Dear Middle School Families,
Welcome to August...the month where teachers start counting down, parents start shopping, and middle schoolers suddenly remember they were supposed to read a book over the summer. 😉
I hope you've had time to enjoy the slower pace of summer. Whether your family traveled, camped, worked, slept in, or simply survived the heat, I hope you've made some great memories together.
You might notice that instead of sending one really long "everything you need to know" email, I'm spreading things out over the next three Wednesdays. Trust me—I'd rather send three shorter emails than one novel that gets skimmed somewhere around page two.
Here's what's coming:
📱 Next week: Our new district technology policy and what it will look like here at our middle school.
💻 The following week: Chromebook updates, lunch reminders, and a few housekeeping items to help everyone feel ready for the first day.
Last fall, a small group of parents joined me for a book study of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt. One idea from that book has stayed with me all year: our kids need places where they can focus, connect with other people, make mistakes, and grow—without every moment competing with a screen.
That doesn't mean technology isn't valuable. It absolutely is. It just means we want to be intentional about when it helps learning and when it gets in the way.
As we roll out some changes this year, I hope you'll know they're guided by one simple question:
What's best for kids?
If we keep that question at the center of our decisions, we're usually headed in the right direction.
Thanks for partnering with us. I can't wait to welcome our students back into the building. Middle school is never boring...and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Thank you for being part of our middle school family.
—Principal Barabe
