{"id":5530,"date":"2016-08-31T08:23:12","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T12:23:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=5530"},"modified":"2016-09-16T12:09:06","modified_gmt":"2016-09-16T16:09:06","slug":"orientation-programs-support-student-transitions-middle-high-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/orientation-programs-support-student-transitions-middle-high-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Orientation programs support student transitions to middle and high school"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eighth-graders admitted to feeling nervous on their first day of middle school. High school seniors remember being uncertain about what to expect as freshmen.<\/p>\n

These experienced students are now sharing lessons learned with rising sixth-graders and ninth-graders in transition programs hosted by the division\u2019s secondary schools before the new school year. The programs are designed to orient students, as well as parents in many cases, to their respective new schools\u2019 facilities, staff, activities, academics and schedules.<\/p>\n

They also provide opportunities for students to meet new people and talk with their peers. This is key to a successful transition to middle and high school, according to the students who have been in their shoes.<\/p>\n

\"Lancer<\/p>\n

\u201cTalk with other students because all the other kids are going to be nervous, too,\u201d said Chase, a Landstown Middle School eighth-grader helping with the school\u2019s Lancer Launch transition program. \u201cOn the first day of school they are always quiet, so try to communicate with the kids and they are going to think you are the outgoing one.\u201d<\/p>\n

His classmate Bryan added, \u201cThere\u2019s no reason to be nervous. It\u2019s just, you\u2019re going to a new school and you\u2019re going to make new friends. On the first day, go talk to new people. Make new friends and you\u2019ll get used to it eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting involved in school activities is a good way to meet new people, said Landstown eighth-grader Alaina.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to do activities because they\u2019re really fun and it\u2019s a great way to make friends. It may not be like the first day of school that sixth graders have to get involved but throughout the school year,\u201d she encouraged. \u201cI made that mistake and didn\u2019t do anything my first year of middle school, and I regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landstown seventh-grader Josiah said he had fun last year as a sixth-grader and advises incoming sixth-graders to \u201cenjoy the school year.\u201d He also had advice about managing homework.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote it down in my planner and just knew what I had to do,\u201d he said. \u201cThen I did it right when I got home so I knew it was done for every class. It\u2019s hard work, but it pays off in the end. It was a very fun year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping focused on school work and grades and getting involved were also recommendations from high school upperclassmen.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy advice to freshmen is to stay on top of their grades and get involved. Your grades really do matter freshmen year. It will break or make you for the rest of your high school years,\u201d advised Kayla, a Green Run High School (GRHS) senior who helped welcome the Class of 2020 during the school\u2019s 20\/20 Vision freshman transition program.<\/p>\n

\"2020<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people don\u2019t think it\u2019s important,\u201d Kayla continued. \u201c\u2018It\u2019s just freshmen year. I can make up for it later,\u2019 they think. It will be so much harder to do that. It\u2019s really important. I recommend getting advice and help from your teachers. Don\u2019t be afraid to ask them for help, and it establishes a good relationship with your teachers so you get to know them better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fellow GRHS senior Isaiah echoed the importance of grades and added, \u201cBut it\u2019s also important that you have an outlet. You can\u2019t think, ‘Oh, I\u2019m only going to do school work. I live, eat, breathe school.\u2019 That\u2019s not going to work. You need an outlet. You need a way to express yourself, to use another type of energy and different side of your brain. It\u2019s important so you can have balance and you manage your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Isaiah\u2019s outlet is track and kickboxing, something he took up almost a year ago. \u201cI also like to dance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Waiting for the 20\/20 Vision opening session to begin in the gymnasium, GRHS seniors reflected on the biggest challenge of freshmen year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely finding your place, but you have to learn to make your own place,\u201d said Hannah. \u201cA lot of them will just try to follow somebody else, but that\u2019s not the right thing to do because that\u2019s when you can get in a hole. Find your own place and make your own twist on things when you\u2019re in high school.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"seniors\"<\/p>\n

GRHS senior Jaylan appreciated the fresh start of her freshmen year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like high school is like a restart button. So, how you were perceived in middle school, you\u2019re able to recreate yourself in high school to what you want to be,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like every new bridge you go to is like a re-creation stage. So, in high school you want to create a certain persona that isn\u2019t to the norm. Be yourself. Be unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bridge to opportunity is how VBCPS Superintendent Aaron Spence described freshmen year in his welcoming remarks to GRHS ninth-graders at his alma mater.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do these green shirts say?\u201d he asked the crowd. \u201c20\/20 Vision. What do you think that means? It doesn\u2019t mean they have good eyesight. 20\/20 Vision means you need to be seeing clearly what\u2019s in front of you. You need to be seeing clearly what\u2019s going to be happening for you over the next four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re freshmen today. You\u2019re going to be seniors before you can even imagine,\u201d Spence continued. \u201cThere are things you need to be thinking about. How are you going to take advantage of the opportunities that you will have here at Green Run High School over the next four years? Because you\u2019re going to have some amazing opportunities. You\u2019re going to have the opportunity to do and be anything you want to be.\u00a0It\u2019s what you do from here on out that makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of you got to high school by working. You did not get into these seats by accident,\u201d said Spence. \u201cSo the question is, what are you going to do next?\u201d<\/p>\n

What 5-year-old Victor is going to do next is begin kindergarten at Ocean Lakes Elementary School. As the Classes of 2020 and 2023 transition to high school and middle school respectively, the Class of 2029 is making an important transition as well \u2013 to kindergarten.<\/p>\n

\"Victor\"<\/p>\n

After having attended the school division\u2019s citywide kindergarten registration event in April, Victor had the chance to visit his school again this summer to meet his teacher.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am excited about learning and making art, playing outside and having fun,\u201d said Victor. \u201cI know all the letters. But there are some more colors to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s said he\u2019s also excited about the opportunity to be a line leader and the caboose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe caboose – they look in the back and see if everyone is in front of them and if they are walking good or bad,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

The experience may help him with what he hopes to be in the future. \u201cA police officer,\u201d he said. \u201cThey catch bad guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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