Ready to Roll into Middle School Red Foxes Ready to Roll into Middle School

Big Buddies Our 5th grade students are “Big Buddies” to students in lower grades, primarily kindergarten or 1st grade. 5th grade students read to and with, complete science activities, enjoy holiday parties and go on end of the year field trips with their buddies!

Departmentalized schedules In 3rd grade our students begin transitioning for different subjects between classrooms. This teaches them organization, routine and the responsibilty for each diverse learning environment. In 5th grade students transition between three teachers for all subject areas. They have to maintain their planner for each class as well as organize folders for each subject area.

Academic Contract All 5th grade students complete a weekly academic contract. This helps them take responsibility for their work, behavior and changing classes.

Adjusted Academic Contracts ASSIGNMENTS I NEED TO COMPLETE….. AND RULES I NEED TO REMEMBER:   MONDAY/WEEK OF____________________ DID IT! WORKING ON IT HAVE NOT STARTED FIRST: NEXT: TUESDAY WORKING ON IT! WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SKILLS AND RULES I NEED TO REMEMBER THIS WEEK 1 2 3 Adjusted Academic Contracts Students who need extra support receive an adapted contract and meet with one of our resource teachers daily.

5TH Grade Electives 5th grade students choose semester electives for Friday special area class. They choose between project art, team sports, helping hands, chorus, book club and gardening club.

We love our NEIGHBORS Plays and performances Gardening and science visits Montford band and drama performances Band director spends time at Roberts assisting students in choosing instrument 6th grade articulation meetings Principal judging events at Roberts Grades sent to former 5th grade teachers.

What does the fox say? Ty says, “The planner helps a lot with all of the classes. You have to pay attention in middle school. The contracts in 5th grade helped me realize that the work has gotta be done! The lockers are tricky but the 6th grade teachers are very nice and helpful with the transition.” “Switching classes in 5th grade really helped to prepare me for MMS. The biggest surprise was the change in environment.” Tag “Making of a Mustang Camp helped to ease some worries. Having RES to build a strong academic foundation was helpful. Biggest surprise was the teachers at MMS expected me to handle it…not my parents” Aiden From a parent’s perspective…Children take charge of their own learning using their planner. There is more homework so fostering independence and responsibility for their assignments is a key skill. You may not hear from middle school teachers as much because they have over 100 students and that is okay. No news is good news. Use Pinpoint to monitor assignments and subscribe to get emails weekly to keep up with changing grades. Subscribing to Listserve is crucial. Be involved as much as possible!

How can parents prepare for the transition? Logistics are the hardest part Let them handle challenges on their own Don’t end your involvement, change it Monitor progress Keep track of friends Red flags to watch for

Walk of Honor