So far, so good

[becca]

Well, I was a bit worried, with dd going off to Jr. high.  It is a very large school, and they move, like in HS, room to room for each class.  Would all the team teachers know of her allergies, are they trained, what about field trips, food in class?  SO far, so good.  Maybe even better than elementary.  And, dd has been very organized and remembered her epis everyday.  I ask, everyday, and she already has them!  We have had alot of troubles with her forgetting. 

Sometimes, it feels as if we without 504s are a bit judged.  Well, I have to say, for every question I have asked so far, the general policies at our school and in our wellness policy cover much of what others have or request in the 504s.  I am pretty pleased.  I had been warned by non-allergie parents, "Watch out!  They are on their own next year!?  I think they thought dd was coddled or something(by the school).  She certainly was not.  Well, I guess I did fight for it, back in 3rd grade, with a huge town wide discussion and debate over revising the wellness policies to make things consistent school to school.  It seems things are pretty much so, now.  It is a process.

Anyway, she self carries, all the team was informed(of hers and any child's allergies that they are informed about), they do epi training, and training to recognize a reaction, meds go with a teacher on field trips, and she self carries as well.  I still took it upon myself to email teachers to be sure they knew and to remind them, now that they see her and know her.  She has been finding her friends for lunch, so they tend to not have nutty lunches.  And there seems to be no eating in classes or hallways outside of lunch.  This was a concern I had.  But she says nobody does.  In some wings, i think it is more casual. 

She has a teacher with a severe citrus allergy, and has shared that, and made rquests to the students to refrain from having any citrus before seeing her in that class.  So, I am guessing the team is pretty aware, if her allergy is so severe and she is so vocal about it. 

So far, it seems better due to the busy structure of the day and the incresed focus on academics.   

Better yet, dd loves it so far!  She is up on time on her own, even in the shower this am at 5:40!  Usually does it at night, but decided she would be more awake if she tried showering in the am.  Loves her teachers, loves the new friends she is making, and has enough of old ones in her classes. 

Whew!  I was anxious headed in to this new year and big school.  Let's hope it lasts. 

[Mookie86]

 

[maeve]

Glad it's going well.  It sounds like your DD is very excited to be in MS, and it sounds like things are well under control.

DD started MS this year too.  We were fortunate enough to meet with her entire teaching team, the guidance counselor, the two vice principals, the house secretary, and the school nurse to review DD's 504 before the start of school.  It was an amazing meeting, and it really put my mind at ease.  We're lucky because the 6th grade dean is also the 504 coordinator for the school (she'll follow the kids through MS until they move to HS).

They allowed DD to pick her locker to ensure she doesn't get trapped by kids who might be snacking on her allergens, they asked for names of kids she would like to eat lunch with (so they could make sure that person was in the same scheduled block for lunch), they even purchased a separate keyboard/mouse just for her for keyboarding (something we hadn't thought about), they also proposed and are going to purchase separate goggles and apron for science, and they discussed where to assign her gym locker. 

It's a big school too (1400 kids, including 530 in 6th grade).

[momma2boys]

 

[becca]

That sounds great Maeve!  Great her needs are also being met!  It is a relief, isn't it?

I was invited to call and request a meeting with her entire team at any time, if we need it.  They have been very responsive. 

[Macabre]

That is so cool becca!  I'm glad things have gotten off to such a good start.  We found MS to be so much easier than ES. 

[GingerPye]

It's good to know that a 504 is there if we need it.  So far, all accomodations we've asked for have been done.  I've been very pleased with our local schools and their response to our needs.  But, if something comes up --- I won't hesitate to get a 504 in place.  Like becca says ---- so far, so good.

[maeve]

That sounds great Maeve!  Great her needs are also being met!  It is a relief, isn't it?

I was invited to call and request a meeting with her entire team at any time, if we need it.  They have been very responsive. 

Yeah!

You're so right about it being a relief.  Now, all that's left is just the usual worries of a MS parent, right?

[becca]

Maeve, does she like it so far?  I am almost surprised at how very much dd is loving it.  They have eased them in the past week.  She has had lots of time ot meet teachers, try the lockers, and discuss the ground rules, contracts for classes, etc...  They have yet to have any significant homework.  I expect that to change very soon, from what I hear. 

I think going at 7th grade is less worrisome than 6th, due to the mix of ages.  There seems to be a big gap between 6th and 8th graders.  I feel like dd and her friends matured so very much this past year.  I would have been much more anxious(about normal stuff, not fa's) if she went in 6th grade.  Though I know alot of MSs somewhat segregate the 6th grade. 

We have just a 2 year JHS.  That has its issues, though.  Kind of a fast and furious pace, then off to HS.  And, in our system, dd is on the bus with grades 7-12!  That might prove interresting. 

[maeve]

Maeve, does she like it so far?  I am almost surprised at how very much dd is loving it.  They have eased them in the past week.  She has had lots of time ot meet teachers, try the lockers, and discuss the ground rules, contracts for classes, etc...  They have yet to have any significant homework.  I expect that to change very soon, from what I hear. 
I think going at 7th grade is less worrisome than 6th, due to the mix of ages.  There seems to be a big gap between 6th and 8th graders.  I feel like dd and her friends matured so very much this past year.  I would have been much more anxious(about normal stuff, not fa's) if she went in 6th grade.  Though I know alot of MSs somewhat segregate the 6th grade. 
We have just a 2 year JHS.  That has its issues, though.  Kind of a fast and furious pace, then off to HS.  And, in our system, dd is on the bus with grades 7-12!  That might prove interresting. 

Our school district has 6 through 8 grade middle schools.  DD's school has three wings (called houses)--one for each grade--so the grades do not intermingle.  Then within each grade, there are teams (where a group of teachers has the same set of students).  I think because they have an open house for 6th graders prior to the start of the school year, they pretty much go fast out of the gate.  Though they do have homeroom the first week of school and sit with their classes at lunch the first 2 weeks of school.  After the first week, they only have homeroom the day report cards are issued. 

DD has loved middle school so far, and now she even likes the bus.  I was dismissed from walking her to the bus stop last night.  I was running behind this morning and she got herself off to the bus stop (I had her text me when I get there, and then I track her using the Find iPhone app to make sure she's on the bus and arrives at school.  DD has had homework every night since the first day of school, including over the long holiday weekend.  She hasn't had homework for strings (which is her music class) yet, and they don't start bringing their instruments to school until next week.  DD has already taken some viola lessons since late July/early August.

The only time the grades intermingle is on the bus.  It was interesting watching the social dynamics at the bus stop last week.  The kids definitely clumped into cliques, especially the 8th grade girls.  You could see who the queen bees were (and the little sisters of queen bees tagging along ).  DD hangs with a small group of 6th girls who seem on the studious side.  One of the girls is in a couple of her classes.

[becca]

We have the teams(4 for 7th grade) too.  Sounds pretty similar.  I do think dd sees 8th graders in her day.  She told me about one she saw today, who was inviting her to retrun to an archery class where they had met last year. 

Dd has had some HW.  But she goes to ASC(academic support center) because of some attentional deficit(no IEP, but needs some help at times, so they availed her of this service for the start of the year).  So, she does her HW there, under the supervision of those teachers.  They help, and help them strategize and organize thier work, binders, etc...  I forgot she got it done there last week, but tonight she had a few assignments.  Nothing overwhelming.  So far so good, still. 

[yelloww]

D loves 6th so far too. He has his 504, teachers were informed, trained, and we are good to go. The only issue that will come up is International Day. It is the only school wide food based day about foods and cultures of different countries. That's going to be a ton of work on my part with the nurse (shes great). I may pull him from school this year if we don't figure it out to my comfort level.

Yes, I know that pulling him goes against what I typically do, but ds started to have some anxiety issues again recently, and I don't want to exasperate that any further if I don't have to.

Ds isn't in the cooking part of home Ec. He has double band instead. He's also happy that he has a full sized cello at school and doesn't have to bring his Cello on the bus anymore!

Only snafu so far is that D has forgotten his lunch twice and they weren't sure what he could eat from the MS lunch menu. DH figured it out for them.

D has been doing his homework on the bus ride home. I'm glad that he's using his time wisely!

[GoingNuts]

So glad to hear both your DD's needs are being met!  I also have been fortunate enough to be in a district where I never felt the need for a 504; everything we asked for was agreed upon with no contention.

And also so glad they love JHS/MS.  Such a relief, isn't it?