Organization and Academics

Before The School Year Begins

• Work on organization at home – good habits at home will translate to good organization when school starts!

› Discuss and try out different organizational systems (calendar, white board, bulletin board, folders, sticky reminders, setting a schedule). Let your child choose a system he/ she feels most comfortable with and practice using it with their summer activities.

› Put your child in charge of manageable tasks to help him/her develop organizational skills and a sense of responsibility. ›

Time management: Give your child the chance to plan and execute his/ her own time and responsibilities

During The School Year

• You won’t be asked to regularly sign anything regarding homework but take a look at planners, backpacks and binders regularly. Check to see how things are organized and get a sense of what your student is bringing home. If Google Classroom or Powerschool show missing homework assignments you can know if organization may be the culprit.

• Middle school teachers expect the student to take on much more responsibility than parents, so the best thing you can do is let them do as much on their own as possible, even if that means they fail sometimes.

• Help your child make a plan for handling his/her locker. If they are overwhelmed and express frustration about having the wrong materials for class or forgetting to bring things home, have them work with you or someone at school to help them plan:

› what to take to class

› when to go to their locker during the day and what to get

› what to take home and bring back

› ways to help them organize their locker: e.g. shelves, magnets and message boards to write reminders.