New schedule, programs and staffing at NWMS for 2009-2010 school year

Dear North Whidbey Students and Families,

            We are excited to share with you some new ways we will be supporting our students in 2009-2010 school year.  Our goal is to prepare each student to be successful in ninth grade.

            Starting with our youngest students, we want to help support sixth graders as they transition from elementary school to middle school.  Some of the ways we are doing this is to have a language arts/social studies block where 6^th graders will work with one teacher for two periods each day and math will be taught by a team of two teachers to provide opportunities for extra support and extra challenges.

            Another new program for all students is our seventh period enrichment class.  On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays students meet with their Cougar Den teacher during this time. In Den meetings on Mondays and Fridays students will work on their independent reading goals and will get to read books and magazines of their choice.  On Wednesdays, Cougar Den meetings will focus on helping students be more organized and successful in school.   Homework calendars will be given to your student each month by their Den teacher. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students can go to Cougar Clubs.  These will be fun activities that students can choose to do for 4 to 5 weeks at a time.  This time will also be for science, math, language arts, or social studies teachers to meet with some students to give them extra help or extra time if needed.

In the past at North Whidbey, students were grouped into teams and assigned a set of four core content area teachers.  We will no longer be doing this, instead students will be able to work with a variety of teachers during the day.  This will allow for greater flexibility in our schedule in order to better meet student needs.

We are looking forward to a great year with your student!

Sincerely,

North Whidbey Middle School Staff