Seventh graders adjust to junior high

 The seventh grade floor is full of students who have mixed opinions about how the adjustment from elementary school to junior high went and is going this year of 2017.

In the Altoona school district, students attend elementary school for six grades then transition to the junior high for three years in which gives students new experiences.

“I think seventh grade is not too early to transition because it gives kids an opportunity to be prepared for more complicated stuff,” seventh  grader Danielle Bardelang said.

One difference between elementary school and the junior high is the shifting from one class to another.

“The most challenging part of transitioning would have to be moving from classroom to classroom because in elementary school we usually just stayed in the classroom all day,” seventh grader Emma Chirdon said.

A shift from elementary school to the junior high means a change in routines and environment.

“There is a lot more freedom at the junior high and you need to do a lot on your own,” seventh grader Kadyn Carey said.

Academics is another element students have to get used to in the junior high.

“Keeping my grades high is something I am stressing about moving forward,” Carey said.

Part of transitioning from sixth grade to seventh grade is preparation.

“In sixth grade, they helped by taking us on field trips to the junior high and making sure we knew what to expect,” Carey said.

Chirdon believes their elementary school could have done more to make the junior high less complicated .

“My elementary school could have explained more about my schedule because they kind of just threw it at you,” Chirdon said.

Before the upcoming seventh graders come to the junior high, the Altoona Mirror lists the students’ new homerooms and their peers within the homerooms.

“Knowing the people that were in my homeroom and what classes I had with people I knew made it easier,” Carey said.

On the first day of school, students are surrounded by other students from multiple other elementary schools in which they are not familiar with and have never met.

“If I could go back to the first day of school I would have started making new friends right from the beginning,” Carey said.

Students start socializing with new people on the first day which could possibly lead to stressing in the future.

“Before seventh grade I was most worried about finding friends easily,”  seventh grader Emma Clouser said.

Some students adjust to the junior high the same as their peers while others do not.

“My friends are adjusting the same as me by making new friends and being on time to classes,” Bardelang said.

Staff members prepare students for the upcoming year.

“The staff members are leaving time for homework and making sure students know where they are going and when,” Bardelang said.