The Avon Grove School District has a middle school orientation program for incoming elementary students and their parents, which consists of several visits and open houses in the Spring and at the beginning of the Fall term. (SJL)

Camp Armstrong is a summer program which provides rising sixth grade students with a thorough orientation to their new middle school. Activities develop students' familiarity with the school's physical layout and provide hands-on cooperative learning in academic and recreational subjects. A workshop for parents of rising middle school students is…

The transition from elementary school to middle school brings apprehension to both students and their parents. At one school, parents and teachers worked together to improve the transition process with visits to the middle school, an information packet, orientation programs, and a teacher-made video. (MLF)

Describes orientation strategies aimed at new students at a middle school. Has two separate plans: for non-English-speaking students and those who speak English. Orientation includes a checklist of student needs, such as issuing a student handbook and offering the student a tour of the building. (RJM)

The transition from elementary school to middle school or junior high school can be exciting, stressful, scary, and fun all at once for young adolescents. The stress of this transition can either be diffused or augmented by school procedures for introducing these students to the school. In this study, a needs survey was given to a heterogeneous…

This booklet is written for middle school students and their parents. It provides information about middle schools in Virginia, and includes suggestions about how parents may help their children during the middle school years. Chapter 1, "Starting Middle Schools," begins with a section on getting acquainted with middle school, discussing…

An orientation and peer helper program was developed at a public middle school in a rural community to reduce the problems associated with sixth-grade students transferring into the school during the school year. Transfer students and their parents or guardians were provided with a video and brochure that explained the school's services, programs,…

The purpose of this study is to find out from transfer students exactly what they are afraid of or nervous about when they start over in a new school and examines the implications these anxieties may have for teachers. During the transition, transfer students often suffer social, academic, and emotional distress which can impede their adjustment…

This guide contains a minicourse based upon the content of "About the Middle School Years, Book 3" of the Educational Opportunities in Virginia publications. The minicourse has been designed to help students, with the involvement of their parents, to begin planning for their middle school education. Included in this guide is a sequential…