Where Life in the Middle Begins for Sixth Grade

At Palmer Trinity School, we recognize the difficulties students tend to go through as they transition to middle school. One of the ways we work with our youngest student to ease the anxiety at the beginning of the school year, is to have the students go through our “Sixth Grade Bootcamp” - a three day event where sixth grade students work on getting acclimated to their new school. Instead of attending their regularly scheduled classes, the students tour around campus, get to know the faculty, staff and administration and get to know one another. This past week the students had the chance to work in advisory on skits, tour their way around the school website and begin to foster friendships. Additionally, as we started last year, the 6th graders participated in a collaborative art installation project. This year, each student took part in splattering paint on a canvas in the style of Jackson Pollock. The finished product will eventually make its way to a wall in the middle school office.

Also, as customary at PTS, the last day ends with a scavenger hunt and an ice cream social for the sixth grade students and advisors. While I can't claim any credit for the creation of the scavenger hunt, one of the tasks they had to complete was to send me an email with our Palmer Trinity Middle School tagline, “#ptslifeinthemiddle” as the title. They were instructed to include, in the body of the email, what they like most about their short time at Palmer Trinity School. I read each and every one and here is what stuck out the most: