It's the MOST Confusing Time of the Year!

Do you remember that wonderful commercial for Staples a few years back?  Set to the holiday tune "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," it featured parents gleefully purchasing school supplies as they prepared to send their kids back to school.  It was run so often and hit such a chord with me that whenever I hear that song (I believe sung by Andy Williams), I immediately think of think of back to school shopping, NOT Christmas.  Obviously Staples did their branding right!

This year my son went back to school before Labor Day AND he started middle school.  At least for our family (and I'm thinking there are more out there), it is the most CONFUSING time of the year. (And I think I'm usually pretty savvy about these things.)  Let me tell you why:

• This is our first experience with the middle school.  Sure I went there, but that was a zillion years ago when middle school was grades 6-8.  Now it's 5-8.  That means more kids.  (And "lunch" for 5th graders at 10:30 in the morning!  Which thus far seems to be working out very well and 5th graders snack during the last period of the day so it all evens out)

• The school has adopted a new "house" methodology.  Within the school there are two "houses." (And no, one of them isn't Slytherin!)  Each house encompasses grades 5-8 and has its own principal.  Teachers are assigned to specific house. (For example all 5th graders in "House A" will have the same teacher for math, even if they are not all in the same math class.)  Supposedly this will help the teachers better work together and identify any problems early on in the game.  Sounds good to me, but I'm still not sure how this all works.

• There are "cycle" classes that last 6 weeks.  This has totally thrown my son because he sees that he has 6 different classes listed for the same time.  I explained to him that he will have Art for 6 weeks, every single day.  Then after 6 weeks he (and everyone else who was in his Art class) will have a different "cycle" class (technology, health, etc.)  

• Days are designated as Day 1 or Day 2.  (This is what really confuses me as there are 5 days in the school week!)  On day 1 he has French.  On day 2 he has gym.  Also his last period class is either day 1 (extra math) or day 2 (extra literacy/English).  So while he has math and literacy class every day, he has an EXTRA period of one or the other depending on what day it is.

• Three days a week he has Period 0.  What does that mean?  Period 0 classes are music classes.  Two days a week period 0 is band (instrumental/5th graders only) and one day a week it is chorus (general/all grades).  Period 0 starts at 7:45 in the morning; so three days a week I need to have in in the car by 7:30 so that he can be at school before 7:45 and ready to go.  Period 0 is NOT required, but is graded.

• For the first time, he is moving from classroom to classroom.  To be fair, the 5th graders are pretty much kept in their own wing of the school, but classes are held within different classrooms and the kid who is in science with you may or may not be in your math class. My son is nervous that he will go to the wrong classroom.  (And he has.)

• For the first time he also has to deal with lockers.  5th graders have their lockers in their homeroom.  (All other grades have the standard lockers in the hallways.)  He also has a gym locker and will have to change his clothes for gym.  (Again this is a first).  He has to figure out what he needs for what class so that he has everything he needs.  And of course, that depends on what "day" it is.

My son's a little confused.  So I am!  It doesn't help that school started before Labor Day so there were only two days of school before a three day weekend.  Following Labor Day  there were 4 days of school and then another three day weekend. (Rosh Hashanah was on Monday).  This gives us another week of 4 days of school.  Then next week there are two days of school (Monday and Tuesday) and Wednesday off (Yom Kippur).  Then back to school for Thursday and Friday.  He doesn't get a "full week" of school until the week of the 28th!  It's enough to make your head spin!

I'm sure it will all work out.  By October he'll have it down pat.  The question is, will I?