Fourth and fifth grade students gathered in the auditorium for a pep rally at the Westfield Intermediate School (formerly SMS).
WESTFIELD – Westfield Public Schools held an ambitious “Step Up Day” on Monday morning, transporting 2,400 students to the new schools they will be attending in September.
WPS Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said they have done Step Up days before, but never on this large of a scale. In the past, each elementary school sent their fifth grade students on different days to visit the middle schools.
This year, all fourth and fifth grade students, approximately 850, visited the newly-named Westfield Intermediate School (formerly North Middle School), and about the same number of sixth and seventh grade students went to Westfield Middle School (formerly South Middle School).
“This was the first time we did step up days for the high schools,” Czaporowski said. About 150 eighth grade students visited Westfield Technical Academy, and 300 went to Westfield High school.
Also new this year, was that all of the Russell students went to Highland Elementary School.
School logos were designed by Westfield Technical Academy Graphic Arts.
“Overall, Step Up Day went very well. I would like to thank all of the staff that worked hard putting together meaningful experiences for our students. In the near future, our team will debrief about what went well and what could have gone better as well as whether or not this should be an annual event,” said Czaporowski.
Step Up day at the Westfield Intermediate School began with a pep rally in the gymnasium. Students packed the bleachers and welcomed their new mascot, the Polar Bear (a holdover from SMS), and their new school colors of navy, white and gold. The mascot and colors were determined through a school-wide survey.
Students also learned a new WIS cheer, and did a wave that encircled the gym three times.
Abner Gibbs fifth grade teacher Sheilagh Anderson and SMS Health teacher Donna Doiron led a scavenger hunt.
“Kudos to transportation staff and Pam Kotarski for being able to coordinate this with the kids,” said NMS Principal Katherine Bourque, who said she thought the kickoff pep rally was “a great success.”
“I think they’re excited about coming to their new school,” Bourque said, adding that in addition to the new students, most of the fifth grade teachers in the district are coming to WIS, as well as the sixth grade teachers from SMS.
Following the pep rally, students went in groups to one of three activities; lunch in the cafeteria, their assigned classrooms, where they learned about locks, lockers and schedules; and the auditorium for a scavenger hunt. For the scavenger hunt, Health teacher Donna Doiron and 5th grade teacher Sheilagh Anderson, who is coming over from Abner Gibbs with her students, asked them to find eight locations in the school; the nurse, library, office, fitness room, boys and girls locker rooms, band, chorus and art.
“Who’s nervous about finding their way around a new building,” Doiron asked the students in the auditorium. “I am,” their teacher Sheilagh Anderson said.
Abner Gibbs fifth graders take a lunch break.
Later, in the cafeteria, students from Anderson’s fifth grade class at Abner Gibbs were taking a lunch break. “This place looks interesting. I’m excited,” said Chris Ethier.
“I love it here and I’m really excited,” agreed Kenzie Kluiko.
“I’m excited because my best friend goes here, and she says this school is amazing and fun. I don’t want to leave Abner (Gibbs), but I’m excited to go,” said Samantha Holbrook.
Westfield Intermediate School principal Katherine Bourque was excited to have the students visit on Step Up Day.
“I am feeling excited. We’ve been planning for a year,” Bourque said, adding that details will be planned over the summer. She said the teachers also spent spring staff development time together. “We’ve been meeting as a group. That’s been very helpful,” she said.
“It’s nice for them to come together, getting to know all of their peers starting in fifth grade rather than ninth grade,” Bourque said.
Over in Westfield Middle School, the soon to be seventh and eighth graders were also getting oriented to a new school for some, and to new friends for others.
Kathryn Breck, Westfield Middle School assistant principal jessica Kennedy, Noah Chartier and Joshua Bowen talk about Step Up day.
Kathryn Breck and Joshua Bowen, who are coming over from NMS were comparing the size of the schools. “North Middle School had big classrooms, and South Middle School has small classrooms,” Bowen said.
Breck agreed, but said the SMS hallways are small, and in NMS they’re big. “It’s a little bit overwhelming,” she said.
“I think this change is really good, I can make new friends from North Middle School,” said SMS student Noah Chartier.
Westfield Middle School principal Paul Newton said his assistant principals Peter Lurgio and Jessica Kennedy organized the whole program and did all the work.
Westfield Middle School’s new mascot is the Wolf.
Lurgio said they held a rally and unveiled Westfield Middle School’s new mascot: the Wolves (formerly the Bulldogs), and their new colors of red, white and gold. “The kids picked them,” he said.
All the students also viewed a video production by current 8th grader, Alexandra Hitchcock, who he said made an 8 minute video on her phone, which she edited with music and a voiceover
Lurgio said one set of staff put together ice breaker activities for the students who were assigned to classes with their new teachers. Another teacher organized a scavenger hunt
Getting to know each other at Westfield Middle School’s Step Up Day.
Kennedy also gave credit to the teachers that helped with the planning for Step Up day. Kaitlyn Palmer, seventh grade science, did the scavenger hunt; Peg Hill, 6-8 STEM teacher helped her students in creating the video they showed; Matt Preye, Bridges, did the icebreakers, and Ellen Jordan, who teaches eighth grade math, designed the Getting to Know You pamphlet.
“It’s really amazing to have everybody here. It’s great to have northies and southies together,” said Kennedy, adding, “The kids are doing a wonderful job. I could not have asked for them to be better behaved.”
Highland Elementary School welcomed about 100 students from Russell Elementary School on Step Up day. Highland Principal Mary Clare Manning said it was a great experience for the students. “It allows them to see the building where they will be next year and lessens some of the anxiety of transitioning to a new school. Students can put a face with a name with some of their new teachers and administrators and will often recognize familiar faces of their peers who attend other schools,” Manning said.
“Seeing students from Highland holding hands with students from Russell as they completed a scavenger hunt around the building today was definitely one of the best parts of the day,” Manning added.
