Tips for Incoming Seventh-Grade Students

How to Prepare for the Upcoming School Year

July 1, 2008

Student Preparations for Seventh Grade

Visit the junior high during orientation sessions scheduled for your school. At the orientation meeting you will learn about junior high school classes, expectations, schedules, clubs, and other opportunities.

Do you have good study skills? Do you complete your homework? They are important to your success in junior high school.

Read, read, read. Reading is a critical learning skill. Visit the public library and find books that you enjoy. Make reading part of your weekend and summer activities.

Come to school prepared to challenge yourself and do the best you can.

If you are having trouble in class, don’t be afraid to ask your teacher for help.

A good night’s sleep and breakfast are fuel for learning and help you prepare to make the most of each day.

Your junior high school looks forward to having you at school, on time, ready to learn!

Student and Parent

Meet with your school counselor to talk about the pathway for junior high school that will prepare the student for high school and beyond.

Parents

Parents are a child’s first teacher. The teachers, administrators, and support staff of the Santa Barbara School Districts welcome the opportunity to be your partner in education.

Help your child prepare for the transition to seventh grade by becoming familiar with the junior high school. For example, while your student is in elementary school take your family to junior high school’s theater productions, concerts, and other public events.

Visit the Santa Barbara School Districts’ web site: www.sbsdk12.org. You will find information about school events and district news on the home page. Our junior high schools maintain school web sites and are a great source of information.

The schools will provide you with advance information on lists of supplies that your child will need. Purchase only the supplies that are necessary for the start of school.

Take every opportunity you can to be involved at your child’s school and volunteer when you are able (examples: PTA, English Language Advisory Committee, Site Council, help with school carnivals or other events). Helping at your child’s school helps you learn more about school programs and staff and is a great way to meet parents that you will likely see and interact with in junior high as well as high school.

Plan to attend Back-to-School Night in September.

Eat together as meal times are one of the most important ways to stay connected with your child.

Friends are a big part of your child’s life. As your child makes the transition to a larger setting they will have the exciting opportunity to meet many new friends. As parents, get to know these new friends and their families.

Encourage reading; it is the foundation of education. Reading builds vocabulary and encourages curiosity. Take your child to the public library for books that are suited to his/her interest areas.

Free- and reduced-price lunches are available to qualified families. Watch for the application forms; they are mailed out to families during the summer.

Make sure your child is well rested and starts the day with a nutritious breakfast.

Stay in contact with your child’s school and teachers, especially if your child is having difficulty in a class. Our teachers, administrators, and support staff are here to help you.

Make sure your child completes his/her homework.

Support student learning by planning vacations during non-school days. There are 180 education days and every one of them is important to your child’s academic success.

Thank you for helping us make the most of our 180 education days together by seeing that your child is at school, on time, and ready to learn!

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Barbara Keyani, Special Projects and Communication, Santa Barbara School Districts, 720 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, www.sbsdk12.org