On Friday, August 19th, Springville Junior High School opened its doors to the new seventh graders to make them feel safe and comfortable. Coming into a new school can be hard, and that is why Mr. Ken Van Ausdal, the principal of SJHS, came up with the brilliant idea of the seventh-grade day. The purpose of the day was to make the seventh graders feel welcome at the junior high. “Little things like finding your lockers, getting to the lunchroom, those are the things that cause kids stress,” Mr. Van Ausdal said. He hoped the seventh-grade day would help with the stress.
On the seventh-grade day, the new seventh graders came to the school in the morning and it was like a sped up day of school, but with only seventh graders. According to Mr. Trent Mikesell, an administrative assistant at SJHS, this helped the seventh graders find their classes, open their lockers, and get used to their surroundings without eighth and ninth graders around.
In classes, the teachers played get-to-know-you games and had discussions about what they’re going to be doing in the class. According to Mr. Dave Knudsen, assistant principal of SJHS, 95% of seventh graders came to school on Friday. Many seventh graders were glad they came and said it was very helpful.
According to Mr. Knudsen, after their classes the seventh graders attended an exciting assembly where they played Minute-to-Win-It games based on school stuff, watched a clip from “We are Marshall,” and talked about laying your heart out and doing your best. Afterwards the seventh graders got t-shirts that said “We are Springville,” had pizza for lunch, and went home.
What an exciting day for the seventh graders! The day was lots of fun, and the the seventh graders that went had a great time. Many seventh-grade teachers say do your best and keep your chin up. Good luck seventh graders!