Back To School Night, Middle School

They don't do it anything like elementary school does, and after the welcome in the gym and the itinerary, I wasn't so sure I was up to more middle school chaos.

But, I am very glad I went. And not just because as her parent I need to be involved and learn about what she is doing, but it really was informative!

The evening was broken down into 4 sessions.  You couldn't meet your child's team of teachers until your slot, which was by alphabetical order. (And this is why I swore in high school I would marry a man with an "A" last name!)

Of course, the S-Z group was the last group to meet teachers, so we choose 3 other options while we waited.

Gracie was excited to go and listen to her strings teacher talk-- and for me to meet her. Mrs. Hawley seems like a wonderful woman and instructor, and I can see why Gracie is so excited.

I choose the computer lesson next.  Well, sort of lesson.  Middle-schoolers have to use two different internet applications at this level: PowerSchool and Blackboard.  I have never used either of these. They were offered in elementary, but really not needed or pivotal, so I never signed up.  Well, we have to use these now, so I was thankful for the instructions on how to use and how to manage. These applications are for assignments, homework, notes, etc as well as grades and parent communication.  So, good items to have. And bonus, both have app's!

We used our third slot to look at the book fair, which was kind of piddly compared to MES, but then again, there aren't as many options for middle-schoolers.  We didn't purchase anything, but since we were in the library I was determined to undermine her announcement from yesterday that there was nothing in the library for her to read.  Apparently the entire class went to the library and she was the only one who couldn't find something to check out.  It took mommy about 5 minutes to find a good spot to start, and in the end she had 10-11 books that were fairly to very interesting to my princess-obsessed girl.  Score one for mom!

We had some more time to spare, so Gracie was more than excited to show me that she had mastered her locker. Last week it was quite a difficult thing and led to so much more anxiety, so I was so happy to watch her nail it first try and beam.  And, yes, I have no idea how she gets anything in there, but she has a system and it works--so I say nothing!

We finally made it to our turn with the the teachers, and we were of the very few left. Clearly not many parents stuck around until 7:55 and either missed their turn, or snuck in with some better lettered last names.

This was clearly the most informative part for me. All 4 teachers from her "block" were there to go over what they expected, what they needed, and to answer questions. This was my first time meeting 3 of the 4 teachers. I had only met the one as she is also her "FLEX" (i.e homeroom) teacher.

When we left, the parking lot was nearly empty, which was interesting since we got there 15 minutes early and had to park across the very busy 2 lane road at the funeral home again.  But, I felt better. I am not sure if any helped Gracie, but I was very glad that we went and I was able to get a better perspective on a great deal of things.

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