It is the beginning of a new chapter for many students in the PNA Middle School.  Gone are the days of little to no homework. The challenge of this new Personal Responsibility is presenting itself daily, and middle schoolers are still in the learning stages.  Students are finding their own personal rhythm which includes a realistic and functional time to do their homework They are growing up, making mistakes, and learning, and making mistakes, and learning.

For some, orange slips at PNA are the catalyst for that next chapter of responsibility.  These orange slips strike fear and panic in middle schoolers as they are reminders of a forgotten promise left unkept.  And while students might not want to do their homework, they want less to realize they didn’t do their work and are unprepared for class (and that they have to report that to their parents).

This is how the orange slip carries its power. In most cases, the orange slip is upsetting enough to students because they have let themselves down. It is a pretty hard, but logical, consequence for their forgetfulness.

When parents tack on “punishments” associated with orange slips (like grounding or taking something away), the orange slip causes a much higher than intended consequence, usurping the power of the orange slip.  Students become more stressed and anxious, sometimes so much so that the rest of the school day is lost to learning.

The orange and blue slips are PNA’s consequence/system for forgotten or poor quality work. They pack their own punch for our well intended students.  Mistakes are part of the learning process. Allowing students to fail, feel the blow of the orange slip, and take the steps to fix their mistakes without added undo stress, helps them achieve academic success.

We have already handed over many orange slips since the first day of school.  Students have been indoctrinated into routine by now, and we hope to see the orange reminders wane.

Know that 2 in one week mean that students have “elected” study hall for Friday afternoon. 3 in one week or a forgetful pattern developing signifies a parent/student/teacher conference.

We look forward to seeing parents anytime, but we prefer to see them without an associated orange hue…

This is the number of orange and blue slips returned since the beginning of school.  There are others that have never been returned. The same number of or more assignments have been forgiven for being late with no legitimate excuse.  The time of forgiveness is over.  The Power of the Orange Slip Rules!