Outfitting Your Middle Schooler

Whether you are sending your child to Chatham Middle School for the first time or the last time, there are always a few things that every parent – and student – needs to know.

"This year we are all going to start off with a brand new master schedule," said Principal Robert Accardi. The new schedule rotates classes on different days, with a different class dropped each day, allowing the remaining classes to have longer time periods.

"This increase in instructional time has been wildly welcomed by the teachers, because that seven minutes makes a huge difference in engaging students," Accardi said.

Under the new schedule, the morning classes rotate with each other and the afternoon classes rotate with each other, so teachers and students meet at different times each day.

Just as Chatham High School marks each day by the order of classes, Chatham Middle School will begin to have different days of classes:

A Dress Code to Bear in Mind

A committee of faculty, staff, parents and students . When shopping for your tween's wardrobe this fall, here are a few things to look out for.

For boys:

• No flip-flops are allowed at school. Sandals are permitted, but your son still needs tennis shoes or sneakers for science labs and physical education classes.
• Don't worry about accessories. Pocket chains, sunglasses, bandanas and hats are no longer permitted.
• Leave that Budweiser T-shirt on the rack. Go for Coca-Cola instead. Any clothes advertising alcohol producs, drug or tobacco products or with inappropriate language are not allowed.

For girls:

• No flip-flops are allowed at school. That goes for girls, too. Sandals are permitted, but your daughter still needs tennis shoes or sneakers for science labs and physical education classes.
• No hats, sunglasses or hoop earrings. They all just mess up your hair anyway.
• No spaghetti straps, tank tops, halter tops, see-through tops or midruff-baring tops. Between the snow in winter and the air conditioning in the fall and spring, it's too cold for those clothes anyway. Besides, you ought to leave something for college!
• Bring long shorts, skirts and dresses back in style. Shorts need a 5-inch inseam, and skirts and dresses must extend below your fingertips when your arms are at your side.

Vendors that sell dress code-friendly clothes include The Gap, Target, Old Navy and J. Crew. "We are sensitive to the fact that these are difficult economic times, and our intention was not to cause economic hardship," said Chatham Middle School Principal Robert Accardi.

School begins on Tuesday, Sept. 6