Polo Park Middle School has taken great strides toward helping students transition into middle school by hosting the Polo Park Sixth Grade Summer Prep Program.
Now in its third year, the main goal of the program is to make the incoming sixth graders a little more comfortable prior to starting their middle school years. This year’s program was held Aug. 4-6 and saw nearly 200 new Stallions attend.
“Seeing how nervous the new students are on the first day of the program and how much more comfortable they are at the end of the last day tells us everything we need to know,” explained Kaitlyn Stolzenfeld, the program’s co-coordinator. “The program has simply been a great success.”
The program is run by a faculty committee made of teachers from all disciplines, as well as current eighth-grade students, who serve as counselors for the incoming sixth graders.
The young counselors are able to dispense excellent advice on being in middle school, as well as serve as a friendly face for the students when they come on the first day of school.
Many of the counselors this year had the unique experience of being the first group to go through the program when they were entering middle school.
ABOVE: Incoming sixth grade students at Polo Park Middle School learn how to use a locker’s combination lock.
