Middle School Survival Guide {Part 1: The Locker}

I can't believe it's almost school time again! I can literally hear your groans. Yep, I feel your pain. =) But, you have to gain knowledge to go places in this world, so it's not so bad. Really. One day you'll even be thankful for it!  Really.  Can you believe it - in a few weeks, you're about to become an official, true blue {no, true azure (Remember that word?)} middle school-er!  Does that factoid excite you, scare you silly, make you wish you'd failed 5th grade, make you wish that wonderful 1st day was tomorrow or 100 years from now, or a bit of all those emotions rolled into one?  Believe me, it's completely & totally normal to be jittery, hopeful, & scared all at once!  That's how I was.  Sixth grade was my favorite year of middle school!  It was an amazing time to find my independence & discover/explore things I was good at.  I hope it will be an amazing time for you, too!  That's why I'm creating this Survival Guide, so you'll have a head start to a fantastic 1st year of middle school!  


In middle school you get your first ever locker & it's pretty exciting to have your own small personal space at school.  I used to think of it as my 'school closet.'  Some lockers are stacked (one on top - one on bottom), & some take up the whole section (sorta floor to ceiling models), also, some have built in combination locks & others have to have a removable combination lock, but both unlock the same way.  

How to open your locker...  No, 'open sesame' won't work. =)

     

Decorating Your Locker

Okay, so the locker above may be a dream locker.  Your locker, in reality, will likely look more like this...

But hey, don't worry! You can turn a blah locker into a mini home-sweet-home with a few decorative touches.  Here's some ideas for ya...

Use scrapbook paper, photos, pages from magazines, &/or wrapping paper to cover the inside of your locker.  Instant "wall paper" - just add tape!  I did this in high school using loads of magazine pictures!

Wash out a soup can, cover the edges with felt or fabric (note: the top edge may be sharp), & then embellish to your heart's content.  Add a strong magnet on the back for a locker-friendly pencil/supply cup.  These are oh-so-handy + the tin can is magnetic, too, so you could add tiny magnets & notes directly to the pencil cup.

Create places to clip important notes, deadlines, & (of course) photos by decorating clothes pins & adding a magnetic strip to the back!  So easy!

Turn old bottle caps (plastic caps from soda or water bottles work, too) into artsy magnets.  Just decorate with paint or a picture & add a strong magnet to the back.

Remove the sticker labels from a bottle of hand sanitizer & add your own stickers, ribbon, paint, Sharpies, etc.  Perfect for storing in your locker & keeping the germs away in between classes.

More Items You Might Just Want to Have in Your Locker:

-plenty of supplies (paper, pencils, pens, etc.)

-a mini calendar (to keep track of your schedule)

-a dry erase board (for important memos & such)

-a magnetic mirror (for a quick check in between classes)

-a mini hair brush

-snack (make sure it's nothing that will rot, stink, or make a mess=)

-air freshener (You know those little decorative papers you can get at the department store to spray a sample of perfume on?  I punched a hole through one of those, laced some ribbon through, & spritzed it heavily in a fancy perfume & hung that in my locker.) 

Final Advice:

Make sure to keep your locker safe by never giving your combination to anyone.  One way to keep it secret is to write it down in an alphabet code until you have it memorized.  For example, 2, 18, 20 would be B, R, T because B is the 2nd letter of the alphabet, R is the 18th, & T is the 20th.  When leaving your locker, spin the dial once or so & try to open the locker to make sure it is locked.  Lastly, make your locker your own.  Add your own personal touch through photos, posters, even something small/inexpensive from home that represents you like a little figurine, photo frame, or trinket. 

Love,

Ms. D.

P.S.:

Do you know I was walking through Walmart the other day & stumbled upon a locker chandelier!  It actually lit up & everything!  So cute!  I wished they'd had that when I was in school!  


(All photos are via Pinterest.)

Summer Reads

Hey, long time no see!  Hope your summer days are sizzling with adventure!  If not (or even if they are) why not get swept up in a good read?  

I vividly remember purchasing two books at my 6th grade book fair (Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (years before the movie ever came out) & A Girl Named Disaster by Nancy Farmer).  These 2 book purchases were a turning point in my love of reading.  Sure, I had always enjoyed books, but this was something different.  I felt like I was actually there in the two characters' worlds.  I couldn't put the stories down & when I was finished I was sorry the magic was over.  The beauty of that 6th grade memory is that the 'magic' wasn't gone, it was just beginning, as I found more & more books to take me on fabulous adventures & even cause me to laugh out loud or cry at times.  

Many of you may be scratching your head thinking, "Come on Ms. D., we know you're book/writing crazy, but that'll never be me!"  I truly believe it can be you!  You just haven't found the right book yet!  The perfect book will fuel your reading passion & you won't be able to get enough, just like my 2 book fair finds.  So, think about what you like already, be it basketball, music, dance, art, theater, football, manga, comics... & then look for a book about your passion.  Remember, appearances aren't always what they seem.  In other words, "Don't judge a book by its cover."  There's a perfect book someone out there waiting for you!  Go find it!  

You can't avoid reading forever!  Click here for Hamilton County's 6th grade summer reading list!  Be sure to check with your particular middle school to see if there are any additional books you need to read over the summer.  Click here to visit the Hamilton County Library site to search for books!   

Now, here's some of my favorite summer picks... 

{NOTE: These aren't on your reading list, they're just some of my personal favorite summer reads.  Ms. Dawn approved!}

Ms. Dawn's Summer Picks

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

by Brian Selznick

Tuck Everlasting

by Natalie Babbitt

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters

by Lesley M. M. Blume

Dave At Night

by Gail Carson Levine

The Cay

by Theodore Taylor

The Summer Before

by Ann M. Martin

Cicada Summer

by Andrea Beaty

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

by Grace Lin

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories: The Secret of The Old Clock & The Hidden Staircase

by Carolyn Keene

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

by Jeanne Birdsall

Love,

Ms. D.

P.S.: Yes, that's my skateboard. =)

Announcing A Girl's Writing Contest + New Movie News

Well, it's about one week into summer...  How's it going so far?  I've been able to relax a little, shop {which I must admit I enjoy way too much}, read, play hide-&-seek / trains with my nephew, craft {i.e.: make stuff}, & clean up around my apartment.  How about you?

The main reason I'm writing today, is to let all the girls in on a writing contest & to let you all in on a new movie coming out this summer called Brave.  Check out a couple of previews...





I'm excited about it since it's set in my favorite place: Scotland.  Merida looks like a fresh & spunky character, which leads me to the contest!  Sorry guys, this one's just for the girls!  

Here's the contest info:
-write a story about a time when you were brave
-it must have 500 words or less
-the deadline is June 9, 2012 @ 11:59 PM
-the contest is open to all girls living in the USA that are ages 7-13   
-there will be one 1st place winner that will get a fancy prize pack packed with Brave goodies
-10 runners-up will win a copy of Brave the chapter book based on the movie
-all winners will be featured in the oh-so-fabulous magazine Discovery Girls
-you must submit your entry online at this site {click me}

Happy summer!  I hope some of you girls will enter the contest!  You just might be published in a major magazine! =) Here's hoping!

Love,

Ms. Dawn

P.S.: Here's a couple of pictures I took when I traveled to Scotland.  They sort of remind me of the castle in the previews.

-Urquhart Castle ruins on the banks of Loch Ness-



Goodbye Elementary School...

Memories are made of this...

seniors welcome

morning meetings

Paradise Library

Wish it... dream it... you did it!  Keep going & do it again (8th) & again (12th) & again (college)!

Valentine's Day "Chocolate" Poems

Black History Month

'go fishing' on our writing wall - 'Give a man a fish & he'll eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish & he'll eat for a lifetime.'

$million & $$billion dollar words on our Word Wall

hyperbole of the year - "I've told you a million times!"

Congrats to our graduates!!!

Love you always & forever!!!

-Ms. D.

Postcards From Verona

Verona, Italy is the setting of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.  Today, you can still visit the fair city.  Take a peek...

Valentine's Day in Verona

You can even write a letter to Juliet and stick it on the wall of her 'house' in Verona.  She might even write back, as some Italian ladies still answer the letters sent to Shakespeare's famous character each year.  In 2010, a film called Letters to Juliet came out about the mysterious letter-writing secretaries of Verona and their many stories.   

These wedding locks with couple's names written on them represent eternal love, locked up, and lasting forever. 

the Juliet statue in Verona

'Juliet's House' - Don't you just love the balcony?

Ciao,

Ms. Dawn

P.S.: "Dear Juliet" translated in Italian is "Cara Giulietta."  Each year on Valentine's Day in Verona they present "Cara Giulietta" awards to the most romantic heart-wrenching letters received the previous year. 

{all images via Pinterest}