The countdown is
on for the end of summer and the start of a spanking new school year. We wanted to clarify some of the routines and
guidelines that your middle-school student will encounter on the first few days
of school.
Arrival: On
Tuesday – and every day – before-school care begins at 7:30 AM for all
students; Middle-school students will be able to go upstairs beginning at
8:15. Sixth graders may go directly to
the new Wildcat classroom, and 7th and 8th graders may go
to their lockers and adjacent rooms (the Sun Room and the Map Room, former
Amp). At 8:25 7th and 8th
graders report to their advisory room. Lists
of advisory groups and rooms will be posted upstairs. In an extended advisory meeting Tuesday, all students
will receive their schedules and go over some morning routines.
It is imperative
that all Middle-schoolers be on campus by 8:25, as school begins promptly at
8:30. Please help your student out by
making sure she or he wakes up in plenty of time, has a good breakfast, and
arrives at school with time to spare.
Snack: Middle-schoolers have a mid-morning
snack break each day. Make sure that
your student has packed a nutritious morning snack and has a water bottle. As a reminder, we do not permit students to
bring or consume beverages that are caffeinated or that contain
sugar/high-fructose corn syrup as a primary ingredient, nor do we permit
candy.
Lunch:
Middle-schoolers will be serving lunch in our Eat Smart program, and on
the day they are on duty, lunch is provided to them. By the end of the first week of school,
students should know the schedule so that they can plan accordingly for those
days. When packing a lunch, please keep
in mind the school’s policies with regard to candy, caffeine, and sweet drinks.
Dismissal:
School will end at 3:20 on Tuesday – and on every day except Fridays —
and students will be dismissed from campus at 3:25. At that point, students who are leaving the
campus will come out to the curb, where they will make eye AND physical contact
with the Middle-school faculty member who is on duty, and be picked up, or (if
permitted) leave on their own. To that
end, please make sure you’ve returned a form that indicates how your student
can leave campus (i.e., walking, being picked up, riding a bike, etc.) We cannot allow students to leave in ways
that families have not explicitly permitted, nor to be picked up by people not
explicitly identified.
Homework:
Each student will receive an assignment book in which to record
homework. Within the next few weeks,
teachers will set up classroom blogs where parents can learn of classroom
activities and access links to assignments.
Until these blogs are set up, the assignment book is the best link
between the classroom and home.
After-School:
Students who are staying after school — for study hall or (in weeks to
come) for sports — will go out to the deck, where they’ll sign in to extended
day, eat a snack (provided by the school), and have a chance to socialize and
relax with classmates. Then, at 3:40,
they will be dismissed to study hall, which will take place in the math
classroom, or other activities, where they’ll remain until you pick them up or
until they sign out (if they are permitted to leave campus on their own.) This year, Middle-school students will not
have the option of going downstairs to join elementary extended day from 3:45 –
5:00. They must remain in study hall. If you need to reach your student during study
hall, 665-8800 x158 will ring in that room.
Middle-school students are not charged for extended day stay until 5:00,
at which point they will join the elementary extended day and families are
billed at the regular rates. Please note
that students are not allowed to leave campus at the end of the day and then
return, except for a specific purpose communicated in advance to the school
(i.e., a doctor’s appointment, a tutoring session, etc.)
Dress Code:
As much as we value self-expression, we must balance it with the need to
establish a comfortable environment in the classroom. To this end, we expect students to comply
with these guidelines from our handbook:
“Underclothing
and cleavage should not be seen when wearing any type of shirt; underclothing
should not be visible when wearing pants, shorts, or skirts. Spaghetti straps are not appropriate. With normal movement, the bottom of your
shirt should not come above the top of pants, shorts, or skirts.”
Cell Phones:
Cell phones, iPods, hand-held video games, and any other electronic
devices must be shut down and stowed, out of sight, inside a backpack, bag or
locker — NOT in a pocket or item of clothing — as soon as a student walks
on campus. These devices must stay in
that off-the-body location for the entire school day and can’t be taken out
until the student is off campus, after dismissal. Please do not try to communicate with your
student on her or his cell phone during the day. If no one answers the Middle School main
phone (665-8800 x140), and you need to reach your student, you can dial x0 for
Heather or Cindy to deliver a message. We’ll
work with students who have difficulty meeting these guidelines, but it will be
far better for all if families give students appropriate coaching and support
in this area as well, particularly since our students live in an increasingly
device-saturated world. We appreciate
your support in making sure your student is set up to meet these expectations.
Communication:
MaryBeth and I (Gretchen) will be sharing a phone: 665-8800 x140. We will answer when we can and pick up
messages throughout the day. Teachers
are accessible by voicemail and email. Our
primary means of communicating general messages to parents will be through the
blog: tbsms.blogspot.com. Please
subscribe to the blog so that you receive notification of new postings. I apologize for the annoying frequency of
emails to 7th and 8th grade families relating to the
rafting trip. I believe that I have
cleared up the problem of accessing the links to permission forms. In any case, you should receive hard copies
of all of those forms by USPS. Please be
sure to return the forms by Thursday so that we have an accurate number and can
reserve the appropriate number of rafts.
New Beginning:
Over the next few weeks, we will be working hard to build a safe and
inclusive community, to integrate new teachers and new students and even my own
recycled self (I taught here from 1999-2007).
We will be establishing REPs — Routines, Expectations, and Procedures —
so that we can free our creative energy for the worthy tasks ahead. As Olympic Sailor Iain Percy said: ”I’m a
massive believer in routine…Routine allows your brain to concentrate on the
things that matter.”
Welcome back!
Gretchen
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