Being a new student in middle school

Moving to Middle School (for Kids)

Is it good to be in the middle? Sometimes it's not, like when you're in the middle seat on a long car ride. But sometimes it is, like when you're in the middle of a great movie. What will happen next?

Middle school is a little bit like that. It's called middle school because it's in the middle of your school years. Elementary school is behind you. High school and possibly college still await you.

Middle school often includes sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, but you might go to middle school earlier or later, depending on how it's done in your area.

For a kid, going to middle school often is a big change:

First, it usually means moving to a new building, which takes some time to adjust to.

Second, it may mean taking a different bus, with different students.
Third, the friends you made in elementary school may end up going to different middle schools.

All of that can make you feel a bit scared on the first day of school.

Other things that probably will be different are the teachers and the homework.

Learning New Stuff

Your homework — and the work you do in class — likely will get more challenging, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. You're growing up and you get to build on all that learning you already did in elementary school. You'll also probably be learning some new and different stuff in middle school — like foreign languages, more advanced courses in technology, music and art, health, and life skills, such as cooking.

On top of that, middle school will probably offer a variety of new teams, clubs, and activities you can join. Maybe you love lacrosse, ceramics, or jazz music. You might find chances to do all three at middle school.

Still worried about middle school? Let's talk about how to make the move easier!

Visit more than once. Most middle schools have orientation day for students who will go there in the fall. Orientation (say: or-ee-en-TAY-shun) is a day when you tour the school and get a little information about what it will be like to go there. Another great way to do this is to attend a concert or sporting event at your new school. And talk to friends who already go there. Ask them about any problems they had. Also ask if they could help you if you need it when you get there. It's cool to have an older kid as a friend at your new school!

It also might help if your parent drove you to the school in the summertime. You might see sports teams practicing outside and just get a sense of the place. It's also good to get an idea of where it is in your area. Is it over near the mall or on the other side of town?

Prepare for Day 1. Read any materials you get at orientation or that arrive by mail or email over the summer. Are there books you need to read or supplies you have to buy? You'll also want to figure out what time school starts and what time the bus will pick you up, if you take one. Then you can decide what time you'll need to wake up. You also might want to find out when your lunch is. If it's later than usual, you might want to pack a snack. Also, think about what you'll wear. Choose something that you like and feel comfortable in. If you'll be wearing a uniform, try it on to see that all the pieces fit and that they feel good.

Get to bed on time the night before! Try to get a good night's sleep — even if you're so excited you don't think you can sleep. It really helps to get on a good sleep schedule weeks before school starts. That way, you not only get enough sleep, but get used to a regular bedtime and wake-up time. The night before school starts, lay out all your stuff so you don't forget anything. Set your alarm, but tell your mom or dad when you need to get up in case you sleep right through it!

On the big day, eat breakfast and be brave. Breakfast might seem skippable if you're in a major hurry, but don't cut it out. You'll feel terrible by mid-morning, just when you need your energy and brain power to navigate your new school. Have something to eat on the car or bus, even if it's small — it can help your day get off to a good start.

On your way out the door, take everything you need and try to remember that this is a big adventure. You might get lost in the halls. Oh, well, it's your first day! Check in with friends you know and try to be brave and say "hi" to other new kids. Don't know the kid with the locker next to yours? Say "hello." You'll be seeing a lot of each other this year!

In class, listen to what the teacher says and take notes because it's hard to remember everything. Try to write down the important stuff — like your locker combination and your homeroom number. Then you can look it over when you get home and be prepared for Day 2.

On Day 2, repeat. On the second day, do everything you did on Day 1. Hopefully, things are starting to go a little more smoothly. Keep checking your notes. It might help to look over your class schedule at home so you start to memorize that math follows English and science follows gym, but only on Tuesdays!

After 1 week, pat yourself on the back. When you've been at your school for a whole week, it's time to give yourself a round of applause. You've probably taken in a lot of new information — all in a short time. You probably know your locker combination, where your assigned seat is in all your classes, where the bathrooms are, and how to get to the cafeteria. Do you still get lost on the way to gym? If so, find a buddy who goes to gym at the same time and walk together.

Solving Problems Beyond Week 1

If you find you're having trouble with schoolwork or friends, don't panic but do get help. Just like in elementary school, ask the teacher for extra help after class if you don't understand something you're learning. You also might have study halls in middle school — these free periods are great for talking to a teacher or getting a jump on your homework.

Also talk to your mom or dad or other adult at home if you're having trouble with your classes. It could be that you're just a little rusty after that long summer. But if your problems don't go away, you'll want to talk to the teacher and maybe a school counselor.

When it comes to friends, the switch to a new school can leave you feeling a little dizzy. What if your best friend isn't in any of your classes and you never see them? Or if none of your friends go to your school? Middle school is a good time to make new connections and new friends.

Sometimes, it's easy to make a new friend. You might meet the first day and then hang out all year long. But it also can go more slowly, especially if it seems like a lot of kids are already hanging out together in groups that don't include you. Let someone know how it's going for you. Talk to your mom, dad, another trusted adult, or a school counselor if you're feeling lonely and it's not getting any better.

You might wonder what you can do to feel less lonely and make friends. Here's something: Try joining a club, sport, or activity. It's a great way to get to know kids you don't know yet. Being in these groups also can help you feel more at home at your school. By next year, you'll be that cool older kid who's helping out the new kids. If they're lost on the way to the gym, please show them the way!

Reviewed by: Kathryn Hoffses, PhD

Date reviewed: August 2022

Tips for Welcoming a New Student Mid-Year

As a career-long educator who spent many years working in schools, I will probably always think of January 1st as “the other new year,” since “the real new year” (the one that matters!) begins somewhere around the end of August. So many of the events that occur and changes we (hope to) implement as the calendar turns to January—a time that many people associate with new beginnings and fresh starts—actually occur mid-year when you work in a school.

Last fall, as I was working with colleagues from ReadyRosie to create our online professional development course Transforming Family Engagement, we discussed creating a tutorial to explicitly address the unique needs of children and families who move into a school mid-year. We talked about the fact that, for these families—whenever they join you—it’s their “new year” with you and the children in your class.

As I began writing the tutorial, I felt like I had plenty of experience to draw from.

From the time I started kindergarten until the day I graduated from high school, I attended eleven different schools. Sometimes going to a new school was simply a function of moving from one level to another, such as from elementary school to middle school. Four of those changes were the result of my family moving to a different town.

Three of my family’s moves were because my father’s job was changing, but once we moved simply because our family was outgrowing our house! When I was in first grade and again when I was in eighth grade, the moves occurred over Thanksgiving weekend. And when I was heading into both third grade and tenth grade, my family moved during the summer, just before those school years began.

A mid-year move can be a challenging transition for children, families

and teachers

Years later, as a teacher, I learned a couple of things that I hadn’t realized when I was a student. First, I learned that the children are almost always excited about the arrival of a new classmate. But I also quickly realized that, for school personnel, a mid-year addition means an increased workload. Additionally, I learned that many times when families move, the circumstances surrounding the move are difficult ones. Divorce, the death of a parent, a change of primary caretakers, a family member’s job change or job loss, and loss of housing are just a few of the more challenging reasons that families move mid-year.

Because of my experiences—both as a child who had four times entered new schools knowing no one there and as an adult who received mid-year additions to my class list—I felt like I had a fairly comprehensive understanding of what it meant to make a mid-year move.

But as I worked on the online tutorial about welcoming children and families mid-year, I wanted to be able to represent some perspectives other than just my own, so I put out a call to my colleagues here at Teaching Strategies. I wanted to hear, I told them, from anyone who had moved during the middle of the school year, either as an adult with school-aged children or as a child themselves.

The stories I heard ranged from heartbreaking to inspirational, but they were—without exception—extremely emotional, even though they were all accounts of events long past.

A couple of things became clear.

Life can seem very arbitrary to a child. Relocating—changing homes, neighborhoods, schools, friends—is a difficult process for the whole family, certainly for the adult making the decision to move, but especially for a child who has no say in the matter.
You as a teacher hold the key to helping children and their families feel welcomed and valued, regardless of when they join your class or the circumstances that brought them there. The structures you put in place—and the steps you take—to welcome new children and their families into your classroom community will help both them and you enjoy a smoother transition.

Even when a child joins your class only a few weeks after the school year begins, you and the other children will already have shared many experiences. Expectations will already have been established, routines will already have been internalized, and friendships will already have been formed.

Here a just a few tips to help children and families know you are glad they are joining your classroom community.

Ask the new child about her interests and favorite parts of the school day and introduce the new child to classmates who share those interests.
Make sure the new family receives copies of important information you’ve already shared with the other families. If you or your school’s parents’ organization has a Welcome Committee, make sure you arrange an introduction between them and the new family.
Have the children help you create name labels for the new child for every place in your classroom you use them, such as marking attendance, ordering lunch, and storing their personal belongings.
Teach the new child about any gestures and signals you use in the classroom and take the time to introduce him to the children’s favorite songs, rhymes, and stories. Ask if he or she has any favorites to add to your list.
Remember that even simple gestures—such as lending the new family any class books you’ve already made, particularly if they include photos of class members or offer insight into the content and experiences you have already shared—can help children and families feel welcomed.
Remember, too, to draw on your own experiences and feelings. Even if you’ve never moved to a new city or a new school, the fact is, each of us has moments in life when we feel like “the new kid in town.” A litmus test for deciding what to share with new children and families can always be this: If I were new here, what would I want to know about the school and classroom norms, expectations, rules, culture, and history that could help me feel more at ease, more valued, and more successful?

A final thought

In the coming months, you will hear from a number of my colleagues here at Teaching Strategies whose blog posts will address concepts related to diversity Children and families who speak a different language, arrive from a different place, or who have special learning needs can all benefit from these insights and guidance, and none more so than those who join you mid-year.

All of us here at Teaching Strategies want to thank you for the many ways you seek to provide a warm, welcoming, inclusive classroom community, regardless of all other factors and circumstances, all year long. And to all of you whose “new year” actually started several months ago, we wish you a very happy, prosperous, and successful mid-year.

Need additional guidance on creating a warm and welcoming classroom environment for new children and families?

The Creative Curriculum provides tips and strategies on how to build a friendly and supportive classroom, necessary for early childhood learning and development. Learn more about our solutions for Preschool and Kindergarten programs.

New Frame - School 28

Alexei Yakushev

Teacher of Russian Language and Literature

Many of our students of different ages know this wonderful teacher - Alexei Arturovich Yakushev . Although he is a relatively new person in our large team, he has already managed to become an integral part of it. Many of us would like to get to know him better, and two of our tenth-grader correspondents interviewed him, and it came out to be impossibly unexpected. Here you can find out who this amazing teacher was before working at our school, how he grew up, what he dreamed about, what he thinks and how he treats us, his students. How the dream of acting developed, why for Alexei Arturovich there is no better time of the year than winter, and also what the teacher himself is able to learn from children. nine0003

TO SCHOOL – “FOR JOKE”

– How did it happen that you became a teacher, how did you realize that you want to teach?

– Awareness? There was no awareness. By and large, I came to school for "fun". I tell everyone that because it was an unconscious decision, and not even a decision. I just somehow accidentally looked into the school, they accidentally took me, so I stayed here, I decided that I like everything here, and why not. But then I thought, if I can give something, then why not give it, why not share some knowledge with those who need it. nine0003

– What classes did you teach?

- In the sixth, seventh and tenth grades.

- Thinking back to your experience of teaching in high school or now, in the tenth grade, can you say that you have authority among students? And if so, how did you deserve it?

At that moment, Alexei Arturovich turned to two of his students from high school with this same question. They answered in the affirmative.

– In general, children believe me, especially if we talk about the middle link. Because I’m close in age to them, many of them see me as a friend: it’s not always right, it’s not always necessary for them to think so, but it happened that I could support someone, even not necessarily in matters of the Russian language and literature . A lot of problems worries teenagers, and if they can contact me, then I try to help them. I think that this has influenced the fact that they treat me with respect and attention. Of course, we observe subordination, we have rules, but you can always write to me, I am always open to students. And if it so happens that at some point in my life, not necessarily at school, someone needs me, it probably means that something still works for my authority. nine0007

HAS BEEN A TREND

– Since we have already started talking about students, children, what surprises you in the current generation?

– Actually, when I came to school, I felt lagged behind life! I only learned at school what Brawl Stars is, or the sixth grade just told me what Huggy Waggi is. I remember how I went into one of the offices, and the carved faces of these characters hung there, they frightened me, for a long time I did not understand what it was. But then they explained to me, plus I began to come across the necessary Tik-Toks, in general, I got into the trend. I learned about modern trend bloggers like Nekoglaya. A lot of content passed me by, and by the way, I considered myself a fairly modern person, considered myself among the youth, but it turned out that I wasn’t. I am very surprised by how much children generally know what they are immersed in, they have a lot of hobbies that I have not even heard of. In fact, they are very versatile, good personalities, despite the fact that they spend a lot of time on their phones. But after all, they also spend it with some benefit? nine0003

– So you even learned something from the younger generation?

- I didn't learn how to play Brawl Stars because it was blocked, but in general, yes, I am filling in the gaps in my cultural background.

- Since you look quite young, I have an understanding that you were a student not so long ago.

- And was, and is.

– What could you tell us about your student life, how did it go for you?

– Scary, boring, very, very…. I don't even know what word to use to describe it. Why do I say scary? In fact, not everything is so bad: the university teaches a lot, gives, opens. This is really some kind of new stage in life, it is a lot of new acquaintances. At the university, you get to know those individuals who are professionally engaged in your activities and have been engaged for as long as you are, therefore, when you greet some professor, candidate of science, doctor of science, you involuntarily hold your breath, somehow bow to this person, because he knows so many things you haven't even heard of! I like to learn some experience from them, I generally like student life because you are always in good shape, and when you write scientific papers, you are always up to date with new literature, you always know what is happening in science. You constantly have to read something, study something, because if you stop doing this, then at some point you will simply stop in place, and the university does not allow this to happen. nine0003

– What field did you study in?

– I studied at the IKBFU. Kant in the direction of "Philology". A philologist is a person who deals with issues of language and literature, not necessarily Russian, any language in general, but in my case, Russian.

WINTER AS THE MEANING OF LIFE

– To understand a person, you need to understand how he grew up. What can you tell about your childhood? Where were you born, where did you live?

– Well, Kaliningrad is, of course, a non-native city for me, this is generally a terrible story. Terrible and amazing, because I was born on on Sakhalin , this is the other end of the world, the other end of our country, and it so happened that my parents were both from the Kaliningrad region, but by chance they ended up on Sakhalin, and I was already born there, lived for almost seven years, went to kindergarten and was already preparing to go to school, but life was different. We moved unexpectedly for me, and I did not know what Kaliningrad was, although I was taken here when I was little. When I left Sakhalin, I was very sorry that we did not take my favorite sled with us, because I really loved winter, snowy winter, and winter on Sakhalin was somewhere from mid-October to early April. nine0003

Winter was my season, my element, even the meaning of life. I went to the kindergarten only on a sled, with my feet I would never go to this terrible place. I also always went out for walks with ice cubes, sleds, in short - I lived in the snow. And what was my disappointment when I found out that there is no such winter here as I was used to! I still regret the move, I think that it was then that my childhood ended. It's so sad and short.

But still there was something funny here too. The first two years in the Kaliningrad region, I lived in a village, in Mesopotamia. Our relatives lived there, now my grandmother lives there. In general, my parents did not really like to heat the stove with wood, so we quickly moved to the city. And not to Kaliningrad, but to Chernyakhovsk. I didn’t understand then, but being older I already wondered why they didn’t move to Kaliningrad. Chernyakhovsk was a calm city, even too much. I didn’t get any joy from this, although my parents were happy with everything. There I studied from the third to the eleventh grade. The school was small, so there was no question of any specialized classes. Being a schoolboy was boring: when I moved to Chernyakhovsk, there was not even a cinema or any shopping centers - nothing at all. Closer to the ninth grade, I began to understand that I was already such a humanist and it would be nice to go for such a profile, but there was not a single humanitarian class in the whole of Chernyakhovsk, except that I could go to the physics and mathematics. But that would be too much for me. nine0003

HARMFUL PERSON

- How would you describe your childhood character?

-Very, very, very harmful and vindictive child. I remembered any little things, for example, if they didn’t buy something for me in the store, then I remembered it for a very long time, if my mother said that we had no money and she couldn’t buy anything, then I asked to show me my wallet. My character really was harmful, everyone told me about it, but I didn’t get any better from it. Later I learned to restrain myself, but still I am a very harmful person. nine0007

- What did you want to be?

- I thought that I would be a famous actor, I would play in movies, everyone would recognize me and ask for autographs. But one day my mother told me that I would not be an actor, so I decided to focus on something else. But nevertheless, in the sixth or seventh grade, I even went to a theater studio, where I played the most insignificant roles, but they were in my career experience, I boast of them, I'm proud, although I didn't go on stage anymore. nine0003

- Let's go back to school. What do you think the current students lack?

- hours of the Russian language). If we compare current students and even my generation (how terrible it sounds to me: “My generation!”), These are completely different people. I remember that I got a smartphone in the tenth grade. Until 10th grade, I couldn't even google my test answers! If I had cheat sheets, like in physics, because I could not remember all these formulas, then they were paper ones, I hid them wherever I could. nine0003

You don't even know what paper cribs are, it's a whole layer of lost culture! This culture was very diverse. Some teachers even told us, they say, you make cheat sheets - that's good, if I see you have a cheat sheet, I won't even take it away. After all, if a student wrote it, it means that he inadvertently remembered something, though it was impossible to print cheat sheets, only those written by hand were recognized by teachers.

And what do the disciples lack? perseverance. Thinking has become very fast, everyone is now used to absorbing information very quickly. We watch Tik-Tok, our videos last fifteen seconds, we are not able to perceive more information. But it doesn’t work like that at school, the lesson lasts forty minutes, we need to keep our attention for a long time, focus on one task, not be distracted by the message that you received. And it is very difficult, even for me. We don’t want to control ourselves at all, and we lack this perseverance, because we have such a world in which decisions need to be made quickly, and everything that we do, we do quickly. And the school is still lagging behind in many ways, we have not yet learned learn and teach fast.

HERE IS OLD AGE!

- We have noticed more than once that you communicate well with other teachers in literature and the Russian language. Did you immediately become friends with them as soon as you came to school?

– This is a tricky question, because when I came to school, I was met by people who had more work experience than I did. The word “befriend” in relation to them was something terrible for me, even now I am also a little scared. I bow to our teachers of the Russian language and literature, especially to Nadezhda Viktorovna , Olga Ilyinichnaya - the school is literally supported by them! In general, everyone was and is friendly to me, everyone spoke to me on an equal footing, everyone calls me by my first name and patronymic, everyone calls me a colleague. At first, it was uncomfortable (or unusual) when a person who is twice my age calls me Alexei Arturovich. For I have not yet got out of my head the image of a teacher who is older than me, who teaches me something and calls Lyosha or by his last name. I just could not come to terms with it, I thought: “Oh my God, here it is, old age!”. On the other hand, last year we had a different team, we often talked with Maria Alexandrovna, a Russian language teacher in the fifth and seventh grades, Alexandra Sergeevna taught in the sixth. Here they were closer to me in age, although we have a lot of young teachers, it was easier for me with them. This year we have a lot of new staff and also all nice, good, friendly people. It seems to me that there are no disagreements or clashes among teachers at all. nine0003

Bogdan Kalinin and Aleksey Makhnyuk talked to the new staff

“These are my children”. A teacher from Karatayka spoke about her pedagogical path

NAO24 correspondents talked with a primary school teacher in the village of Karatayka Olga Yavtysa

Photo courtesy of Olga Yavtysa

to start the school year. There are no schools in the tundra, so schoolchildren have to leave home for the duration of their studies. Far from relatives, it is difficult for them to adapt to new conditions, so the teacher becomes not only a mentor, but also a close friend. nine0003

Olga Yavtysaya has been working at the Karatai school as a primary school teacher for 26 years. He teaches for kids from the village of Varnek, the family and tribal community "Yamb To" and the collective farm "Friendship of Peoples".

Photo: Ekaterina Ester/nao24.ru

– Every year there are children from nomadic families in my class. Now I'm in third grade. Children from the Yamb To community study in the same class. When they arrive at the first class, everyone speaks their native (Nenets) language. After school, they come to me for speech therapy classes. The guys master the Russian language, study simple topics, for example, “home”, “school”, “colors of the rainbow”, the concepts of pronouns, since they do not exist in the Nenets language,” says Olga Grigoryevna. nine0003

The teacher explains the educational material in Russian and Nenets, as children from the village and community study in the class. The children hear a familiar speech at the lesson and for them the classes become something familiar, reminiscent of a house. It is this attitude that helps to quickly get used to the new environment.

Childhood and youth

The heroine of our material grew up in the small village of Vyucheisky.

Olga Yavtysaya (left) with her older brothers. Photo from the family archive

After graduating from the secondary Indigo school, she entered the Naryan-Mar Pedagogical College named after Vyucheisky. She studied diligently, the teachers always noted the diligence and responsibility of the student. She never doubted her choice of profession.

– Even when I was at school, the teachers saw me as a future teacher. While still a schoolgirl, she herself taught lessons several times, replacing teachers. Therefore, there were no questions with the choice of a future profession, - says Olga Yavtysaya. nine0003

Beginning of a teacher's path

In college she received an education in the specialty "Primary school teacher with a specialization in the organizer of extracurricular activities." By distribution, I got into such a, then it seemed distant, Karatayka.

- When I got to Karatayka, it was something unknown. I had no acquaintances, no friends, no one at all. She began working in the difficult 90s. The salary was delayed, it was necessary to heat the stove with coal, to extract ice in winter, - says the interlocutor. nine0003

The young professional's first class consisted of children from nomadic families.

First class of Olga Yavtysoy. Photo provided by the hero of the material

- Then it was a preparatory class. The guys did not speak Russian at all, they had no documents. When we found out the date of birth of the children, their parents told, for example, it was warm, spring had come, or an event had happened. My first students grew up, now their children are already studying with me, - explains Olga Yavtysaya.

Not stopping there

Having received a good education in a pedagogical college, Olga Grigoryevna did not stop at the acquired knowledge.

Student years of the future teacher. Photo provided by the hero of the material

Entered the Arkhangelsk Pedagogical University named after M.V. Lomonosov, in 2008 she graduated with a diploma in the specialty "Pedagogy and methods of primary education with the right to conduct speech therapy." nine0003

– Every year I have children with learning problems in my class. Therefore, I retrained and received the specialty “Teacher of correctional classes,” the teacher shares.

It should be noted that in 2022 the teacher underwent advanced training under the program “Implementation of the requirements of the updated GEF IEO, GEF LLC in the work of a teacher”, “School of a modern teacher. Development of reading literacy”.

Caring for children

Olga Grigorievna sincerely cares about her students, regardless of their behavior and grades. Everyone is treated with respect. nine0003

Photo provided by the hero of the material

– For performances, I sew costumes for them myself so that everything is beautiful. I always buy them gifts for holidays and birthdays. Now I have returned from vacation and simply could not come empty-handed, we already have such a certain tradition, - Olga Grigoryevna laughs.

Most of the children who studied under the class guidance of Olga Yavtysa return to the tundra after school. There are among the students of Olga Grigorievna and those who have achieved great heights in study and work. Each graduate has chosen his own path, all have different professions and aspirations. nine0003

Without losing touch

Many years have passed since the beginning of Olga Yavtysoy's teaching career, she graduated many children, but one thing remains low over time - her students never get lost, they always keep in touch with their beloved, first teacher.

Children from a school boarding school, 1996. Photo courtesy of the hero of the material

– We still correspond with my graduates. When they come to the village, they always say hello.

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