If you’ve watched any amount of Disney television, you’ve come away thinking that middle school is a time of stress, anxiety, uncertainty, food fights, fashion faux pas and more stress. Little kids are forced overnight to become big kids, mingling in a school with often much bigger kids. Middle school kids have a daunting degree of independence that elementary school didn’t have, from their walks to and from school to their after-school activities. A close group of familiar teachers becomes a sea of names on a schedule chart.
So, in an effort to calm nerves about the new school year among students and parents alike, MyVeronaNJ.com recruited a group of experts on each of the grades that comprise Verona’s H.B. Whitehorne Middle School is like: Middle schoolers themselves.
Former 5th grader Giulia Licitra recalls what it was like to wait for her very first class schedule. Former 6th grader Ben Robinson writes about the variety of projects in classes from geography to oceanography. Dominique Marino, who penned the “Middle School Insider” column during the last school year, calms down the drama of 7th grade and Frances Metzger says that organization is the key to handling the responsibility of 8th grade.
We invite you to read their stories by clicking on the links below.
Giulia Licitra: What 5th Grade Is Really Like
Ben Robinson: What 6th Grade Is Really Like
Dominique Marino: What 7th Grade Is Really Like
Frances Metzger: What 8th Grade Is Really Like
