I think that it's fine to bring current middle school students to the December meetings; however, I am thinking that the bulk of the time at the meeting will be to answer questions about programming.
Once we (Eckstein principal, Hamilton principal, and I) get a list of students making the transfer, we will have regular meetings with current 6th and 7th graders to include them in the planning in a way designed for student voice. All three of us want to make sure that all students transferring have a high degree of attention prior to the summer. Once we have teachers hired, those new teachers will also be involved in working with students.
It sounds as though the middle school principals have this question of transitioning students from their current schools very much on their radar. We've had some discussion in the comments on this blog about ways to help these kids, including meetups well before school starts.
If your child is one who will be re-assigned to JAMS from another middle school, what do you think your child is concerned about? What worries you? What would help your child feel more on board with changing schools? What can the community do to help?
I think my son is worried about learning how to navigate a new building, meeting all the new teachers and staff, and anything else that might be different about JAMS.
ReplyDeleteMy concern is about what types of programs will be offered, and how they will be similar or different from what is offered at Eckstein.
I would like to see some current students from Eckstein and Hamilton helping with some of the planning and also helping with new student orientation (for 6th graders who will start at JAMS in the fall).
My son is a current 7th grader on the list to switch. I asked him what concerns him and he said "Its hard to figure out your routine and to know the classrooms and how to get to your class from your locker in time. Being in 7th and 8th grade is more fun because you know these things but I'll have to start again..."
ReplyDeleteHis attitude is also pretty resigned and apathetic about it. He is not ....er... thrilled. He doesn't even know who is going and which of his friends he is losing as his daily buddies. I would like his last year of middle school to be HAPPY not just tolerable so I think that some activities which empower, energize and connect kids as a group would be very welcome.
My daughter is a current 6th grader at Eckstein. She is upset that she will be leaving new friends behind. She is also upset that she might not be able to take tech/computer science as an elective or compete on a FLL robotics team. Finally, she's worried she'll have to go to Nathan Hale for math, but it sounds like they'll be enough students for classes at JAMS.
ReplyDelete- Elizabeth
My son (HIMS) is thinking about music offerings. How will music placement be decided, audition or current teacher recommendation? He auditioned to get a higher placement now, and will he have to do this again, or will there be enough students for multiple offerings of orchestra/band?
ReplyDeleteMy son is in 6 app at hamilton. His concern is the quality of the app teachers, number of kids in app classroom and extra activities like math zone and programs like host. My son dont like to move to jams
ReplyDeletePlease offer French. I hope you are able to pull together a language travel program for language students. That is the #1 thing my kid was looking forward to - for her 8th grade at eckstein.
ReplyDeleteHow is the condition of the building? I toured it several years ago & found it to be quite run down, but driving by recently it appears all windows have been replaced? I also saw a seismic report for the school - have seismic repairs been done?
Also, as for start/end time PLEASE have it very close to Nathan Hale's, as my children (one at NH & the other at JA) will be traveling to/from school together - now that they will be in neighboring schools.
Jo Ro, can you tell us some more about the language travel program? We're putting together a post on foreign language programming.
DeleteThe JAMS building will be remodeled this summer. The plans and design are among the topics on the agenda for the JAMS meetings that Planning Principal Paula Montgomery is holding tomorrow and next Wednesday. Please consider coming! More info here: http://jamsplans.blogspot.com/2013/12/jams-meetings-coming-up-please-come.html
For the Spanish program, Eckstein students travel to Costa Rica after the end of school each year...it is typically a combination of tourism and service projects, as well as home stays with host families. Ihave only heard good things about it...my daughter would have participated next year after her 8th grade year. I think the best way to learn about these programs is to have language leads/Paula schedule some time with the coordinating teachers at Eckstein or Hamilton. Apollonia Guerra is the Eckstein Spanish teacher who coordinates the Costa Rica trip.
DeleteFor the Japanese Language program at HIMS they have an exchange program and end of the year trip for 8th graders who have had 2 years of Japanese. My son was looking forward to participating.
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteOur son is currently in 6th grade at HIMS and is in the APP program and our household is in the JAMS zone for next year. Since we are also a Spanish speaking household he placed into 8th grade Spanish (equivalent to 10th grade HS Spanish) at HIMS, he is doing very well and his Spanish has improved by leaps and bounds. Based on is current performance in the class he has been told he would have been eligible for the first year immersion class starting in 7th grade and now that he has been assigned to JAMS we are concerned that he will not have an appropriate level Spanish class available. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jorge & Jennifer
My son is at HIMS now and is sad that for 8th grade he will be going to a new school and almost none of his buddies will be there. He's hoping that there will be a high-level orchestra comparable to what he would have had at HIMS. He's also hoping for an Ultimate team. Ultimate is a popular sport at both Eckstein and HIMS so I would hope that we could work to get coaches and teams started next fall.
ReplyDeleteAs an activity that would bring various groups/communities together, I think Ultimate is important. It's co-ed, many of the kids coming from Eckstein and HIMS are already involved in it and it has a track record of involving diverse communities. Nathan Hale has some strong Ultimate teams and may be a good source of assistant coaches.
Beth D
[Comment deleted and re-posted by moderator to remove off-topic content. Beth D -- It was a mistake to have left Anonymous's post up with the warning, which is why I have deleted the whole thread of comments and modified yours.]
For more information on why we insist that commenters remain on-topic (and an explanation for why we should not have left the original comment up at all), please see the following page: http://jamsplans.blogspot.com/p/why-we-insist-on-staying-on-topic.html
DeleteMy son is a 6th grader at Eckstein and is worried that JAMS won't have jazz band. We've heard that if JAMS doesn't offer it students can be part of Eckstein jazz but will transportation be provided? If the JAMS school day ends later (or at the same time) the students will miss a lot. I quit music (orchestra) halfway through 10th grade because I lost interest but I think my son would continue on because the jazz program is so great with Mr. E. My son is interested in seeing live jazz, buying iTunes of jazz greats, and wanting a record player so he can buy vinyl from the store across from Rav-Eck CC.
ReplyDeleteJennifer
My daughter is an Eckstein 7th grader. Leaving behind most of her established group of friends is probably the toughest part of this transition..as I assume it is for many others. She also just loves her current school...warts and all. So creating a new sense of school identify and offering bonding opportunities for the new students will be very important. While I feel like there will be a good offering of academic offerings, I hope we can find away to offer the "extras" that kids will be leaving behind...such as a full sports offering, foreign language travel trips, end of year special outings (particularly for 8th graders) and top on my daughter's list...SKI BUS. At Eckstein, it seems like teachers are often in charge of many extra-curriculars..such as coaching sports teams and chaperoning ski bus. I am not sure if this is standard throughout Seattle Middle schools but I am hoping we will see this at JAMS. It also is a great way for kids to form an additional bond with teachers.
ReplyDeleteJennifer- Right now at HIMS, Senior Jazz is offered during the school day and Junior Jazz is an after school program. My guess is there will be critical mass of jazz kids to be able to offer something at least after school. If it can be coordinated to not conflict with Eckstein & HIMS, maybe those teachers could come to JAMS to teach two levels of jazz.
ReplyDeleteI have 2 kids who will be entering JAMS, one as a 6th grader and one as an 8th grader. Aside from much of the above, I believe the rising 7th and 8th graders need some type of official recognition from the school district, including both a survey of interests and needs (TO THEM, not us as their parents) with a guarantee that some of the questions will be addressed, and quickly. The survey can have some softball questions- they just need to be heard. The rising 8th graders who have advocated for grandfathering certainly feel that the adults have let them down in a big way, since they were promised grandfathering at the outset. THe main voiced concern of my rising sixth grader: "They say they want to get input from kids, but they haven't asked us." The main concern from my rising 8th grader: "I really want to have a strong band program -a s strong as the program that I am in now, with different levels." Aside from those comments - here are some other specifics from a parent point of view: Vocal Jazz/choral opportunities, some 'school-unifying' opportunities that are not competitive sports (such as Model United Nations, or service club work), and strong after school offerings.
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