It’s the time of year when fifth-graders begin what many school leaders consider the most exciting and hardest transition besides kindergarten: the jump to sixth grade.
It’s a big step to shift from a school day encompassing one classroom with an open cubby to multiple classrooms with a combination locker. However, school staff and administrators do all they can to help students adjust. This spring, Chehalem Valley and Mountain View Middle Schools began their months-long efforts in earnest with key events for incoming sixth-graders.
“The more they see us, the more they know the building, the better off they are going to be,” Chehalem Valley Middle School Principal Andy DeBois said.
To build those relationships, administrators, English Language Development, Student Services specialists and school counselors meet to discuss how to connect with students to improve the ease of the transition from elementary to middle school. The Teaching and Learning Department will also be working with elementary teachers to update report cards and the grading system next year to better support the transition to middle school, said Jillian Felizarta, Director of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.
But the key to transitioning students is connection.
“My first job is to build relationships with students,” Mountain View Middle School Principal Jen Bailey said.
CVMS Activities
To begin growing those relationships, both schools will hold an open house:
- CVMS’s Wolf Pack Welcome will be from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. on May 7.
- CVMS also plans to arrange “fly-ups” or visits to the middle school later this year.
- Visits to elementary schools: The week of April 15, CVMS staff visited fifth-grade classrooms at its feeder schools: Crater, Edwards, Ewing Young, and Dundee
MVMS Activities
- MVMS’s Wildcat Welcome will be from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. on May 9.
- Visits to elementary schools: On April 22, MVMS staff spoke to fifth-graders at its feeder schools: Joan Austin and Mabel Rush. MVM visited Edwards, also one of its feeder schools, on April 15.
The first day of school at both middle schools is solely for sixth-graders, allowing them time to get comfortable and ask questions. Happily, in-school visits offered a chance to get a head start on those questions. Joan Austin fifth-graders fired dozens of questions at Bailey and Counselor Elisa Hoelter during their April 22 visit.
“Can we eat snacks in between classes?” Yes, but no smartphones.
Besides phones and snacks, there were a slew of questions about lockers, including:
- “What if you write where your locker is on a piece of paper and can’t find it?” “Go to the counselor’s office.”
- “Can I bring my own lock?” “No. We need to be able to access your locker.”
- “Can you decorate your locker?” “Yes, a little, no stickers or paint, but you can get magnetic mirrors and set things on the shelves.”
Now that the classroom visits are over, students will still have plenty of time to ask more questions, whether it is during an open house event, the sixth-graders’ first day, or just a regular Monday. All staff and administrators will do all they can with grading, events, and more to make our schools welcoming to our incoming sixth-graders.