Making the move to the junior high school was an eye-opening, scary, high pressure experience. All of the kids in town ended up at the junior high together for grades 7-9. So it was a chance to make new friends with kids from all parts of town.
For the first time, I was placed into leveled classes. I was placed into the 'A' group, the smartest group as a result of the 6th grade standardized tests. Very exciting to never have to wait for the challenged kids to catch up. My class could learn as fast as we could go. One did have to rise to the challenge and to do one's absolute best or a fall from grace could occur. I loved the challenges and I found junior high to be a place that I could thrive.
We moved from class to class in junior high, walking down crowded hallways and up and down stairs. The junior high was a monstrous building with a large auditorium with a balcony and a gym for doing athletics indoors. Very different from the neighborhood schools. The older 9th graders, who were excluded from the high school due to the lack of space, picked on the newbie 7th graders and it was a long time before we felt comfortable. It was hard to rush into the girls' bathrooms between classes and not be late for class. We had lockers but most of us had no time to stop between classes and we carried our heavy books from class to class.
Socially, we made new friends within our classes. I kept most of my good friends from elementary school because most of them were in the A group too. I also became friends with students who moved to Adams from out of town and other kids from Renfrew, Commercial Street, Howland Avenue, and Liberty Street Schools. Girls and guys really started to notice each other in the 7th grade and that was a new horizon.
Friday, April 23, 2010
More 6th Grade Memories
Some very significant events happened when I was in the 6th Grade.
1. The Beatles came to the USA and took over the minds and hearts of American teenagers. We loved them...yeah, yeah, yeah! Their sound was 'love' and we loved that sound! Their music was so fresh, so new, and so exciting. They said the thoughts that we had in our heads, so eloquently, yet simplistically, that we immediately identified with them. To this day, their lyrics still resound in my heart and I get the chills listening to their music.
2. President Kennedy died. The country was in shock. I remember the first person to tell me the news: Shirley, a girl in my class. She came up to us on the playground during recess and was bawling her eyes out. She blurted out the news, that I assume, she heard from one of the teachers. I will never forget where I was at that time. We were numb at the news and the assassination took over our minds and hearts.
3. The 6th grade went to Boston to the Museum of Science. I will never forget that trip...so exciting to ride a bus to the city! It was the first time that boys and girls could sit together...and they took advantage of it. A few couples came together on that momentous day. Of course, I was un-linked.
4. The 6th grade went to the nature center in south county. Wow, that was a fun trip too! We could hike along the trails and view the cool artifacts and animal exhibits.
5. And, the finale of the school year...dinner out with the principal and teacher...an annual event...kind of a coming-of-age celebration before you went off to junior high. Dress-up, of course...the 6th grade banquet.
1. The Beatles came to the USA and took over the minds and hearts of American teenagers. We loved them...yeah, yeah, yeah! Their sound was 'love' and we loved that sound! Their music was so fresh, so new, and so exciting. They said the thoughts that we had in our heads, so eloquently, yet simplistically, that we immediately identified with them. To this day, their lyrics still resound in my heart and I get the chills listening to their music.
2. President Kennedy died. The country was in shock. I remember the first person to tell me the news: Shirley, a girl in my class. She came up to us on the playground during recess and was bawling her eyes out. She blurted out the news, that I assume, she heard from one of the teachers. I will never forget where I was at that time. We were numb at the news and the assassination took over our minds and hearts.
3. The 6th grade went to Boston to the Museum of Science. I will never forget that trip...so exciting to ride a bus to the city! It was the first time that boys and girls could sit together...and they took advantage of it. A few couples came together on that momentous day. Of course, I was un-linked.
4. The 6th grade went to the nature center in south county. Wow, that was a fun trip too! We could hike along the trails and view the cool artifacts and animal exhibits.
5. And, the finale of the school year...dinner out with the principal and teacher...an annual event...kind of a coming-of-age celebration before you went off to junior high. Dress-up, of course...the 6th grade banquet.
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