Again this year I am presenting the program, Middle Moves, to the 6th
graders through the Social Studies classes. These are lessons to help our
students transition more easily from elementary into middle school. The
different class presentations include academic achievement, personal/social
growth, health/community and career awareness.
In February or March, I will be engaging the 8th graders in activities which
will better prepare them for the transition to high school. These classes
will be held through Ms. Kaddour's Social Studies classes. Students will
explore careers, and develop an electronic plan for high school studies.
I will be teaching an elective again this year called, PEER COURT. It
is my belief that students learn best from each other, whether it be
tutoring, mediation, anger management, or conflict resolution. Peer Court
is a class comprised of a small number of students who have been selected by
teachers and administration for integrity, maturity, honesty, good judgement
and above average grades.
Peer Court students are learning the roles of courtroom jobs: Bailiff, judge,
court clerk, attorneys, jurors,etc. They will all rotate positions
throughout the year. First of all, the students are trained in various
skills such as "I-Messages", Assertiveness vs. Aggression, Interviewing
skills, and Mediation. They will then train for court cases through
different mock trials. Once confident and ready, our administration will
refer cases to us.
These cases will involve minor infractions- but infractions, nonetheless!
Uniform violations, gum chewing, tardiness, absenteeism, cafeteria
misbehavior. As time goes on, we hope to be able to tackle all types of
cases. The Peer Court is not a punishing court. It is an instructional
court designed to look beyond the behavior and assist students with
improvement. If the student is acting out because of poor grades, we want
to plug support services in as a way to help. If the student is having
family problems, we can direct him/her to our T.R.U.S.T. counselor. These
are but a few of the examples of the type of assistance we hope to provide.
Peer Court students will also have the opportunities of learning Peer
Counseling, Ethics training and discussion, and serving as office/classroom
aides on Wednesdays.
