School is almost back in session, and for many students entering sixth grade that can be a bit of a frightening occasion.

To help with the transition from elementary to middle school, for several years the Perry School District has hosted the Sixth Grade Blue Jay Camp orientation night. Middle School Principal Shaun Kruger says the event is for students and their families, and it will be held on Tuesday, August 21st at the school. The open house will start at 5:45 p.m., when families can pick up their schedules for the year. At 6, everyone will head to their homeroom teacher’s classroom for a brief presentation. Following that, students can walk through their bell schedules like it was a normal school day.

Kruger says the orientation day is one of many ways the school helps students get used to their new surroundings. “It can be pretty intimidating for a 10 (or) 11-year-old coming from a building that they’ve been in for 5 or 6 years. Then all the sudden you go up into middle school with these big 7th and 8th-graders. And you walk from class to class, you might have nine different periods in a school day and see nine different teachers. That could be overwhelming for some students.”

This will be the second opportunity for many of the incoming sixth graders to get acquainted with the new building, as Kruger says they come in the spring as fifth graders to be shown around by the current sixth grade class. He believes taking the effort to soften the transition for students will help them be more prepared to have success in middle school. To hear more from Kruger, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.