The transition from 5th grade to middle school is a very exciting one, yet it can also be daunting. The structure of the day changes, students have more teachers and the schedules become more complex as they move from class to class. Although students are excited by this next step, it is still an unknown. To help alleviate these concerns and help fifth graders prepare for this next step in their journey, BPY invited them to a special introduction to middle school.

When students arrived at school, they made their way to the beit midrash, just as the middle schoolers do each morning. They enjoyed being part of the structure and environment of the middle school minyan. Next year, teachers will continue to guide them and inspire their tefillah, but this gave them an opportunity to experience it firsthand.

After tefillah, the students were treated to a delicious breakfast. During this portion of the program, they also did a gallery walk, discussing their perceptions about life in middle school. They thought about what they were most excited about, what they felt would be the most challenging and how it would be different.

After seeing that many of their classmates had similar feelings and questions, they felt assured that it was natural to be both excited and nervous. To address these feelings, sixth grade experts joined for a Q&A session. Led by Morah Joanne, the fifth grade students had the opportunity to ask their most pressing questions. It was very helpful for them to hear the sixth graders share what middle school was really like. The school is proud of the fifth graders for being so thoughtful about what they asked, and proud of the 6th graders for sharing their advice and experience.

BPY wishes the fifth grade an amazing end to their elementary experience and cannot wait to warmly welcome them to the BPY middle school, which will quickly become their home away from home!