A stepping-stone transition turns 6th grade jitters into lasting confidence

It may be hard for many Spartans (and their parents!) to remember, but in 6th grade, everything is new. The buildings, teachers, schedules and even something as fundamental as where you store your stuff can be bewildering. When St. Stephen’s Class of 2033 opened their Gunn Hall lockers for the first time in August, they found a happy surprise: welcome notes of encouragement from this year’s 7th graders.

“In one of our last advisory periods in the spring, we ask [the 7th graders] to write a note to an incoming 6th grader that we can put on their locker,” said Miriam Murtuza, Ph.D., Middle School Dean of Students. The notes contain positive affirmations and advice, and are just one example of how St. Stephen’s supports and nurtures students through the transition between elementary and middle school.

Most students discovered the letters before school started, during a two-day orientation that featured fun ways to get familiar with the St. Stephen’s campus and each other. Mixed in with hallmarks like advisory meetings and chapel service were an ice cream social, a pool party and a scavenger hunt for landmarks on The Hill, plus plenty of free time to meet new friends and play games on the back deck of Gunn Hall.

Orientation is the beginning of a “soft launch” into 6th grade, said Murtuza, when the Middle School faculty and staff focus on building relationships with their students and help them get acquainted with their new environment and life on The Hill. This meaningful onboarding period for the youngest Spartans stretches through the first day of classes to the conclusion of the 6th grade retreat. Teachers spend quality time with the youngest Spartans, who come from more than two dozen different elementary schools, getting them up to speed with things like learning class schedules, letter days, a new grading system, the daily chapel routine and what it means to have a trusted advisor.

Most of the 6th grade curriculum covered ahead of the class retreat does not include much course content by design, said Murtuza. “Students go to their classes and meet their teachers, but they learn protocols and procedures,” she said. “In one class, they will learn to recite the school prayer, in another, how to use MySSES. Another teacher will show them how to use their planners.”

Sixth grade team leader Octavia Sadler said the Middle School team decided on this new strategy five years ago, and worked together to lighten the initial homework load and spend more time explaining things like study halls and organizational skills. This year, the 6th grade team will take it a step further with a “stepping stone” approach, gradually increasing weekly homework responsibilities after the retreat.

Having had three Spartans go through the 6th grade, Dr. Pradeep Kumar P ’32, ’29, ’27 has seen the benefit of the soft launch experience. He recalls his son, who is now a high school senior on The Hill, facing some stressful tests and quizzes early on in his 6th grade journey. A few years later, when his daughters entered Middle School, the transition from elementary school to St. Stephen’s was much smoother.

“Readjusting as they did was a brilliant move,” said Kumar. “Sixth graders ought to have a little bit of experience learning how to be in middle school.” 

Before beginning their course work in earnest, 6th graders take part in a long-held tradition: the grade level retreat, a rite of passage and bonding experience for all new Spartans. The entire class attends an overnight trip off-campus in New Ulm, Texas, a rural town about two hours east of campus. For three days and two nights, students bunked in cabins, went swimming and hiking, played team-building games and explored the 200-acre Nature’s Classroom Initiative site. 

“It was wonderful to see the kids using their brains, their skills and their ability to communicate,” said Julie Ann Conroy, St. Stephen’s Middle School librarian and retreat chaperone, herself a new Spartan this school year. She observed that while many students did not know each other before starting at St. Stephen’s just the previous week, they overcame their shyness to look out for one another and have fun during their time away from home. “The kids helped each other. They were really able to self-manage and get along.”

Fresh off the bus returning from New Ulm, where she was welcomed back to campus by the traditional “tunnel” of seniors, Ada Howland ’33 said the retreat was “a really fun way to be with your friends, out in nature and away from electronics and the stress of school.” 

As for her first weeks at St. Stephen’s, Howland said her experience is going really well so far. Her word to describe her classmates and teachers? “Supportive.” 

Learn more about the Middle School experience at St. Stephen’s.