SOUTH BRUNSWICK:Crossroads campus students will see chnages next month

Maria Riegel, Special Writer
   Students returning or entering middle school should expect to see changes in the upcoming school year according to Crossroads North Principal Mark Daniels.
   Mr. Daniels said he sent out a telephone message Monday to all parents with students attending Crossroads North that rising sixth and seventh grade students can access their unit placement, homeroom teacher, and homeroom teacher from the Family Connect website.
   He said that if parents have difficulty accessing this information for their child they may contact Crossroads North for further assistance.
   In addition, there are now nine existing units at Crossroads North; three sixth grade units, five seventh and eighth grade units, and one additional unit for seventh graders, according to Mr. Daniels.
   He said that the newly created unit, Theta, will only be for seventh graders. The purpose of Theta is to reduce the amount of students per class.
   Mr. Daniels said that with the new unit established, Crossroads North and South will both now have the same number of units. There were not any additional units added to Crossroads South according to Mr. Daniels.
   ”We established a new unit because we don’t want to pull kids out of an existing unit,” Mr. Daniels said. “We did it to primarily reduce class size.”
   Although Theta will only be made up of seventh graders, the same group of seventh graders will stay together as a group and be moved to an already existing eighth grade unit when they are promoted, according to Mr. Daniels.
   Mr. Daniels also said that the student drop-off and pick up routine for Crossroads North has been changed for the upcoming school year.
   ”We’ve revised (the system),” Mr. Daniels said. “We clearly understood that we had a safety concern first and foremost.”
   According to Mr. Daniels, the front parking lot was a dangerous place for students to be dropped off and picked up by their parents because of the constant bus activity as well as cars pulling in and out of the parking lot.
   ”The parent drop off and pick up location will (now) be in the rear parking lot of the building,” Mr. Daniels said. “We widened our back parking lot. Parents will enter and exit using the lane through the rear of the building.”
   Even though the student drop off and pick up location has been moved, the buses will be in the same place, according to Mr. Daniels.
   Mr. Daniels said that he encourages parents of Crossroads North and South middle school students to begin to get their child back on a regular routine for the upcoming school year as the summer winds down.
   He also said that the students have their summer reading assignment that they must complete before the start of the school year.
   Mr. Daniels said that students also have math practice over the summer to complete online that relates directly to the math class they will be taking in September.
   ”As we kind of get to the latter part of the summer, I encourage parents to begin to help transition,” Mr. Daniels said.
   The school supply list corresponding for each grade is available on the district website http://www.sbschools.org.
   ”This year we had an information session (for parents) in June,” Mr. Daniels said.
   He said parents are welcome to walk their child around Crossroads North once they know their child’s unit and homeroom number. He also said that if parents take the time to tour the school with their child, it helps reduce the child’s anxiety level for the opening of school.
   Also, sixth grade students are given the opportunity to practice opening lockers and using their locker combinations the first few days of the school year, he said.
   ”I am looking forward to a new school year,” Mr. Daniels said.