{"id":3705,"date":"2018-04-23T08:29:33","date_gmt":"2018-04-23T08:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insideout.insidewp.test\/?p=3705"},"modified":"2025-02-22T14:07:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T22:07:13","slug":"a-thing-or-two-you-ought-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/2018\/04\/23\/a-thing-or-two-you-ought-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"A THING OR TWO YOU OUGHT TO KNOW"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY HELINDA VANDERKOOI, ACS PARENT\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Middle school\u2026yikes! I heard stories from parents about middle school. Claims like: your kids don\u2019t need you as much in middle school, hardly any parents come to chapel, the teachers don\u2019t want your help, the kids ignore and avoid you.\u00a0With all this chatter I was not looking forward to the middle school experience, especially after being immersed in that cozy ACS elementary school culture.\u00a0But alas, kids grow up and make the switch from elementary school to middle school. It\u2019s inevitable.<\/p>\n

And now it was my turn\u2026<\/p>\n

When it came time for middle school, my kid was psyched and ready, even if I wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

We survived that first day, week, month and year and now I am at the end of my fifth year as a middle school parent, with a few more kids coming up the pipeline.\u00a0When all is said and done with my crew of kids I will have clocked over 10 years as a middle school parent and so far so good.<\/p>\n

So here is a thing or two you ought to know about middle school\u2026<\/p>\n

It Stinks<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

No, literally it does.\u00a0You think I\u2019m kidding but this is for real.\u00a0With all those growing and changing bodies,\u00a0the body odour wafts down the hallways and sometimes it\u2019s a little overwhelming.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Please, get deodorant for your children, encourage good hygiene.\u00a0While their bodies may be developing I don\u2019t think their sense of smell has developed so they may smell and not even know it.<\/p>\n

Help Wanted & Parents Welcome<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Just because it\u2019s middle school doesn\u2019t mean the staff don\u2019t want, need and welcome your help.\u00a0Every classroom and every teacher is different but I would say the majority wouldn\u2019t turn away a helping hand.\u00a0Help wanted roles might include; drivers, supervisors, coaches, bulletin board designers, guest speakers, envelope stuffers, party planners, prayer support, home room parents, reading helpers, math helpers, office assistance, X-Block leaders.\u00a0You may not have all the skills to fill all the roles but I’m sure you can offer your services for one of these tasks.<\/p>\n

Good Community, Great People<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

From the moment you walk in the door and meet one of the friendliest faces in school administration to shaking hands with the most professionally dressed principals around to meeting all the teachers and support staff\u2026what\u2019s not to love?\u00a0So many of the staff take a vested interest in these kids<\/strong><\/span>, going above and beyond job expectations and showing respect and appreciation for these young people trying to figure out their place in this world.<\/p>\n

Work Hard & Play Hard<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Okay, one of our favourite things about middle school is all the opportunity for clubs and sports.\u00a0One of my favourite things to do is watch my kids play, perform, present etc.\u00a0I love it and I show it by cheering and screaming.\u00a0Sports Day is coming up so maybe I\u2019ll see you there or maybe you\u2019ll just hear me.<\/p>\n

It’s No Big Deal<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

Initially, going to middle school seemed like a big deal but seriously it\u2019s not.\u00a0Every time it has been a great transition.\u00a0If as a parent you\u2019re anxious, relax.\u00a0If your kid is feeling anxious, explain that it is no big deal.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still school; just a different building and different teachers.<\/p>\n

Middle school, such a concept. It\u2019s filled with such a variety of students: high voices, low voices and squeaky, cracking voices, some students who still resemble little kids, some who seem ready for high school and some who look like they\u2019re in high school but act like they\u2019re still in elementary school and everything in between.<\/p>\n

Just remember, they are all just kids, growing up and trying to figure out how to be adults just like us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY HELINDA VANDERKOOI, ACS PARENT\u00a0 Middle school\u2026yikes! I heard stories from parents about middle school. Claims like: your kids don\u2019t need you as much in middle school, hardly any parents come to chapel, the teachers don\u2019t want your help, the kids ignore and avoid you.\u00a0With all this chatter I was not looking forward to the […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":3709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,34,35],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-3705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-custom-fit-education","category-middle-school","category-secondary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3705"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=3705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}