The start of middle school can be an anxious time for students and their parents. There is excitement at a new beginning, the chance to meet new friends, have more class options and become more independent right alongside the stress of the unknown. As parents, we often wonder how we can best prepare our children to make the transition from elementary to middle school and how to support them during their first year in a new environment. We asked principals and staff from Smithville Middle Schools to let us know what advice they would give to the parents of incoming 7th grade students or incoming transfers from outside of our district. You will see their advice, recommendations from sources in the literature, advice from parents who have already had a child in middle school and some additional resource ideas. We hope you find the information useful!

Special thanks to all the parent and teacher volunteers who contributed to the creation of this document. Parents serving on the Middle School Parent Group (MSPG), principals and staff at all the middle school and teacher representatives who graciously contributed their time and expertise to create this document. We hope you find this guide to be practical, useful and a good introduction to what’s ahead for the coming year!

Learn how you can get involved by visiting the MSPG Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/SmithvilleMSPG

Lockers: Middle School students are assigned lockers for the year. Students are allowed to carry backpacks during the day so most students only use their lockers for coats (if you can get them to wear one) and sports bags. Lockers do not have locks on them but the hallways are under 24 hour camera surveillance that deters theft. It is highly recommended to not store valuable items in the locker unless you want to provide a lock. And—no one gets shoved in a locker.

Late: The first few weeks, teachers are very understanding about students being late to class. After a while, your student will work out a system of when to go to his/her locker and what to take to each class. If he/she has trouble, he/she can always ask a teacher/ counselor to help!

Lost: At the beginning of the year, the school will seem very big. At the student orientation day, students will have time to navigate the halls without the older kids. 7th grade classes are also grouped together so they don’t have to find their way around the whole school, just certain areas.

The public water fountains at the middle school are available for use. Students are encouraged to bring refillable water bottles to school for hydration. We will have 4 water bottle refilling stations located throughout the school for student use.

• We encourage all students to please label their water bottles.