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Moving Up from Elementary School to Middle School
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Moving up from elementary to middle school can be a major adjustment in the life of any student. This transition can be a persistent source of fear, anxiety, and stress for many students as they realize that they will soon be leaving the familiar environment of an elementary classroom. Often, making the transition to middle school can be helped through careful advanced planning, working on organizational skills, and shaping a student's expectations about what will be required of them in a middle school setting.
At Saint Mary's Institute we have what we call Moving Up Day. This is when the 5th grade has the opportunity to spend a couple of days in early spring shadowing our middle school students. Being able to shadow older peers gives 5th graders a sense of what life will be like moving from class to class throughout the day where the different subjects taught. It also gives them a sense of the independence and greater responsibility we expect of our middle school students, in addition to the opportunity of getting to interact with the middle school teachers in their classrooms. Based on the feedback we have gotten over the years, this has been a very valuable and fun experience for our students.
In order to help parents become informed about the different elements of the "Moving Up" process, I will periodically post links to websites and articles that may be worthwhile for you in helping to prepare your child for a successful transition to Middle School.
Links:
- Scholastic has an excellent general article here.
- The Association for Middle Level Education has a more in-depth article here.
- Another excellent article with thorough checklists for parents can be found here.
Mr. Jensen
Saint Mary's Institute
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