Middle school is a time of transitions

Published 10:58 pm Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Chandler Renz is a confident, self-assured and successful sixth-grader at Dalton Middle School. However, she remembers very well how she felt just one short year ago as a fifth-grader at Brookwood Elementary.

“I was a little worried about starting middle school,” she said. “I knew it would be a big change, but I was also excited in a way.”

Chandler, daughter of Doug and Patti Renz of Dalton, is certainly not the first student to have mixed feelings about starting middle school. The transition from elementary school to middle school can be overwhelming, intimidating and even scary.

This year, over 480 fifth-grade students from Dalton Public Schools’ six elementary schools are contemplating their move to Dalton Middle School in August. That’s a lot of students and parents anticipating and preparing for change.

Fortunately, three years ago, Dalton Middle School assistant principal Russ Southerland and sixth-grade social studies teacher Kevin Keylon began brainstorming for a better way to prepare the system’s fifth-graders for the transition to middle school.

“We saw the need and began talking one day in our grade-level meeting,” Keylon said. “Since all the fifth-graders from the different elementary schools would be coming together here, we decided that we should do something bigger. The idea just grew from there.”

That idea turned into a yearly event dubbed “The Cougar Countdown.” Southerland said Keylon has worked very hard the past two years to pull together the event.

“She has done a really great job of organizing the event,” he said.

Southerland, the assistant principal responsible for sixth grade, said past attempts to prepare and educate fifth-graders about middle school did not produce the desired results.

“We had traditional orientation days during the school day where each elementary school’s fifth-graders came to the middle school separately for a tour,” explained Southerland. “We found that those tours left the elementary students with very little knowledge and very little enthusiasm. Usually, the only lasting memory for them was class change. … We wanted them to have a variety of experiences that would help them feel less anxious than when they arrived.”

This year’s Cougar Countdown was on Wednesday during the early dismissal day for Dalton Public Schools.

“The entire middle school is empty of regular students so that we have full use of the facility for the fifth-graders,” Southerland said. “The Dalton Middle School staff can devote all of their time, attention and resources to these students.”

“When I went to Cougar Countdown last year, it was so much fun,” said Renz. “I felt a lot better about going to middle school after that, too.”

Renz became a Cougar Ambassador this year and was excited about helping the fifth-graders during Countdown.

“The Cougar Ambassadors are there to answer questions and help the fifth-graders tour the school,” she said.

Keylon is the sponsor for the Cougar Ambassadors.

Southerland said it’s very beneficial for the fifth-grade students to have small group time with the Cougar Ambassadors and the middle school staff.

“The Ambassadors and the staff can answer questions from a student and teacher perspective,” he said. “The fifth-graders have the opportunity to interact with each other and with the DMS students and staff in a relaxed and comfortable manner.”

The fifth-grade students then rotate through three different activities. A scavenger hunt familiarizes students with the layout of the school. A visit to the Connections classes gives students a classroom experience in the areas of technology, fine arts and physical education. The students also get to experience a mini-carnival with inflatables, concessions and a school spirit store.

“The mini carnival gives the fifth-graders a taste of the big fall fundraiser at DMS, the Cougar Carnival,” said Southerland. “They have a lot of fun and are more apt to participate in the Cougar Carnival in the fall because they know what it’s all about.”

The Cougar Countdown takes care of many fifth-graders’ concerns about middle school, but DMS also wants parents to feel informed about the transition. Southerland works with individual elementary schools to hold a parent information meeting at the school, usually after a Parent-Teacher Organization event. DMS also holds a parent information event in the spring and regular orientation in the fall for all new students.

Southerland said he is also available to meet one-on-one with any parent and their child.