Year of Firsts: Fifth Grade
Fifth grade is a year that includes several changes for Wooster students, particularly the shift to a new school building with new teachers and also in joining their entire graduating class for the first time, as well as the introduction to middle school activities.
In relation to the fact that the fifth grade uses a number system to grade, instead of a letter system used by the seventh grade and up, fifth grader Sophia Mera aims to receive all threes this year.
Additionally, fifth grader Seth Chamberlin said, “I really want to turn in all of my homework on time and get good grades.”
One major change forthcoming fifth graders experience is the presence of students from the entire district, rather than just their elementary schools, meaning that students will have the opportunity to meet many more children their age.
“I’m very excited to see my friends and meet new ones,” Llana O’Hearn said, in regard to seeing her classmates at school after the summer.
As for the difficulty of this year’s classes, Mera said, “They’re not too much harder or different” than her classes as a fourth grader, later adding that having teachers that she has never been around will be a challenging element of the classes.
“We have locker combinations and pressure at a new school,” O’Hearn said, in relation to the size of the middle school, which can be a major transition for many fifth graders because of the larger building with lockers and multiple levels.
“My goal is to master my locker combination,” Chamberlin said.
The fifth grade is also the first time students can join several of the middle school’s clubs, including Yearbook Club, Guitar Club and Student Council. Mera’s interests are centered around music and the arts, and she plans to participate in choir this year.
Chamberlin’s consist of football, lacrosse and baseball, and O’Hearn plans to participate in softball.