Personal Teaching Accomplishment, 1

Sixth Grade Orientation



         In order to help ease them into the middle school, four teachers, including myself, collaborated to create an orientation day for 6th graders.  This program gave students an opportunity to learn about basic school rules, to practice opening their locker, and to get acquainted with the layout of the building.  Each individual who attended was also given a handbook with useful information, including bell schedule, after-school activities, and other miscellaneous information. 

         6th Grade Orientation is significant because for our building, we were addressing a major need.  Sixth graders have a lot of trouble transitioning from elementary to middle school.  It helped parents get prepared for what to expect through the handbook, since it contained information that could be useful for them, like the bell schedule and after-school programs.  Parents also felt that this was useful for students, especially parents who have had students attend the school in the past.  This program demonstrates my skills as a leader in our building.  Mrs. C., Ms. S., Ms. P., Ms. A., and I all set up the entire day of activities and coordinated ideas to create the useful handbook.  The five of us worked as leaders for the day, instructing other teacher volunteers, for example explaining the schedule, of program expectations so the students would benefit. 

         This activity had a strong impact on students because it helped calm some of the first-day jitters.  About 120 of the approximately 163 enrolled sixth graders attended.  It also gave select eighth graders the opportunity to act as peer leaders.  They were hand-picked to help the sixth graders understand what middle school is like.  The first day of school went much more smoothly for the sixth graders this year than ever in the past.  It was truly gratifying to ease the transition from elementary to middle school.