Each year, the sixth grade class spends a day at the Upper School as an introduction to what life as a middle-schooler is like. This week, however, was the first time that fifth-graders toured the building as well.

Both the sixth grade visit on Feb. 18 and the fifth grade visit on Feb. 25  introduced the students to life in the Upper School. Among other things, the visits consisted of a campus tour and a session where the students learned information from department chairs about various Upper School curricula.

According to Director of Admissions Miriam Stein, the goal of the program was to get the fifth and sixth-graders “excited” about various aspects of the Upper School, such as the teachers and the facilities. The program also served to demystify the Upper School so that the students will not feel intimidated when they begin school next year.

Sixth-grader Shevi Lerner believes that the tour succeeded in making her eager to move to the Upper School next year. Lerner feels that because the students who led the tour were so welcoming, it helped her feel more comfortable.

“I thought [the visit] was fun and they did a good job of telling us everything we needed to know,” Lerner said.

With the new addition of a sixth grade in the middle school, the Upper School admissions department was tasked with designing a tour that would cater to the current fifth grade as well. They decided that while the fifth-graders would visit separately from the sixth-graders, the program that had been used in past years for the sixth grade had to be slightly changed. Since the fifth and sixth grades will have different curriculums next year, the only difference between their tours was what the students were being told about their classes next year.

In addition to the informational session and the tours of the school, both the fifth and sixth-graders got to ask questions in the form of a jeopardy game, and saw various arts performances, including one by the Upper School’s a cappella group, Shir Madness.

Junior Samantha Haas, who led a fifth grade tour, strove to make the students feel as comfortable as possible through welcoming their questions.

“The students did seem very interested,” Haas said. “They had a lot of questions and they seemed to enjoy what they were learning. Some seemed as though they were ready to move to the Upper School now.”

While the visits may be a good way to introduce the students to their future school building, the connection that it provides is also beneficial to both the Lower and Upper School administrations.

“I think this is a great example of how we try to bridge the campus that’s K-12,” Stein said. “You know, we’re in two different buildings that are kind of far away from each others, so it’s really exciting to start to have the younger ones come on up to us, and it’s great to work with the teachers there, and the administration there too.”