Middle School Orientation at Flat Rock Middle

Current 5th-graders enrolled in elementary schools that feed into Flat Rock Middle learned about all that awaits them in August when they become middle schoolers.

During a 6th Grade Orientation on Thursday, incoming students from Atkinson, Dana, Hillandale, Hendersonville, Sugarloaf and Upward elementaries met with their future middle school coaches, learned about “dressing out” for P.E., toured their classrooms, and heard selections from Flat Rock Middle’s band and strings ensemble.

They also practiced a daily routine their classmates – and teachers – will appreciate them performing before coming to school each morning.

“To make it fun and to touch on things that need to happen to get ready for school … we’re doing a relay race,” said School Counselor Julia Schleifman. “That involves brushing your teeth, (and) putting on deodorant after a shower.”

Student had to begin the race by lying down, only to jump up at the start of the race. Their first stop was the “shower,” where they held a Frisbee with streamers representing a showerhead over their heads while hula hooping five times. Next, they had to mimic brushing their teeth and applying deodorant with unwrapped props before putting on a Flat Rock Middle jersey to wear to school. They then had to pack a backpack with a textbook before grabbing a scooter board and scooting back to their teammates.

While the relay race kept the students engaged and entertained, it drove home an important life skills lesson.

“It’s always good for (incoming) middle schoolers to learn because they’re about to hit puberty,” Schleifman said.

After the relay was over, students reflected on what they learned from doing the exercise, and one student said he’d found himself multitasking – throwing on his clothes while packing his backpack.

Another student said it’d be a lot easier in the morning and less rushed if she managed to set an alarm and wake up on time.

That particular life skill, Schliefman said, is one the students would be working on for the rest of their lives.

(Written by Molly McGowan Gorsuch, HCPS Public Information Officer.)