🌳 Middle School Guidance and Resources – Nurturing Roots for a Strong Future
Middle school is a time of tremendous growth—physically, emotionally, socially, and academically. Like a tree developing its root system, these years form the foundation for your future. As you grow and stretch into new areas, your school counselor is here to support every part of your development.
🧭 School Counselor: Your Guide on the Journey
Your school counselor is here to support your whole self—not just academics, but your emotions, friendships, goals, and future possibilities.
- Solving problems with friends or family
- Managing stress or tough emotions
- Building strong academic skills
- Exploring careers and planning for high school
You’re not expected to have it all figured out—middle school is a time to learn who you are, ask for help, and start dreaming.
🌿 Wellness Check: Nurture Every Root
Explore each key area of personal growth and health below. These are like the roots of a tree—when they are strong, you are too.
🌱 Physical Health
A strong tree needs a healthy trunk and branches—your physical health supports everything else you do. Explore tips for sleep, nutrition, exercise, and more:
🔗 Healthy Children – Pre-Teen/Teen Health
🌙 Sleep
Sleep fuels growth, learning, and resilience. Pre-teens need 9–12 Hours and Teens need about 8–10 hours a night.
🔗 Sleep Foundation – Pre-Teen and Teens – Sleep
💻 Digital Wellbeing
How we use technology shapes our minds and hearts. Cultivate a healthy digital environment with these tools:
🔗 Center for Humane Technology
🔗 Common Sense Media
💬 Mental Health
Mental and emotional wellness is like the inner bark of a tree—it protects and sustains you. Reach out, reflect, and take care of yourself:
🔗 Child Mind Institute
🕊️ Spiritual Health
Your spiritual life is a deep root that grounds your identity, purpose, and connection. Whether through prayer, reflection, service, or community, nurturing this area brings peace and direction. Start by exploring opportunities within your faith community or nearby youth groups.
💰 Financial Stability
Managing your money wisely lays the groundwork for a secure future. Learning to budget, save, and avoid unnecessary debt is crucial.
🔗 Ramsey Solutions – Teach Teenagers About Money
🏃 Exercise for Teens
Regular exercise boosts energy, focus, and mood. The CDC recommends teens get at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily.
🔗 CDC – Recommendations for Youth
🍎 Nutrition for Teens
Proper nutrition fuels your growth and helps maintain focus. Eat a balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
🔗 ChooseMyPlate – Healthy Eating
🔗 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics – Nutrition for Teens
📘 The 7 Habits for Teens
- Be Proactive: Take responsibility for your actions and choices.
- Begin with the End in Mind: Set clear goals and plan ahead.
- Put First Things First: Prioritize important tasks over urgent distractions.
- Think Win-Win: Seek mutually beneficial solutions in relationships.
- Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood: Listen empathetically before sharing your viewpoint.
- Synergize: Collaborate to achieve better results than alone.
- Sharpen the Saw: Take care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. 🔗 FranklinCovey – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
- Stay organized: Use a planner or digital tool to track homework, tests, and deadlines.
- Ask for help early: Your teachers want to see you succeed. If something doesn’t make sense, ask questions or meet with them for extra help.
- Use your resources:
🔗 Khan Academy – Free tutorials on every subject.
🔗 Quizlet – Flashcards and study tools. - Explore electives: Try out new subjects like art, computer science, or business to discover what excites you.
- Challenge yourself wisely: Choose classes that push you, but not so much that you burn out. Balance is key.
- Make new connections by joining clubs, sports, or school activities
- Learn time management to balance school, rest, and friendships
- Practice emotional awareness—talk about your feelings, and listen when others share
- Limit screen time and make space for real-life friendships and activities
- 🌱 Growth Mindset – Believe you can improve with effort
🔗 mindsetworks.com - 💞 Empathy – Notice how others feel and respond with kindness
- 🤝 Interpersonal Skills – Learn to resolve conflict, collaborate, and communicate
🎭 Extracurricular Activities
Whether it’s sports, arts, volunteering, robotics, or work—do what matters to you. Find your lane and give it your best. We encourage quality over quantity.
— Take time to explore these tools below that will that help you reflect, discover, and plan for your future.
It’s so important to start with the big picture—where you are now and where you’re going next. The big question you may be facing is:
“What am I going to do after high school?”
Your school counselor is a key partner in helping you explore this. They may offer a variety of tools and resources tailored to you. Here are some that many students find incredibly helpful:
🛣️ Roadtrip Nation
This site offers an inspiring free course to help you explore your interests, values, and career paths through videos and guided reflection. It even includes an opportunity to interview someone working in a field you’re curious about.
🔗 Roadtrip Nation – Discover Your Path
🧭 Career Interest Assessment
Tools like My Next Move can help you explore your interests and match them to potential careers. It’s a great starting point to see what aligns with your natural interests.
🔗 My Next Move – Career Interest Assessment
🧠 Personality Assessment
Understanding your personality can help you find career fields that align with how you naturally think and interact with the world. The 16 Personalities assessment is a great free resource based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
🔗 16 Personalities – Discover Your Type
🔬 YouScience
YouScience combines both your interests and aptitudes to provide personalized career suggestions. Many schools offer this tool through their counseling office. If not, you can access it independently with a discount using the affiliate code below.
🔗 YouScience – Explore Your Strengths
💬 Use promotion code: GROWYOURROOTS at checkout for a discount.
👥 Job Shadowing
Spending time observing someone in a real-world job setting is one of the best ways to gain insight into a field. Even if it’s not your dream job, it will help you understand what you do or don’t enjoy—and bring more clarity to what matters most in your future career.
High school may feel like a big step up—and it is! But you don’t have to figure it out alone. The key is to build good habits early:
Remember, your freshman year GPA matters—it sets the tone for your transcript. Put in the effort now and your future self will thank you.
High school is about more than just academics—it’s about who you are becoming. Freshman year is a great time to:
Here are some growth skills to focus on:
If you ever feel stuck or alone, reach out. Your teachers, family, and school counselor are here for you.