36 replies to this topic

[s0479]

My daughter started at SMS this year as a 6th grader. Overall it has been a very good experience.....a few bumps but nothing that I'm sure we wouldn't have had at any middle school. What I had "heard" about FMS vs SMS, both are great schools...SMS had better teachers and FMS had better programs......heard this from a lot of people that work for the district. Who knows if it is true or not. I think you can't go wrong with either school. I'd rather have an old school with a great environment than a newer school with a poor environment... and no I'm not saying that FMS has any problems...but that is the complaint I always heard "SMS is so old" and "FMS is newer/nicer"....in my opinon who cares, do they provide a good learning environment for my child, if the answer is yes then there isn't a problem!

[sat]

I may be mistaken, but doesn't it depend on what elementary school your child attends that determines what middle school he or she might attend? My daughter is in fifth grade, and I was told if she stayed at the school she attended last year, that Sutter would be her middle school. However, she transferred to the new school, and now Folsom is her middle school.

To me, it makes no difference, as I have heard good things about both. I just prefer Folsom Middle because it's closer to our home. We went on a tour there a couple of weeks ago for incoming 6th-graders and we were impressed. As noted before, they do have a seperate building for 6th-grade classes, so I think that will ease the adjustment.

[keyplayer]

My daughter went to Folsom Middle and I teach at both. She loved going for 6th grade. The staff at both schools really try to help with the transition. Folsom Middle is an easy walk from the house on Willow Creek. You can cut through the park and it's much closer than the drive.
Both schools are good. Sutter has had some ups and downs the last few years with constant principal changes. Now we have a good principal and things are really going well. The principal at FMS is awsome too.
If your student is in band, orchestra or choir there is a big advantage to being at the middle school. Music classes are part of the regular day and we have a strong music program. Unfortunatly we do not have any beginning instrumental classes at that level. Choir is open to beginners.

Good Luck with the move. If you get the Willow Creek house we may be neighbors.

[normajean]

Here is my $.02 worth re: 6th grade at middle school vs elementary. Of course maturity plays a huge role. Both of my kids went to FMS as 6th graders and they both reported that on graduation night (from HIGH school) you could tell the kids that went to middle school as 6th graders vs as 7th graders!! The difference being that the kids that started middle school in 6th grade were friends with everyone in the graduating class, kind of "cross elementarying" with other kids from other schools. The kids that started as 7th graders were only friends with the kids from their elementary school. It was like as 6th graders everyone is new, nervous, scared and bonds together for a year. Then when 7th starts and the 'newbies' come in, the cliques have been made and they all stick together, for many years to come. Very interesting perception from 18 year olds.

Another point is that yes, the inevitable will happen. Do you want your children to have a transition of the move to a new home/town/school (elementary) and then a year from now, another transition to another new school (middle school), stay for 2 years and move on to high school? Or would it be better for your kids to move, start the middle school in 6th and stay for 3 years???

Just some food for thought!

[Folsom Guy]

Just an update: I had emailed the principal of FMS regarding the rude woman and she wrote back right away and then called me. She apologized and was very helpful in answering questions that I had.

No you got me curious - what happened?

[Andrea V]

Because they only have 2 core teachers for 4 subjects : meaning one teacher takes on English and history, another teacher takes on science and math: the kids transition easier. Every 50 minutes they still get up and move to a different class--but their core classes are just two teachers. They'll also have PE daily instead of once a week at the grammar school. And they have one elective and one advisory class ( 20? minutes with the same teacher who is their english/history teacher).

We did that is 6th grade too!! It made it SOOOOOOOOO Much easier to go to Jr. high. I wish NSE did that too!

[AMETHYST PRODUCTIVITY]

No you got me curious - what happened?

I called the school this morning to ask how to go about registering my daughter and the person I spoke to initially acted like I was bothering her. I asked whether or not my daughter needed to have a physical to attend school. Her response - I don't know, call your doctor!

The reason I asked about the physical is some places require you to have one within a certain time frame of starting school. I didn't think it was an unreasonable question.

I asked her how to get the paperwork for registering. She said I had to come by the office. (I had already explained that I'm 3.5 hours away.) I reiterated that fact and she (very snotty) said - well if you ASK me to, I'll mail it to you. I felt like she was treating me like I was 5. No okay with me.

I asked her how to go about visiting the school so that my daughter could see it before the first day of school. She informed me it was not possible and she would just have to wait until the first day of school.

Anyway, when I finally spoke to the principal (who was very nice and helpful BTW), she said, NO PROBLEM, I'll be happy to meet with you over the summer, at your convenience and give you a tour of the school.

She also explained everything I'd need to register her for school. Now, how hard was that?

[jtroiano]

At this age-group, it won't matter if she attends school at an elementary school or the middle school, she'll make friends from all over the city.

That reminds me of a personal anecdote.
When we moved into town, and picked our house - on a block of 4 and 5 bedroom homes, people-movers (SUVs) in the driveway, 1 block from the elementary school, we figured there'd be kids crawling all over, and that's just what we wanted.

Turned out there was only 1 other house on the block with kids, and none of them were the same age as ours!

Dissapointing for sure.

It was the same way when we moved here 15 years ago. Our son was 12 and not one family on the block had a kid his age or reasonably close.

[Jolene]

The house we're looking at is on Willow Creek, up near the water treatment plant.

Totally off-topic, but if the house you're looking at is the house I'm thinking of, it's freakin' ADORABLE!!! Good luck on your move!

[AMETHYST PRODUCTIVITY]

Totally off-topic, but if the house you're looking at is the house I'm thinking of, it's freakin' ADORABLE!!! Good luck on your move!

Jolene,
There are 3 houses for sale on WC in our price range right now. One we almost bought last winter but it was a little too pricey. This one is brown with a 3 car garage, on the left hand side as you head north towards Randall. Thanks for the well wishes.

[nlove4ever]

So my 16 yr old Son went to FMS because we lived on the east side of East Bidwell and we now live on the west side of East Bidwell. My 11 year is going to Sutter Middle School this year. I loved FMS, and the staff, especially the principal, vice principal, counselors and the office staff. They all went above and beyond any time I needed them too! I can’t say enough about them! They are just awesome!

For that reason I want my 11 yr old to go to FMS, but our boundary is SMS and I think he should go to school where most of the kids in the neighborhood go so that he can meet new friends, plus there is no school bus to FMS from Broadstone. So we are stuck with SMS and I hope that it is as good as FMS was. I am very worried. My Son doesn’t want to go there because it looks old and run down.

[s0479]

So my 16 yr old Son went to FMS because we lived on the east side of East Bidwell and we now live on the west side of East Bidwell. My 11 year is going to Sutter Middle School this year. I loved FMS, and the staff, especially the principal, vice principal, counselors and the office staff. They all went above and beyond any time I needed them too! I can’t say enough about them! They are just awesome!

For that reason I want my 11 yr old to go to FMS, but our boundary is SMS and I think he should go to school where most of the kids in the neighborhood go so that he can meet new friends, plus there is no school bus to FMS from Broadstone. So we are stuck with SMS and I hope that it is as good as FMS was. I am very worried. My Son doesn’t want to go there because it looks old and run down.

My daughter said they same thing (and I told her the "don't judge a book by its cover, its whats inside that matters) and she had a great year and loves Sutter. All Folsom schools are in great shape compared to what they could be going to across the country. Our kids need to realize how fortunate they are.

[keyplayer]

Jolene,
There are 3 houses for sale on WC in our price range right now. One we almost bought last winter but it was a little too pricey. This one is brown with a 3 car garage, on the left hand side as you head north towards Randall. Thanks for the well wishes.

I think that's the one by me!

[forumreader]

My Son doesn’t want to go there because it looks old and run down.

Have you been inside the classrooms at Sutter? They are in very nice condition. (In fact, they look better than many classrooms at FHS and some of the elementary schools.)

Additionally, many improvements have been made to the exterior of Sutter in the last four years.

I would not call this school "run down."

[P123]

When I moved to Folsom in the 7th grade, I went to FMS. I went to a Kindergarten through 8th grade school in San Jose, and there were only about 60 kids in my grade each year. We basically knew everyone. FMS was really different, but I survived, made friends, and had a lot of fun. Don't worry about your daughter so much, I'm sure she'll do fine

I'm 18 and off at college now, and I am still good friends with the friends I made in middle school. In fact, I can't wait until school ends and I can come home and hang out with them again.