Hey i need help with middle school?

[Tristan]

Hi I'm in 5th grade and I'll be in middle school soon and I need some tips. So I'm pretty smart cuz I get as and bs. Please answer these questions
1. How to keep my grades up
2. How to stay out of detention
3. How to get a girlfriend
4. How to fit in
5. Any extra info plz

[LaDiDa]

Tristan --
1. To keep your grades up you will need to do your homework on time, study for your tests, and participate in class discussions and assignments. Make sure you use folders and a planner to keep track of your assignments. You will need to be organized. That is the hardest part for some students. DO NOT Procrastinate -- put off your homework assignments until the last minute. If you get the assignment done early such as a writing assignment, many teachers will answer questions about it and give you feedback on how to improve it. If you see your grades slipping, talk to your teacher about doing extra credit to bring them back up. If you see your grades falling and you just do not understand the work, see your teacher and ask for a peer tutor or see if the teacher will help you with the class notes.
2. If you turn in your assignments on time, are respectful of others and their property, and obey the rules in the student handbook, you will not get sent to detention. Acting out and failing to complete assignments gets kids sent to detention. Though my middle child did get sent to lunch detention for chewing gum after being told not to chew gum several times. She did not believe the teacher would make her follow the rules in the student handbook.
3. Emily is right about being a nice guy. If you bathe regularly and use deodorant eventually when you are taller than the girls, they will like you. Shorter guys tend to not get girlfriends until they are taller than the girls unless they are super cute. Guys that stink or are rude/mean to girls tend to be ignored. Be forewarned that many girls are not allowed to date in middle school. I was not allowed to and neither were my three daughters. They did go to the movies in mixed friend groups. You do not want to be tied down to one girl anyway at this age. FYI if you do find a girlfriend, you will need to ask her about herself and not just talk about yourself when you are with her. Relationships require give and take.
4. Join activities at school that allow you to hang out with a variety of people so that you can find people to do things with after school and on the weekends. Many middle schools have sports, band, choir, clubs, student council, and a play or musical. Participate. You do not have to be the group leader unless you are a take charge kind of guy that does well at those kind of things. Conversations are two way streets. You have to listen as much as you talk. Try not to one up others. What I mean is if someone says that they got to do something interesting or cool...tell them that it was cool Do not tell them that you got to do something better than that or that you have more than they do. Let the other person shine for a while. Trying to out do a person during your conversations will turn others away from you. BE NICE. Bullies are not respected. If you can protect others from being bullied. People that are polite and nice to others are remembered. IF you are being bullied, find someway to prove it. If it is by an adult or student use your phone to record it and have your parents help you send a copy of it to someone that can help you. If it is a teacher this could be done anonymously if you are afraid of retaliation.
5. My daughters have had to move many many times due to my husband's work. They have learned that you should never talk about others in a negative way at school or in any written format (texts or facebook or email). Written texts, emails and facebook posts can be misinterpreted since the person reading them can put their own spin on how your words might sound. Negative words get back to the person being talked about and they can bite you in the butt. If you have something negative to say about someone then talk to your parents or siblings about it. Even people you have been friends with since Kindergarten, can share your negative comments on accident with someone else so it is better to protect yourself. ALSO be aware that you can earn money for college even in middle school by participating in writing contests etc.

Hope this helps! Enjoy middle school!

[Elise]

Okay, so... basically LaDiDa has it covered, but just make sure that your not annoying, and be smart! I mean, this is some pretty obvious stuff... but I'm really serious! I dated a guy last year (when I was in 6th grade) and nobody really liked him... but me. We never especially got to know each other, yet we went out for ... like 5-6 months! Trust me, it was literally the most boring relationship you could have! We never held hands, no kissing, not even a hug! We were both really open, talking about inappropriate stuff while we walked home...(we live relatively close) But, all the time, he would lie about the stupidest things; like he had a girl friend that moved away in fifth grade, and he won the chess state championships, a lot of other things, most of which I have chosen to forget! But... all along the way, the whole school made fun of me for dating him, and us for liking each other! (We have a small middle school, less than 100 kids) Now, I have 2 older brothers, I never really grew up with any girls, the only major girl in my early life was my neighbor friend, we were best friends for life till I turned about 7... stuff happened... But anyway, I have mostly grew up with boys, boys that are a lot older than me! My brothers are 5 and 7 years older! Basically, I could handle the bullying, but he really couldn't... finally, after I broke us up, I could go and try to get my biggest crush, for now, I'll call him BigMac... don't ask... Anyway, I have been hitting on that boy for a about 10 months now! I absolutely love him! And, everybody in the whole school knows... And I don't give a s***! But, anyway, DO NOT make relationship mistakes!!! Trust me, even if every adult tells you that you should like who you like, DON'T like them if they are majorly impopular!
Oh, and the smart thing, I know that was a long talk about nothing, but you need to be as smart as possible! I am a 7th grader taking 8th grade, and taking 9th grade math online! Nobody calls me a nerd though. Just jump ahead as far as you can, It will help, it boosts your self-esteem and ego a lot! Not that mine needed it But just try your best, do your homework every night, not necessarily writing, but put all your effort into math, just... MATH MATH MATH! I'm not in an 8th grade class for writing, it's all the math and science that I excelled in!

I really hope this helps, and I think you should know that I hate writing and this is very rare of me to write more than 5 lines!