Bridges to the Next Grade
Stepping Up (Transition from Grade 5 to Grade 6)
The Stepping Up program at Charlotte Christian School is designed to help parents and students make the transition from lower school to middle school. Charlotte Christian middle school is an amazing place where your child will be celebrated as a unique child of God. During the next three years, your child will mature, grow, learn, experience, and change. We are here to partner with you as they journey through this unique stage in their lives.
Each year the middle school welcomes the fifth grade to join a middle school chapel. During this time the middle school will share with fifth grade students all the great things they have to look forward to the following year. This chapel typically includes a performance from the middle school praise band and a viewing of the Windy Gap video that includes footage of the landscape, the activities, and the students. Several eighth grade students share their perspective on middle school: encouraging the rising fifth graders to be comfortable with who they are; to do their homework and not procrastinate; to respect their middle school teachers; and to have God as their best friend throughout middle school. Teachers share their thoughts on middle school unity, independence, responsibility, and friendship.
Each fifth grade student is given the opportunity to spend a couple hours shadowing a current middle school sixth grader. During this time the students attend two academic classes and have lunch with their middle school “ambassador”.
Ladders to Success (Transition from Grade 8 to Grade 9)
The Ladders to Success program at Charlotte Christian School is designed to help parents and students make the transition from middle school to upper school. Our goal is to provide parents and students with as much information as possible to make the transition from eighth grade to ninth grade a smooth one.
Parents will be provided with a wealth of information about the curriculum in the upper school. Rising ninth grade parents will be invited to a Family Forum held in February as an opportunity to listen to a detailed presentation on upper school curriculum. At this meeting parents will be given their child’s course selection sheet for their ninth grade year. They will also be provided with information from the college and academic counselors in the upper school. Before school starts in August, we will hold a Ninth Grade Parent Orientation to answer any last minute questions and provide additional information.
The upper school and middle school counselor will work together throughout the year to help prepare eighth graders for this transition to the ninth grade. Through guidance activities, students will learn about the upper school curriculum and graduation requirements and will be able to see how their performance in eighth grade relates to their class placement in ninth grade. The counselors will administer career and interest inventories that will assist students in better assessing and identifying their particular gifts and talents. Students will also have the opportunity to visit an upper school chapel and an upper school class. In addition a panel of upper school students will answer questions over a pizza lunch for all eighth graders.
