Schools
Movin' On Up! Little Silver Fourth Grade Takes a Look at Middle School
The fourth grade class at Point Road School visited Markham Place, which will be their new school in September.
Fourth graders from took a stroll in the warm sunshine on Wednesday to, where they will attend next school year as the new fifth grade class. Every year the middle school hosts the fourth grade class for ‘Moving-Up Day,’ a chance for next year’s students to have a close look at what will be their school in September.
My own fourth grade son, Marc has been looking forward to this day for over a month and eagerly absorbing advice from his older brother Ryan. Important points were imparted like, “The best thing about Markham is the ice-cream vending machine!” and “When you change classes you don’t need to walk single file in the hall!” These points are enough to send 10-year-olds heads spinning in delight.
Fortunately, there is more relevant wisdom set out during the morning’s program. The students first gathered in the Cafeterium and were addressed by the School councilor Ms. Peirson and Michael Maschi, the Supervisor of Special Services. A panel of current fifth grade students spoke to the visiting fourth graders about what life is really like at Markham Place.
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The real fun began as the throng broke into smaller groups and were given a guided tour by eighth graders. The students had an opportunity to see the gym, including the changing rooms, library, computer room, and music and art rooms.
They stopped by Mrs. Kiely’s fifth grade classroom and spoke with her class. Her students were able to assure the newbies not to be intimidated by the eighth graders “because they’re really nice” and “make sure you ask lots of questions about your work so you don’t fall behind.” Of course, the ice-cream vending machine was mentioned several times.
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Mrs. Redmond, the Markham Place nurse, enjoys meeting the prospective students and letting them know how much she likes their older siblings. It’s a comfort to know there is a friendly face waiting in the nurses office should you need it.
The whole field trip is designed to shed light on the unknown and calm any fears about moving up to Markham Place in the fall. The overall message that the Markham Place students seem to say over and over is that “Markham Place is so much better than Point Road!” With an exclamation like that, who could be nervous about moving up?
