Everyone knows entering high school can be a little more than a rocky experience. From worrying about grades to social changes and after-school activities, new high schoolers have quite the load on their shoulders.
This is why ISB dedicates itself to trying to make that transition smoother. This year, the school introduced a new 9th-grade orientation that ran on August 11th, in conjunction with an orientation for new students to ISB. It is a replacement for the so-called Bump Up Day, which was in effect before COVID-19.
Bump Up Day normally took place in the spring when seniors are occupied with IB exams and there are fewer students in the high school. During the day, 8th graders would visit the classrooms and get an overview from the high school teachers. They would also have access to The Grind and other new amenities. 8th Grade Counselor Colleen Coady described it as: “Kind of like a teaser of what's coming.” The middle school is also responsible for getting 8th graders informed about clubs, activities, and the different high school classes.
However, even with the added orientation, Ms. Coady hopes things like Bump Up Day can still come back with COVID slowing down. “I think the high school does a great job, and I'm looking forward to the future. Hopefully, we'll have a return to Bump Up Day, and we will keep the Grade 9 orientation, because for 5th to 6th grade, we have a Bridge Day, and then we have a Grade 6 orientation.”
Now, although high school and middle school take great strides in preparing middle schoolers for the tribulations of high school, does the work pay off? The difficulty between high school and middle school can be night and day, while others can feel the workflow hasn't changed. “I would say that [high school] is much more intense than my middle school experience. I was told during middle school multiple times that it would be much harder and that many 9th graders feel the pressure suddenly going on them. But I was still surprised by the extent,” 9th grader Maggie Cao said.
This aligns with what a majority of 9th graders would agree with. The high school offers a realm of endless possibilities, but with that also comes new responsibilities. “There's a lot more pressure,” Mo Lu, a 9th grader admitted, “There is more freedom in high school, but like everything gets harder and I’m scared of the grades. My mom made me take classes in the summer to prepare because of it.” When looking back at the transition process Mo Lu commented that “The orientation was not really helpful.”
Thus, as much as the orientations and faculty try to prepare students for this new step, it can be a different experience going through that change. Maggie notes that adjusting has been difficult, but hopes eventually it won’t become so foreign: “I have so many summatives in such a short time and my teachers move quickly through loads of material. I have to do a lot of outside work to keep up. I think I'm getting used to it and I hope I do better. The summatives are really stressing me out, though."
So, new high school students are struggling, which makes sense considering the jump involved. But are there any ways the school can prepare students beyond just an orientation? Orientations can be helpful, but when students feel overtly stressed and pressured by the changes, what can the school do to make that jump more seamless?
Ms. Coady has suggested the possibility of adding a student lead seminar for 8th grade stating “[We wanted to] have any 8th graders that are interested in the transition to high school come down and have high school kids be able to talk to the middle school kids in a sort of environment that's safer to speak about these things. So that's one thing that we're hoping that we can add this year in May.” Hopefully, as COVID-19 restrictions get lifted, it means things like Bump Up Day for 8th graders and seminars can be included in the transition process.
Everyone knows high school can be one riveting experience, therefore, having students hit the ground running with the adjustments should continue to be a priority ISB holds. Whether that be through a Bump Up Day or seminars, making sure Grade 9 students feel comfortable at the high school is an integral part of the journey towards success.