International Baccalaureate Programme

1. International Baccalaureate Programme Transitional Open House 2014

2. First and Foremost: Congratulations on successfully completing another year of education! Whether you are a student (or the amazing parent of a student) you have worked extremely hard to get this far! Pat yourself on the back and prepare for some well-deserved, relaxing, summer months. But since we are always told to prepare for the next steps…

3. IB Summer Work Yes, there is summer work as part of our IB Programme. Your upcoming teachers have prepared material that will help you transition into their classroom during next school year. It is important that you complete each assignment and turn them in by the given deadlines. Here are some tips for you: • Try to start and finish one assignment at a time. This will cut down on any confusion or mix-up. • Time management is extremely important. DO NOT wait until August 20th to start this work. You do not want to come back to school feeling overwhelmed. • If you are having extreme difficulty, contact either Ms. Feder OR the teacher responsible for the assignment prior to the first day of school. He/she can give you needed clarification and help along the way.

4. What happens if summer work is NOT completed? Teachers generally count the summer assignments as a grade during the first marking period of the school year. Assignments turned in late are subject to grade reduction, however assignments that are not turned in AT ALL can be extremely detrimental to a child’s first marking period grade. Our teachers are very understanding. If something happens that is out of your control and causes some difficulty in work completion, please contact that teacher as soon as possible to make alternative arrangements.

5. Now, Let’s move on to the 2014-2015 School Year…

6. Things are a-changin’ As some of you already know, the district has decided that our Middle and High Schools will be moving to block scheduling for next school year. There are still many unanswered questions about what this will mean for our students. However, we do know that: • Each class will be 90 minutes instead of 43 • The students will visit 4 classes per day instead of 7 • There will be an “A” day and a “B” day, each consisting of 4 classes.

7. “B” Day “A” Day • As you can see, the students will attend a total of 8 classes over two days. • Each student will attend: • Mathematics • Language Arts • Social Studies • Science • In addition, the students in the IB Programme will have the required electives as part of their schedule.

8. Required IB Elective Classes

9. As you can see, our new block schedule system provides the students with new opportunities to take classes that did not previously fit into their schedules. Mock Schedules *** These schedules are not “set in stone” and are subject to change based on information from the district about our new schedule***

10. Recommendations Forms – Incoming 6th Grade Students • Our Counselors visit the elementary schools in the district which house the majority of students who transition to Talley (Forwood, Lancashire, Claymont) • If your child attends one of those three schools, he/she has filled out a recommendation/elective form and wrote down whether he/she is interested in band, chorus, and/or orchestra. If you believe there was a mistake of any kind, please contact us and we can provide you with more information. • If your child does not attend one of those three schools, the counselors from that feeder Middle School will visit. They send Talley the recommendations of those students who will be choiced to Talley. • Our 6th grade Counselor has a list of all IB Students and will make sure to put them in all required electives.

11. Community Service Students in the International Baccalaureate Programme are required to complete community service hours as part of their curriculum. While this requirement has been in place for the past two years, there are some changes of which you should be aware. • Students are allowed to begin/complete their required service hours during the summer months while school is not in session. Please be sure to have proper documentation about the type of community service as well as the number of hours completed in order for students to get proper credit for the school year. • During the 2014-2015 school year, the service requirements will be counted as a project grade for their Language Arts class during the 4th marking period. Students who do not complete their required hours will not receive full “credit” for a project grade. • While documentation of hours completed with signatures of those “leading” the service is required, it is not mandatory to use our Talley verification form. Just make sure you have a written recording of those events in which you participated.

12. Community Service

13. Community ServiceWhat counts???

14. “Go To” Contact Information Principal: Dr. Richard Carter Interventionist: Mr. Kerry Galloway Family Liaison: Ms. Merrie Pritchett

15. Teams Our teachers and students are divided up into teams. This helps us to better accommodate you during conference time as well as help the students feel less overwhelmed during the transition between grade levels. The teams are made up of the four core classes and the team classrooms are generally in the same hallway.

16. Other Useful Information Talley Middle School has “Spirit” days throughout the school year during special events and occasions. Some of these special days encourage our students to wear their grade level colors. 6th Grade – Red and White 7thGrade – Orange and Black 8thGrade – Purple and Green

17. Good Luck!!! And now, a word from our teachers…