it feels like I have my sweet kid back.

I have to say that we really like our MCPS MS and they’re doing a great job helping our 6th grader adjust. My DC enjoys it so much they are making sure their binder is in order, all assignments are completed, etc. They did not behave this way in ES, so it is surprising and a big relief.

My point is that not all MCPS MS have a terrible educational environment.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2025 12:11     Subject: How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
Middle school is awful all around. My kid is now in high school and one week into the school year he and his friends are already so much more engaged than they were in middle school. I think it's a combination of hormones and the terrible educational environment of MCPS middle schools.

In HS he feels challenged and to me it feels like I have my sweet kid back.
Anonymous
Post 09/02/2025 10:50     Subject: Re:How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
honestly about a year. Middle school is hard on them all. Combined to all that change is their first big consolidation point where a bunch of new schools are all crammed together with piles of pubescent kids who think they are smarter than they really are. All of that has to settle for them to find a groove. We are lucky the HS after ours is only feed by 1 middle school so 9th is really just a continuation of the progress they had already made.
Anonymous
Post 09/01/2025 17:16     Subject: How long did your 6th grader take to adjust to MS?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:DC doing ok-at a magnet where they don’t know anyone - thinks it is all right so far but huge transition from ES.
What’s the typical adjustment period like? Thanks!


Magnet sixth grade teacher here. We know it’s a huge change with seven teachers, lockers, and the like. There’s so much built into our programs to help them adjust. Sometimes students resist doing things this new way and it ends up taking them longer to settle in. For example, writing the homework in the planner every class.

Making friends helps a lot with the adjustment. Usually they make lunch table friends by the end of the second week. Real friendships can take longer.

If your child is struggling in four weeks, we will probably reach out to you, but you can contact us sooner.


Did transition day help a lot for the MS transition?


I felt like it did. Most students spent enough time interacting with peers on Transition Day that the remaining days of the first week lacked a lot of reticence to work together and awkwardness of years past. Students also seemed more comfortable with me, which I attribute to spending more than 10 minutes together .