Rite of passage

By Erin Nicholes - 09/03/2008

Anna Cullen, a sixth-grader at Fred Moodry Middle School, dips her palm in paint as part of a poster-making project.

ANACONDA — Tre Kincaid admitted feeling a bit uneasy about his first day at Fred Moodry Middle School.

"I was afraid I wouldn't find the right classes and I'd be late," said Tre, an incoming sixth- grader. "I was scared of having the older kids here because the last school I was in, I was the oldest." But by mid-morning Tuesday, his anxiety gave way to enthu-siasm for new friends, a diverse class schedule and fresh teachers.

"Now I know where to go and stuff, and I won't get lost," Tre said.

Anaconda students returned to classrooms Tuesday, with some adjusting to new learning environments. At Fred Moodry Middle School, sixth-graders met a milestone in their student careers: making the leap from elementary to middle school.

The newcomers had the run of the building all morning to allow time for orientation before the seventh and eighth graders arrived after lunch.

"We just felt the transition from elementary to middle school was easier for sixth graders if they got to have the building to themselves," said principal Sue Meredith.

"It just helps alleviate apprehensions parents have, too," said Mary Wood, dean of students.

Sixth-graders got oriented by playing ice-breaker games, decorating posters for home-room doors and touring the school. The activities were led by eighth-grade mentors, who were distinguishable by their M&M T-shirts and slightly elevated confidence.

The morning was abuzz with first-day energy, as kids in shiny shoes and crisp clothes compared summer adventures, talked about fall football and got acquainted through activities.

In the library, sixth-graders dipped their hands in paint trays and left their colorful palm prints on a poster reading "don't worry, be happy." The activity was a welcome distraction from the first-day jitters, said Anna Cullen.

"I was kind of nervous," she said.

Meanwhile, in a first-floor hallway a group of sixth-graders sat in a circle playing an ice-breaker game.

Each was given several squares of toilet paper, and for each square had to provide a detail about themselves for the group.

Some shyly offered a few characteristics. Others seemed to have rehearsed for the moment.

"I hate pink," said Leanne Shelton, earning gasps from the other girls in the group. "I'm obsessive over white shoes so I'm going to try to keep them clean, and my cat turns sort of a greenish color in the summer." If getting kids connected to one another was the goal, the game seemed to do the trick.

"I wish I had a mutant cat," replied classmate Tristyn Hanna.

— Erin Nicholes may be reached at erin.nicholes@lee.net