Rising 6th Grade Transition

Questions from WMS Rising 6th Grade Parent Presentation – ANSWERED!

How will you work with children who have a 504 plan? Will their plan be transitioned from elementary school?	If your child has a 504 plan already in place, the plan will follow your child to WMS. As in elementary school, you will have an annual review of the child’s 504 plan with the 504 Team committee. School counselors serve as the Case Carrier for 504 plans at WMS.
What kinds of clubs are there?	Information related to the current clubs offered at WMS can be found at the following link: WMS Activities
What is “check in”? This was mentioned but not defined.	Check-in is what we call Extended Day at the Middle School level. Information relating to this APS program can be found at the following website: https://www.apsva.us/extended-day/
We are not currently in an APS school, how will we get access to the course selection?	Please reach out to our Director of Counseling, Ms. Susan Russo ([email protected]) OR 6th grade counselor, Ms. Ashley Bleakley ([email protected]) to let us know about your plans to enroll your child in 6th grade at WMS and we can coordinate getting you the needed information for course selection.
In the exploratory wheel elective, will Latin be offered?	The courses offered in the exploratory wheel will vary based on enrollment and staff availability.
Would love to know the Intramural and Interscholastic sports selection	Information related to WMS Athletics can be found on this following website: https://williamsburg.apsva.us/sports/
I heard there is parent link for Canvas. How do I access this so that I can keep track of my child next year? Will parents require a separate Canvas account?	Parents can sign up for a Canvas “observer” account here: https://apsva.instructure.com/login/canvas
Are there opportunities for foreign language instruction in 6th grade?	World language electives for credit begin in 7th grade at Williamsburg. However, depending on staff availability they may be included in the elective wheel.
IEP transition	Elementary school case carriers will schedule IEP transition meetings with families in the Spring, where there will also be a representative from Williamsburg.
How will we be notified of the CRF, to complete? Or will only my child be notified?	Students have been invited to join a Canvas course titled “WMS Rising 6th Transition-2025”. The link to the Course Request Form (CRF) will be found in this course. See question above on how to sign up as a Canvas “observer.” If your child is coming from outside APS, please contact our registrar, Liliana Martinez at 703-228-5441.
What is the difference between English class and Reading?	English has a concentration on literary narrative elements, poetry, and a vocabulary development. A large portion of the curriculum and time is dedicated to writing standards and skills along with language usage (grammar and mechanics). Reading class involves developing skilled readers, building reading stamina, reading across the disciplines (literacy knowledge), reading informational text, and synthesizing information. More detailed descriptions can be found in the Program of Studies: https://catalog.apsva.us/sites/default/files/pdf/pdf_generator/middle-school-program-of-studies.pdf?1722961470
Why is there no options for [World] Language? [for 6th grade] … Immersion kids have a big hole in their education. What happened to the half year option??	Due to enrollment and staff availability, elective and World Language course offerings vary at each middle school. Students who have been in Immersion programs have the option to continue with the Immersion program at Gunston Middle School.
My child has a severe peanut allergy – what is the process for connecting with the school nurse and making sure there is an EPI-pen on site?	Questions relating to student health needs can be directed to our Clinic staff: https://williamsburg.apsva.us/about-us/clinic/
Volume of homework on average and for advanced students	Generally speaking, your child should not spend more than 30 minutes per subject area on homework. If you’re noticing a pattern where your child is spending more time than this on homework, please be in touch with the teacher to discuss your observations at home and work collaboratively with the teacher to support your child.
Information about how I can stay involved and participate, i.e. Canvas access. And recommendations for summer learning. It would have also been nice to hear the personal perspective/experience from students and parents. Also locker assignments. How classroom assignments are made. Details about behavior expectations. Where to purchase PE uniforms	Please see the question about Canvas above for the link to sign up as a Canvas observer. Summer Learning opportunities for APS can be found here: https://www.apsva.us/summer-school/ The rest of these topics will be covered in detail in our PALS Day Parent/Student Orientation the Thursday before school starts. Prior to this, parents will receive a summer newsletter that details important back to school dates and how to purchase PE uniforms online. More information to come on this soon!
How much involvement will their current teachers have in course selection, what data is used to determine math placement	Data used for math placement recommendations can vary year to year. SOL scores, RIT scores, CoGAT scores and teacher feedback have been used in the past. Please see the APS website for data that was considered for the 2024-2025 school year. https://www.apsva.us/curriculum/mathematics/ Feel free to reach out to the math coach once you receive your student’s math recommendation with any questions you have about the placement.
When is the small group orientation for parents or students with IEPs? How will we be notified of it?	Parents will receive an invitation if their child currently has an IEP. The event typically takes place in early March.
What are the biggest challenges for most students when coming into 6th grade? How do you decide which course to take, intensified or not?	A good rule of thumb for deciding whether or not to take Intensified classes is based on the subject-specific level of interest. If your child would like to learn more about the subject on their own time, even if they didn’t have the class at all, it is likely they would enjoy the opportunity to dig deeper into the content.
What specific class is every day (#5 in the schedule) or does it vary by student?	5th period is currently the class period that all students have every day. The course that your student will have during 5th period depends on their class schedule and this varies student by student.
How many teams are there?	There are currently two teams per grade level. This may change as we look at enrollment for next year.
How is grading different for regular and intensified classes?	Grading policies will be outlined in the Course Syllabi provided at the beginning of the year. In general, grading will be similar among regular and intensified classes.
Do intrascholastic sports take up both after school periods?	Yes
Is there Wolf Time in 7th and 8th? What is the homework expectation?	There is Wolf Time for all 3 grade levels. Wolf Time does not have homework or grades.
How does grading work in middle school?	Grading policies will be outlined in the Course Syllabi provided at the beginning of the year, as it is somewhat class specific. We use the following grading scale: A=90-100, B+=87-89, B=80-86, C+=77-79, C=70-76, D+=67-69, D=60-66, E=0-59