Hallie Wells Middle School

"This school is pretty good. The teachers are very nice, and supportive, and most of them know what they are teaching. Notice how I said 'MOST'. I'm not trying to root anyone out, but some teachers here honestly need to TEACH something. Take it from a 6th grader. One particular teacher of mine wasn't the greatest of explaining things. Students in that class always needed to learn on their own, or from a classmate. Many times, this teacher would just get random things on the internet and give it to us. One time, he asked for my paper as an answer sheet! My paper! And that's just my teacher. I have friends that have other teachers that feel this way too! Also, does anyone else notice how there are NO tissues WHATSOEVER? Just wanted to point that out. To get on more serious terms, I don't like the way information is conveyed from the principals to the parents, or the principals to the students. If there was a fight, the principal should just say there was a fight...don't call it an "incident", or a "situation". On one day this school year, the elevator broke, and a staff member was inside. That staff member had anxiety issues, and as soon as the elevator broke, the person had an panic attack. Instead of telling us that 911 was called, or that someone had a panic attack, the principal simply said over the loudspeaker that the elevator was broken, and that anyone needing the elevator to get places could come to the office for assistance. Now, some teachers are exemplary. They are great at teaching, and really care about making sure that students understand the concepts. But I really do think that teacher need to pay attention to the circumstances this year. As some people know, the 7th graders were placed on the 3rd floor this year. Say I'm a 7th grader, and walked through the doors of the school at exactly 8:13 am. The late bell rings at 8:15. It is near impossible for a seventh grader to lug a 50 pound backpack up 3 flights of stairs to the third floor, put it in their locker and take out their binder, and get back to the first floor for whatever class they have WITHOUT RUNNING. And the teachers say that we can't run. And to make it worse, we also have the Tech Grab, where we take our Chromebook from a class every morning. Why couldn't the carts be placed in our advisory rooms, where are lockers are? That way it would be easier to grab them. Some people have lockers on one side of the school, and chromebook carts on the other sides of the school. Now, say that I'm an 8th grader, and I walk through the doors of the school at 8:13. I could leisurely walk through the halls of the first floor and get to whatever class I wanted. I believe that all students on the 3rd floor should get their tardies excused for the first class of the day, because it is so hard for them to do something like that. Another issue with this school is the car line. When it's winter, or raining, that the car line is really long, and so many people come late to class because of that. But very rarely does the school ever let the students off excused. I know from experience. Again, we have that 7th grade-3rd floor issue. Aaaaaaaand the Tardy Policy. It used to be fine, but now it's SO extreme. The first late you get, it's a warning, and the second one is an automatic phone call home. The third one is an after school detention, and the fourth one is a referral! If the rules are like this, we should at least have a clean slate every 2 weeks, not every quarter! It's so hard for the 7th graders, and I can already imagine my pain next year. The gym teachers. THE GREAKING GYM TEACHERS. I feel like Mrs. McMahon is the worst. Sometimes, she'll even make fun of you in front of the class! I hate all of the gym teachers...except Ms. Arnone, and Mrs. Marcoux. Also, I think that the school should have utilized its money better. We won the WTOP Click For Kids Contests, and earned $10, 000! But instead of using the money for better resources in classrooms (*COUGH like some tissues COUGH*), or more field trips, they used it on Empower Hour."

"Today is the last day of school, I was having fun with friends in the gym and this white kid comes over and threatens to crack my skull and spits in my face. After I yell at him I get in trouble and he doesn't. This school is unfair and ultimately a bad place for me. Maybe you'll have better luck"

"My niece studies in this school. She is super-smart and super-talented. She never gets pranked at all. I mean NEVER! Even though it has nothing to do with the school, I am writing it anyway cause my niece told me to do."

"Don't waste your kids time just send them to Rocky hill. This will try to get you in trouble for anything. AND THE FREAKING GYM TEACHERS I have so much to say about them but im not trying to get suspended cause people get suspended for jokes at this school. Don't send ur child to this school pls. I don't want ur kids to end up like us"

"Don't waste your time coming to this school. It's very boring. They act like we are all slaves sometimes the teachers get so mad at the 7th graders for no reason it's better to go to rocky hill"