Movin' on to Middle School
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Welcome to middle school at Edina Public Schools! We know moving from elementary school to middle school can be challenging, but this webpage is intended to ensure that your child will have a smooth transition into sixth grade. Here you will find helpful tips, resources, and information that will ease the transition into middle school.
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Shawn Dudley, Principal of Valley View Middle School
Dear parents and guardians of incoming 6th graders,Welcome to Valley View Middle School! We are thrilled that you will be joining our school community. We are very proud of the many ways we support all students, personalize the learning experience and ensure our students are successful.At Valley View, students are at the center of learning as we work together to provide multiple pathways and challenges. We know and believe that middle level students thrive when they have voice and choice in their learning experiences and have teachers, support staff and administration that know and understand their academic, social and emotional needs.The many elective courses assist students in not only discovering a new passion but also further develop a current interest area. Students are provided a district-issued Chromebook, that as a tool, safely and developmentally allow for students to engage in quality online learning experiences. Students also learn the importance of their own digital footprint and digital citizenship. Students will have the opportunity to learn in spaces, newly constructed thanks to the generous support of our community, that will foster creativity, critical thinking, responsibility and collaboration.Thanks for choosing to partner with us in your child’s education. We are so fortunate to have the incredible support of our community in so many ways and are always open to hearing your perspectives, insights and ideas. We are better, when we work together.
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Timothy Anderson, Principal of South View Middle School
Greetings and welcome to the South View Middle School Community!It is an honor and a privilege to be the principal of South View Middle School. We are proud of our hard-working, positive, and engaged community of learners, staff, and families.Over 1000 students in grades 6-8 and over 100 staff members make up the South View family. We feature a highly-qualified, dedicated staff and work diligently to meet the unique academic, social, and emotional needs of the middle level child. We work in partnership with our parents and families, who are highly engaged in their student’s academic endeavors and in South View’s programs and activities as a whole. There are many opportunities for you to be involved in our school community.South View is also known as a school that truly cares about its students. For years we have sought to embody the “South View Spirit.” Posters, pictures, and decals around the building remind us every day of our values and our commitment to students and to each other. Part of the South View Spirit is being a school that welcomes all students. In addition to our caring staff, we also provide a number of groups and programs to be sure that all students have a chance to connect, be involved and feel a sense of belonging.South View serves as an example of Edina's tradition of excellence and we are committed to the district’s All for All mission and embrace the effort to further personalize the experience our young people have while in middle school. We are a learning community, dedicated to helping each student maximize their potential as powerful learners.
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Ask a Middle School Counselor
Middle school counselors address frequently asked questions about middle school
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FAQ: How can I help my child achieve a positive balance between school, social and home life?
Balance, time management and organizational skills, as well as advocacy and independent learner skills, are all topics parents and teachers will want to coach throughout the middle school years.
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FAQ: How will my child’s relationships with their friends change as they enter middle school? How can I be supportive?
As parents, we may remember our own middle school years. Some of us loved them, while others would never want to repeat them! It is developmentally typical for friendships to change during middle school.
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FAQ: How do counselors assist middle school students?
School counselors work to support students in a multitude of ways which generally fall into the categories of personal/social, academic, and career development needs. Much of our work is driven by the developmental stage of the students we work with. At the middle school level this means the majority of time is spent helping students with academic and personal/social concerns.
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Advice and Resources
Parents and community resources offer tips and advice for making a smooth transition.
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Making the transition to middle school
When our daughter entered middle school, our primary concerns were understanding how SWMS would meet her academic and social goals, and if she would be able to transition from a smaller elementary school environment at Cornelia to a school with a larger footprint, greater number of students, and more complexity.
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Study habits - Be creative and have fun with summer learning
It is hard to believe, but summer is here! This is a great time for students to fill in missing gaps, get a jumpstart on the next school year, and continue their overall learning.
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Preparing for middle school over the summer
Academically, we didn’t have a lot of concerns for our daughter going into middle school; however, we talked with her about having multiple teachers and classes. n terms of organization we tried to develop a plan so she could understand how to manage homework in all of the classes with the alternating day schedule.
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Help your student help themselves
Do your children know how to get the help they need from their teachers or are you their main source for answers to school related questions?
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Adjusting to Middle School: Each child is different
Each of my children handled the transition to middle school in a different way. My daughter was my first middle schooler, and I was more worried about the transition than she was!
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On the Book Shelf
Recommended books by VVMS Media Specialist Heather Palmer and SVMS Media Specialist Robert Diehl that help with adjusting to middle school
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Blackbird Fly
by Erin Entrada Kelly illustrated by Betsy Peterschmidt Year Published: 2016Apple has always felt a little different from her classmates. She and her mother moved to Louisiana from the Philippines when she was little, and her mother still cooks Filipino foods and chastises Apple for becoming “too American.” When Apple’s friends turn on her and everything about her life starts to seem weird and embarrassing, Apple turns to music. If she can just save enough to buy a guitar and learn to play, maybe she can change herself. It might be the music that saves her . . . or it might be her two new friends, who show her how special she really is.
Erin Entrada Kelly deftly brings Apple’s conflicted emotions to the page in her debut novel about family, friendship, popularity, and going your own way.
The Tornado: A Novel
by Jake Burt Year Published: 2019Bell Kirby is an expert at systems, whether he’s designing the world’s most elaborate habitat for his pet chinchilla, re-creating Leonardo da Vinci’s greatest inventions in his garage, or avoiding Parker Hellickson, the most diabolical bully Village Green Elementary has ever seen.
Since third grade, Parker has tormented Bell, who’s spent two long years devising a finely tuned system that keeps him out of Parker’s way. Sure, it means that Bell can’t get a drink when he wants to, can’t play with his best friend on the playground, and can’t tell his parents about his day, but at least he’s safe.
Until Daelynn Gower touches down in his classroom like a tornado.
Bell’s not sure why the new girl, with her rainbow hair, wild clothes, and strange habits, is drawn to him, but he knows one thing—she means trouble. It’s bad enough that she disrupts Bell’s secret system, but when Daelynn becomes the bully’s new target, Bell is forced to make an impossible decision: Finally stand up to Parker. . .
Or join him.
Save Me a Seat
by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan Year Published: 2016Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they're both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL.
Joe's lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own.
Ravi's family just moved to America from India, and he's finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in.
Joe and Ravi don't think they have anything in common — but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week.I Am Drums
by Mike Grosso Year Published: 2016Sam knows she wants to be a drummer. But she doesn’t know how to afford a drum kit, or why budget cuts end her school’s music program, or why her parents argue so much, or even how to explain her dream to other people.
But drums sound all the time in Sam’s head, and she’d do just about anything to play them out loud—even lie to her family if she has to. Will the cost of chasing her dream be too high?
An exciting new voice in contemporary middle grade, Mike Grosso creates a determined heroine readers will identify with and cheer for.A Good Kind of Trouble
by Lisa Moore Ramée Year Published: 2019Twelve-year-old Shayla is allergic to trouble. All she wants to do is to follow the rules. (Oh, and she’d also like to make it through seventh grade with her best friendships intact, learn to run track, and have a cute boy see past her giant forehead.)
But in junior high, it’s like all the rules have changed. Now she’s suddenly questioning who her best friends are and some people at school are saying she’s not black enough. Wait, what?
Shay’s sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shay doesn't think that's for her. After experiencing a powerful protest, though, Shay decides some rules are worth breaking. She starts wearing an armband to school in support of the Black Lives movement. Soon everyone is taking sides. And she is given an ultimatum.
Shay is scared to do the wrong thing (and even more scared to do the right thing), but if she doesn't face her fear, she'll be forever tripping over the next hurdle. Now that’s trouble, for real.
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Technology Update
Incoming sixth grade parents should have received a letter from District Media and Technology Services regarding receiving a new learning device. Students with a current checkout are required to return it before receiving their device for sixth grade.

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