Before the school year starts

• I will meet with 4th graders at Prairie Woods on May 14 to share this information. They will visit the MS on May 18.�
• Your first Wolf Ridge communication will be sent tomorrow; please read it to prepare for next fall.�
• The district will send communication in August with information on back-to-school conferences, including the date/time for the Wolf Ridge/ Parent-Guardian Meeting

What does the day look like for a 5th grader?

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Drop off/Pick Up

-Doors open at 7:45am

-In front of the PAC

-Do not drop off/pick up in the MS parking lot before or after school- it gets congested with bussing and staff parking

- Students are not allowed to stay and ‘hang out’ after school.

What do students do before school?

Before School- 7:45- 8:10 (when bell rings)

• Put belongings in locker
• Cafeteria- breakfast
• Gym or Outside Recess
• Learning Commons

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Class Rotations

-Students rotate to a different class each period (not with the same group of students)

-Students will get a locker and keep their belongings in there. They are not locked. If you want a lock let us know.

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Cameras-

• We do have cameras in our school
• If someone ‘stole’ something we use them to help us find who did it

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NLS Bell Schedules

• 8 period days
• 5 Core Classes
• Writing
• Reading
• Math
• Science
• Social Studies

- WIN

-Adv/lunch/recess

-Activities

-PE/Art/Music

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*Students will get the opportunity to join band at the beginning of the school year and communication will go out about that.

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*Dismissal is at 3:05pm

*We have daily announcements before 2nd period

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Bells

• 4 min passing periods
• Countdown Clock in Hallway�

WIN- ‘What I Need’

-WIN is a class where students can work on assignments, be ‘drafted’ to make up work, reteach , etc.

-Some days students have an ‘Enrichment class’- PE/STEM

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What I Need- WIN

For students to check their class for WIN:

1. It will be ready for students to check at 2:50pm (the day before) and you have until 8:05am to choose.

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• First they open Student Support Time (stopwatch icon) from their clever page.

What I Need- WIN

Next: This is the dashboard page in Student Support Time that opens after you click on the icon in clever. It will show classes offered that day, they click ‘confirm’ on the one they want to choose. (Only shows 1 day at a time).

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Advisory

• 18 minutes
• Social Emotional Learning, Emergency procedures, Life Skills Lessons

D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)

• Students will complete the D.A.R.E program with Mr. Faulkner (SRO) starting in Jan/Feb.

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Communication

From the Principal- all MS News is put in our District Newsletter that is sent out every 2 weeks.

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Teachers- Email your concerns

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Students- Call the office and we will connect with your student.

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Attendance- Call the office or submit via Parent Portal

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Middle School Website

Principal Zimmerman

Dean of Students -Matt Dahl

Secretary/Receptionist- �Renee Cool

Middle School Office Staff

Admin Assistant to the Principal- �Travis Triplett

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Mr. Faulkner- SRO

5th Grade Core Teachers

You will have different students in every class.

Ms. Daucsavage- Reading

Ms. Schoumaker-�Social Studies

Ms. Olson- Science

Ms. Lien- Writing

Mr. Richards- Math

Activities Teachers

Mr. Quade- Health/PE/DAPE

Ms. Peterson- PE

Mr. Beranek- Health/PE

Mr. Dreier�Health/PE

Michelle Steuve- Nurse

Chelsie Jones-�Nurse

Ms. Henjum-�Interventionist/ STEM

Ms. Slagter- Art

Mr. Parker- Choir

Ms. Becks-�Band

Special Ed

Ms. Turnquist-�SPED Coordinator

Ms. Kamm

Ms. Boonstra

Ms. Lenz

Ms. Spencer

Student Services

School Social Workers- We have two school social workers available for students to meet with as needed. If you have a concern about your student or are interested in learning more. Please ask our office. �Woodlands Center- We partner with Woodlands Center as they are able to meet with their clients during the school day at NLS.

Ms. Kruger

Ms. Louwagie

GRADES

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Starting 26-27 school year the Middle School will all be using ‘Standards Based Grading’

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This is a Scale of 1-4. (You will not see the traditional A-F scale)

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Standards-based grading shifts the focus from earning points to learning. Rather than worrying about how much an assignment is worth, or if it is going to be graded, students focus on learning and growth. Students also have a clearer understanding of which concepts they still need to work on and which ones they have mastered. Freeing students from the pressure of receiving a certain letter grade allows them to take more educational risks, which deepens their learning experience. The learning progression is shown below. The target is to have students reach the grade level standard, which is represented by the number 3.

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*There will be more communication about SBG to all of Middle School Families at the beginning of the 26-27 year as we finalize details.

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Checking GRADES

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Students can check grades on Infinite Campus

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Parents/Guardians- Use Infinite Campus Parent Portal �

*I am working on updated tutorials for this that will be sent out next year.

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• Doors open at 7:45 AM; school starts at 8:15 AM.
• Where can you be in the morning?
• Walk in the hallways – safety first.
• Use your own locker, keep it organized.
• Backpacks, phones, and smartwatches in lockers during the day. (8:15-3:05) Including passing time
• Check your Gmail and Infinite Campus Regularly
• Beverage Guideline- Plain Water 8:15-3:05; anything else would need to be in a sealed container unopened.
• Fidgets/Food in classrooms
• E-Bikes
• Take Care of our Space

What happens if expectations aren’t followed?

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• Consequences in the classroom
• Gold Cards may be issued by the teacher for a short break. This doesn’t mean you’re in trouble.
• Sent to spend rest of class period in the office. Most of the time your Guardian(s) will be contacted. You may be the one calling.
• WIN time in Office for Behavior Interventions (You will be drafted in SST.
• Tuesday School from 3:10-4 or 3:10-5:00 pm (Yes, 5 pm, same as the HS. If you do the lesson you can go at 4 pm)
• In-School Suspension
• Out of School Suspension

5th Grade- Rule Breaks

Students receive a rule break for times when they are not following or "breaking" the rules. Here are some examples of when they may receive a rule break:

• Homework not turned in on time
• Disrupting the classroom environment
• Not following teacher/staff directions
• Breaking ROAR expectations
• Not having materials for class

Rule breaks are kept track on a shared Google Sheet among the 5th grade teachers. At the end of most months, we have a "Rule Break/Reward Time" where students with too many rule breaks will miss the reward time. The number of rule breaks to miss the reward time depends on the number of weeks since the last Rule Break/Reward Time.

Ex, if there has been 4 weeks since the last reward time, then students can have up to 4 rule breaks to still participate in the reward time (1 per week). If they have 5, they need to sit out.

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Handbook Summary

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1. NO PHONE/SMARTWATCH-

phones and other wearable tech (smartwatches) are to remain in lockers from 8:15 am until 3:05 pm. If students are using their phone between 8:15-3:05, even at their locker, it will be brought to the office.

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1. Attendance
1. Any student, who has more than 16 excused or 7 unexcused absences in a year must obtain a Doctor’s notice to be excused.

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• Tardy
• Definition of Tardiness: Students are expected to be in their assigned area [and�have the necessary materials to learn] at designated times. Failure to do so constitutes tardiness.
• Tardies-After 6 tardies, students will serve one day of Tuesday school. This is after school detention on Tuesdays from 3:10-5:00. Tardies and unexcused absences are cumulative throughout the year. �
• Tuesday School
• Two unexcused absences or 6 tardies will result in Tuesday school (detention) and loss of points for that day. So 2 unexcused absences of 10 minutes or more will result in after school detention. View Attendance Policy

Chromebooks

Students are given a chromebook, you can purchase insurance.

They can take them home to do homework and would need them for an E-Learning day.

It is expected they bring them charged for the day and treat them with respect.

We would like your help with this as well.

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LightSpeed- We use this program to help notify us when students are searching, emailing, etc inappropriate or threatening content

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Dress Code

1. No Hats/ Headwear-

unless the student has administrative permission for a medical or religious reason

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2. Clothing that does not cover the midriff, cleavage, and buttocks when seated or standing; clothing that does not cover undergarments; undergarments worn as outer garments, or other garments that create a distracting environment- cannot be worn.

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3. Plain Water Only- 7:45-3:05pm- Plain Water is the only drink students can have. All other beverages need to be unopened in their locker to be consumed after school.

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4. Please review the District Wide Handbook for all policies.

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What if I have a note to leave school for an appointment?

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1. Bring the note to the office before 8:10 am. Or Family calls in.
2. 5th Grade- We will call your classroom or bring you a note.
3. Show this to your teacher during that period when you need to leave. Sign out on the eHall pass in IC.
4. Then, go down to the office and to wait to be picked up.

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First 2 days of School

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1. Students stay in their Advisory class without rotating
2. Teachers cover these topics during the first 2 days:

Schoology- Platform for classes Lunch/Recess Process

Schedules/Switching Classes Email

WIN class Campus School Tour

Assignment Link Emergency Drill Locations

Google Apps Activities

Pizza Fundraiser

Label Supplies

Morning Routine

ROAR Expectations

Wolf Ridge

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1. Week Long Overnight Trip for all of 5th Grade
2. Communication will be sent via Infinite Campus to your emails- this is going to be the most helpful, please read this communication
3. Cost: $220 per student- there will be fundraising opportunity
4. There will be a ‘Wolf Ridge’ Parent/Guardian meeting in the fall
5. Wolf Ridge Information

Getting Involved/ Activities

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• Student Council is an option!
• 5th Graders wanting to participate in Activities still need to do so through Community Ed
• 7th Grade is when school related activities start

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Expectations

Middle School Years are complex. There is a lot of growing and developing in these years.

We hope to help your student learn about themselves, others, the world and grow in their learning.

We hope to have your support in this too.

Expectations

We do expect students to follow our guidelines, be respectful to themselves, others, our facility and supplies.

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Respect

Ownership

Attitude

Responsibility

Expectations

We are building on our school culture here at the Middle School. �

We have a School wide Rally once a quarter and Grade Level meetings each quarter.

We will consider this the “Logo Side”

We will consider this the “TV Side”

Lunch & Recess Practice Today

• WALK to recess and lunch
• Which side you sit on will move by week. Either TV Side Tables or Logo Side Tables
• If eating school lunch, you need to get in line and find a place to sit and eat your lunch. You will have enough time to eat if you do this.
• The first week of school will feel like lunch goes too fast as everyone is figuring it out. The line will move faster after the first couple weeks.