Issaquah Middle School 5th Grade Parent Night Finding Balance IMS Counselors Amy Lorang and AnnaMaria Austin (Write ending time on board) Introductions!! 

What School Counselors Do We help students with their academic and personal/social development. We respond to student needs with activities such as student mediations. We provide school guidance curriculum on bullying and careers. We provide student and parent support through a website and newsletter. We are the 504 coordinators. We are here to help your child transition to middle school and support their middle school experience. Please encourage your child to come and see us with questions. Questions?

Registration Students have received their registration packet from their 5th grade teacher. Return the entire packet to their 5th grade teacher by Friday, March 12th. In this packet students will be making their Elective Choices, their Language Arts Selection, their Math Pacing Selection and Science Path Selection. More information in the Core Class presentations. Please read over the packet very carefully and complete all sections necessary. If you are new to the district make sure you contact our Registrar, Joni Apman, so you can get on our registration list. Once you have contacted our registrar you will receive enrollment paperwork and registration forms at the end of April.

Success in Middle School Your child had one teacher in elementary school and will now have seven teachers in middle school. Organization Planners are required for managing daily homework assignments and long term due dates. Help set up a consistent organized place for homework to be done. Supervise your child cleaning out their binder weekly. Use teacher websites. Encourage your student to check Student Access at least one time a week. Plan on one hour of homework per night. Sign up for Issaquah Middle School E-News. One hour of homework does vary by child. If your child says they have no homework…they do!! Ask to see their planner and look on their teachers websites. Plan on encouraging your child to work on larger projects over time instead of waiting until the last minute. How much homework do you want your child to be doing? Think of this in relation to registration choices. Some students think they do not need their planner but they do! From our experience the students with good grades use their planner regardless of test scores or class selection. You can check Family Access to see your child's grade but please encourage them to look at Student Access themselves at least one time a week. It will vary from student to student how much guidance they will need on this.

Finding Balance Time Management Daily Family Routine Sleep 8-10 hours per night After school activities Dinner Homework Family and friends Limit and manage technology As we go through this slide think of success in middle school and how you are registering your child for Middle school if you are thinking of Advanced classes. Calculate 24 hours in a day. How will your student spend it? Think about keeping the amount of outside activities balanced with homework, sleep and time for fun. 6th graders are not old enough to manage technology without guidance. We find that students are less distracted when they but some guidelines around technology. For example, you can put cell phones in a designated place and time and then get the cell phone back in the morning. Or you can monitor text messages to make sure all that are received and sent. You may know that your child would not use inappropriate language in an text message but that doesn't mean the messages they are being send are all okay.

Transitioning to Middle School Mark your calendar for WEB orientation Day on August 31st. Meet other 6th graders Tour the campus Practice opening lockers Fun team building activities Schedules are available the first day of school. The first week of school will be a lot of fun!! The 8th grade WEB leaders and teachers will help your child find their classes and open their locker. We highly recommend your child attend the incoming 6th grade WEB Orientation day. The first week of school will be a lot of fun!! Do not worry. The 8th grade WEB leaders and teachers will help your child find their classes and open their locker. No one gets tardies the first week of school. We understand students are finding their way around. Families will receive a mailing in the summer regarding back to school check in.

Positive Behavior and Social Emotional Support (PBSES) PBSES is in the Issaquah School District and IMS! The goal of PBSES is to establish the behavioral supports and social culture needed for students to achieve social, emotional, and academic success. Components of PBSES: Positive Behavior Intervention and Support Panther Bucks Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and relationship building Proactive Classroom Management Improving the positive behavior and overall school climate PBSES uses coaches to train, coach, and consult with teachers and staff Our IMS Coach is Mari Stevens