6th Grade Orientation

Here at Wiseburn Middle School, we know 6th grade is such a special year, but a big transition. We also know that our students do well through continued teacher support and partnership with families.

So to help with this transition, we are hosting our 6th grade "Where Everyone Belongs" (WEB) orientation on Wednesday August 23 at 8:00 a.m. WEB is a middle school transition program that welcomes 6th graders and makes them feel comfortable throughout the first year of their middle school experience. This event is important and provides students a chance to meet other 6th grade students, connect with 8th grade mentors, and get their schedule. Students will report to our gymnasium. WEB leaders will be on hand to help direct students.

6th Grade Parent/Caregiver Orientation

We will also be hosting a 6th grade parent/caregiver orientation on the same day starting at 8:00 a.m. in our Multi-Purpose Room. WMS admin will share important school information and some cyber safety tips to help guide our middle schoolers. We understand not all parents/caregivers will be able to attend and will be sure to share the presentation.

Summer Reading

Just as our 7th and 8th graders must do, our incoming 6th graders must complete their summer reading. To fulfill the basic requirement of the summer reading assignment all students must earn 10 AR points. Note: Completing the summer reading requirement will be counted as an English grade in September.

For more details on how to complete this assignment, please see the Summer Reading Directions here.

Arrival & Drop Off Procedures

School begins at 8:30 a.m. with optional breakfast being served between 8:00 a.m and 8:20 a.m. With the exception of students enrolled in Zero Period P.E., students should not arrive at school prior to 8:00 a.m. and will not be able to enter campus until this time. Students may use any of the three entry gates to enter campus. While supervision on campus begins at 8:00 a.m., our parking lot supervision and cross guard duty will begin at 8:15 a.m.

The first bell will ring at 8:25 a.m. Students who are not located inside of their assigned homeroom when the final bell rings at 8:30 a.m. will be marked tardy for that day.  Students are expected to abide by the attendance procedure and requirements set by their homeroom teacher. 

Early Student Pick-Up

Parents/caregivers must provide a written note to the front office before school begins. A note will be given to the student by the attendance clerk and it will be the student’s responsibility to come to the office at the appropriate time. Students will not be called out of the classroom or from lunch to come to the office.

End of Day Student Dismissal & Pick-Up

During regular school days, school dismisses at 2:45 p.m. and blacktop/parking lot supervision is provided until 3:00 p.m. During shortened school days, school dismisses at 1:45pm and blacktop/parking lot supervision is provided until 2:00 p.m. During minimum days, school dismisses at 11:45 a.m. and blacktop/parking lot supervision is provided until 12:00 p.m.  The school office closes at 3:50 p.m. and there is no telephone available after this time. If students are not participating in a school-sanctioned after-school activity, they must leave the Wiseburn MS campus following dismissal. Transportation arrangements must be made before your child arrives at school.

Parking + Pick-Up/Drop-Off Safety

Please note that parking in red zones, making illegal U-turns, or advising your child to jaywalk across 135^th Street is a danger to all Wiseburn MS students. Remember that our behavior on the road can be either a positive or a negative lesson to students. Please be courteous and careful when dropping off or picking up your child at school each day and refrain from using handheld wireless devices while driving. Due to the high volume of traffic at the start and end of the school day, it is recommended that families plan time accordingly. Cars may not park in any red zone or double park/park behind a car in a parking spot.

Bicycles/Scooters/Skateboards

Any student choosing to ride his/her bicycle, scooter, or skateboard to school must complete an authorization form. This form can be found here or picked up in the Wiseburn MS main office. Once the form is turned in, students will get a Wiseburn MS sticker to adhere to their bike/scooter/skateboard. 

Students riding to or from school are encouraged to wear a helmet with the chin strap fastened. Failure to have an authorization form on file and/or violations of the expectations contained in the authorization form may result in the item being confiscated by school administration and released only to a parent/caregiver.

Students are required to bring and use locks each day to secure their item. Bicycles will be kept in the school’s gated bike corral, which is located adjacent to the main office and that is locked between 8:30am-2:45pm. Bikes should still be locked while inside the bike corral. Students are to secure their skateboard in the skateboard racks located by Gate #2 between the Wiseburn MS Gym and the MPR. Students may secure scooters with their lock at either location.

Students must walk with their skateboard, scooter, or bicycle upon entering and departing campus, to include the sidewalks in front of campus and on 135th Street immediately in front of the school. Failure to comply with this rule will result with the item being confiscated by Wiseburn MS staff and parents/guardians having to pick-up the item. Wiseburn Middle School does reserve to right to limit a student’s ability to bring a skateboard, scooter, or bicycle on campus if safety concerns and/or or repeated offenses have taken place.

Students will receive detailed instructions from their team of teachers during the first week of school. We do encourage students to arrive with something to write with (pencil and pen) and a notebook to write in.

We look forward to hosting Back-to-School Night for parents and caregivers on Wednesday, September 6th, 2023.  More information will be provided through the Principal’s weekly message in the weeks leading up to the event.

Email/Voicemail

Should you wish to email a Wiseburn MS faculty or staff member, the complete school email directory for the 2023-24 school year is available on the Wiseburn MS website and can be found here. Should you wish to speak to a Wiseburn MS faculty or staff member over the phone or leave a message for a specific recipient, please call our main office at (310) 725-4700 to speak with one of our front office receptionists.

Weekly E-Mail / Principal’s Message

To keep you better informed and maintain that strong home/school connection, up to date information and flyers will be sent to families via e-mail Thursday evening of each week. This will include important school information, PTSA news, and flyers announcing special projects and events. If you are having trouble receiving e-mail from the school, or if other caregivers for your child are not receiving the weekly message, please contact our site secretary.

Wiseburn MS Website

The Wiseburn MS website can be found at wiseburnms.wiseburn.com. This was created and is kept up-to-date so you can always have the best information about our school.

Social Media

Follow @wiseburndolphins on Instagram for posts that highlight students and events around school. 

All students attending public school in California will be provided with an optional, free school breakfast and an optional, free school lunch. Optional breakfast is offered on campus between 8:00-8:20am. Our cafeteria services provide freshly cooked, hot school lunch meals, including milk. Students do not have lunch cards, but rather, their accounts are accessed with personal PIN numbers. Please note that students should not share their PIN with other students. PIN numbers will still be used when students choose to receive a free meal. PIN numbers are a student’s Wiseburn Middle School ID number, which they receive the first day of school and will keep for their three years at WMS.
 
View menus

Want to be involved in your student's education and our community? Browse the organizations and opportunities below to see how you can get involved this school year.

Wiseburn PTSA

The Wiseburn PTSA is an integral part of the community and helps support a number of programs and instructional resources on-site, such as Literacy Week, 8th grade promotion activities, and grade level field trips. Get involved by signing up to be a PTSA member or volunteering at a PTSA event. Follow their great work on Instagram and be a member of PTSA today.

Wiseburn Education Foundation

Wiseburn Education Foundation (WEF) is a community-based, volunteer organization focused on raising funds to support programs that allow our students to learn in a STEAM-rich environment. Get involved by helping at a WEF event or serving on a committee. There are plenty of opportunities throughout the school year, so stay tuned to WEF’s Facebook or Instagram for more info.

Wiseburn ACTS

Wiseburn ACTS (Achieving a Culture of Togetherness and Support) is a committee whose members strive to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) so that every single person feels valued and respected. Learn more about how to get involved on the Wiseburn ACTS website.

Absences

All students between the ages of 6 and 18 must attend school daily. Parents/caregivers are responsible for sending their children to school (E.C. 48200).  Parents/caregivers will receive an automated phone message from School Messenger for each absence.

A parent/caregiver note or phone call to the office at  (310)725-4700, or an email to the school’s attendance clerk at marevalo@wiseburn.org, is required on the first day of the absence. Students late to school must report to the office before reporting to class. 

A student who is absent three full days without a valid excuse, or on three occasions is tardy or absent for more than 30 minutes, or any combination thereof, is a truant (E.C. Section 48260). Truancy can lead to severe consequences, including fines and criminal prosecution. 

Students who are truant from school will be referred to the School Attendance Chairperson and a referral to the District Attendance Review Team (DART) and School Attendance Review Board (SARB) may occur. 

Verified excused absences are:

• Illness
• Quarantine directed by county or city health officials
• Medical, dental or eye care services
• Attending funeral services for the immediate family
• Attending religious services

Excessive Absences

If a student reaches 3 unexcused absences in a school year, school notification will occur. A School Attendance Review Team (SART) meeting may occur when students are absent from school 10 days or more and when a clear pattern of truancy exists.

Tardies

It is the legal responsibility of the parent/ caregiver and student to see that the student arrives at school on time.

If students are late for school, consequences may be assigned as indicated in the Wiseburn Middle School discipline matrix.

Parents/Caregivers will be notified for each tardy by an automated message from School Messenger.  After 10 tardies, parents/caregivers will begin receiving letters in the mail and/or phone calls regarding continued attendance issues.

If a student reaches 15 tardies to school, a referral to the School Attendance Review Team (SART) for further action will occur.  A violation of the School Attendance Review Team Contract will result in a referral to the District Attendance Review Team (DART). Further action may be taken by the School Attendance Review Board (SARB) if attendance does not improve.

Please note: The district may conduct home visits to verify student residency/attendance requirements.

Independent Study Program (Traditional)

This program was developed to help students on extended absence (minimum 5 days) continue their educational program. Parents/caregivers must notify the school office five or more working days prior to the absence.  In order to receive full credit, the student is expected to complete all coursework assigned by the teachers during the period of absence.  This will entail accessing coursework online through the school’s learning management system (Canvas). Specific coursework will be assigned by a student’s teachers and must be completed and submitted upon the student’s return.  If internet access is not available during the extended absence, special arrangements will need to be made through the main office, prior to the student’s departure.  Notice to our site that internet access will not be available to the student must be made at least five days prior to the absence so that accommodations may be made.  All assignments completed on paper during the period of independent study must be submitted to the Wiseburn MS Office upon the student’s return.  Online assignments may be submitted directly to the instructor via the online learning management system (Canvas).

Independent Study may also be authorized for students with special circumstances who have filled out the appropriate paperwork and who have been granted approval by the Wiseburn MS administrative team.  Independent Study may be denied if the student is not leaving for reasons recognized in the Education Code.

Immunizations

By law, children in California are required to receive certain immunizations in order to attend public and private elementary and secondary schools. Schools are required to enforce immunization requirements, maintain immunization records of all children enrolled, and submit reports. To find out more about which immunizations are required for your child to attend school, please go here. 

Please contact our health clerk, Lena Richard (lrichard@wiseburn.org) for any questions related to immunization requirements, updates, and/or forms. Proof of immunization / updated immunization records may be dropped off at the main office for our health clerk during normal school hours.

Medications

California Education Code, Section 49423 allows designated school personnel to assist pupils required to take prescription medication or over-the-counter medication during the school day. Medications must be taken directly to the Health Office.

A Medical Authorization Form giving permission to administer medication during the school day must be signed by the physician and be on file in the health office. Students may not carry medication on their person unless it is authorized by their physician (i.e. inhaler). Medical Authorization Forms are available in the school office or downloaded from the Wiseburn MS website here and must be completed each school year. Any individual student medical needs should be brought to the attention of the health office staff.

All students must complete their summer reading. To fulfill the basic requirement of the summer reading assignment all students must earn 10 AR points. Note: Completing the summer reading requirement will be counted as an English grade in September.

For more details on how to complete this assignment, please see the Summer Reading Directions here.

We do not have any additional tours available. We will have drop in times for 7th and 8th grade students to pick up their schedules and walk the campus, but there will not be guided-led tours.

Students will receive detailed instructions from their team of teachers during the first week of school. We do encourage students to arrive with something to write with (pencil and pen) and a notebook to write in.

Students will be provided their schedules and class assignments on the first day of class, August 29.

Students may bring cellphones to school, but phones must remain in their backpacks during school hours (8:30 – dismissal bell) and should be turned off or on silent mode. Cell phones may not be turned on during the school day.

Our 6th grade "Where Everyone Belongs" (WEB) orientation is on Wednesday August 23 at 8:00 a.m. This event provides students a chance to meet other 6th grade students, connect with 8th grade mentors, and get their schedule. Students will report to our gymnasium. WEB leaders will be on hand to help direct students.

We will also be hosting a 6th grade parent/caregiver orientation on the same day starting at 8:00 a.m. in our Multi-Purpose Room. WMS admin will share important school information and some cyber safety tips to help guide our middle schoolers. We understand not all parents/caregivers will be able to attend and will be sure to share the presentation.

You can find more information about incoming 6th graders on the Wiseburn Middle School Back to School hub here. We've also copied the information and pasted it below for convenience:

6th Grade Orientation

Here at Wiseburn Middle School, we know 6th grade is such a special year, but a big transition. We also know that our students do well through continued teacher support and partnership with families.

So to help with this transition, we are hosting our 6th grade "Where Everyone Belongs" (WEB) orientation on Wednesday August 23 at 8:00 a.m. WEB is a middle school transition program that welcomes 6th graders and makes them feel comfortable throughout the first year of their middle school experience. This event is important and provides students a chance to meet other 6th grade students, connect with 8th grade mentors, and get their schedule. Students will report to our gymnasium. WEB leaders will be on hand to help direct students.

6th Grade Parent/Caregiver Orientation

We will also be hosting a 6th grade parent/caregiver orientation on the same day starting at 8:00 a.m. in our Multi-Purpose Room. WMS admin will share important school information and some cyber safety tips to help guide our middle schoolers. We understand not all parents/caregivers will be able to attend and will be sure to share the presentation.

Summer Reading

Just as our 7th and 8th graders must do, our incoming 6th graders must complete their summer reading. To fulfill the basic requirement of the summer reading assignment all students must earn 10 AR points. Note: Completing the summer reading requirement will be counted as an English grade in September.

For more details on how to complete this assignment, please see the Summer Reading Directions here.

If the student/family has completed the registration process, the incoming 6th graders will receive their schedule at orientation on Wednesday August 23, which starts at 8:00 a.m. If not, the student will report to campus on the first day of school, Tuesday, August 29, and report to their homeroom, where they will receive their schedule.

Picture day is Monday, September 11, and takes place during students’ PE class.

Students cannot request a change of elective within the first two weeks of school. Following the first two weeks, a request may be submitted and will be considered, but not necessarily approved. Each academic quarter, our counselors work to find optimal class placements for each student, so we encourage students to discuss any concerns with a counselor.

The middle school counselors will determine what the best fit is for the student based on class availability and past academic progress. Should a student wish to switch an elective, they can submit a request for consideration.

Middle schoolers will receive their schedules and POD room assignment on the first day of school, August 29. Students will arrive to campus and report to their homeroom, which they can locate using the posted lists on campus. Once they arrive in their homeroom, they will receive their full schedules. Teachers and staff will be on hand to help direct students to their POD rooms and classes.

Yes, there is a zero period for P.E. This class is already full, and was only open to 7th and 8th graders. Refer to a counselor during the school year to learn more about zero period.