Step Up Day

Today was the first ever Step Up Day for incoming 7th graders. When school let out for today’s half day, 6th graders from High Rock had the opportunity to sign up to participate in Step Up Day. This was an opportunity for them to visit Pollard, ask questions, meet their new advisory teacher, and get a building tour. With the construction on Pollard’s new roof set to begin by June 20th and end when school begins in the Fall, they would not have had any opportunities to visit the school during the summer, which is what usually occurs every summer.

Upon arrival, the 6th graders came into the auditorium, and were greeted by various administrators. After the greetings, my new cluster for next year, cluster 3, took our crew of students to a grassy area in the back of the building where they ate lunch.

After lunch, they trooped to the Library where teachers and advisors introduced themselves. A panel of current 7th graders read out some ice breaker questions “stand if you have a favorite author; stand if you play a musical instrument,stand if you know how much is 9×12″ etc. After the questions, Mr. E (S.S. teacher) became our MC, calling on various students in the audience who had questions, repeating them if necessary, and asking panelists to respond. Some questions that were asked included: “do we have flex block? do we have recess? how much homework do we get? are the teachers hard? does the building have heat and air conditioning?”

At 1:00, we broke into smaller advisory groups and conducted building tours. I showed my group important rooms such as their cluster rooms, the 7th grade and main offices, the auditorium, Library, music and 7th grade wings, the lunchroom, gyms, lecture hall, elective rooms, etc. As we wandered the building, I answered any questions they had and, at the end of the tour, I took them taken to the auditorium to await parent pickups to transport them home.

Throughout the afternoon, each of the other three 7th grade clusters had some variation of today’s theme – which was to introduce themselves, give some sort of ice breaker, answer questions, and tour the building. I am sure that, as a result, all of the 6th graders who came to Step Up Day left with a better understanding of what awaits them in the Fall.

Seventh grade is coming!!

P.S. – don’t forget to attend the Art Show tonight from 6-8 pm at Pollard.