A GUIDE TO THE TRANSITION FROM 5TH TO 6TH GRADE

I.S.T. is divided into three campuses, which are located in different parts of Dar es Salaam. The three campuses are: Early Childhood Campus for children under grade one, United Nations Road Campus for children from grades 1-5, and the Secondary School Campus for students from grades 6-IB2. We collected some comments from 5th and 6th graders about the move of campuses, which will let you know some of the fears of the 5th graders and experiences of the 6th graders.

When we talked to some 5th graders we found that their biggest worries were as follows: too much homework, strict teachers, getting lost between classes and being bullied by older students. Then we asked the 6th graders some questions, and guess what (!), those were almost the exact same worries they had at the beginning of last year.

On the subject of homework, we found that 6th graders feel that they get a lot of homework, though one student commented that, “Sometimes the homework is fun!”

The 5th graders worries are proved wrong as a 6th grader remarked, “Not all teachers are strict, some are really fun!” So don’t worry, teachers don’t bite!

The 6th graders say that it’s at the beginning you get lost but as the year passes the secondary campus doesn’t feel so alien anymore (maybe the fact of the 6th graders having their own area has something to do with this), and actually, “When you get used to it the SS campus really isn’t that big.”

Last, on the subject of bullying, we heard that even though these are fears of many, the 6th graders feel that they were wrong in thinking that older students might make fun of them, “They actually ignore us, which I don’t mind!”

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages:

• Your school work is more challenging
• You learn to be responsible
• Plenty of choices for after school activities
• Numerous social events

Disadvantages:

• More responsibilities
• Less free time
• More homework
• More tests
• The grading system is more challenging

Useful Guidelines:

• Make new friends, don’t always stick to one friend (and older friends work especially well)
• Pay attention in class and always do your homework…don’t end up in Homework Duty!
• Don’t assume that the big kids are bad…you’ll be surprised!!
• Be careful not to leave your stuff lying around so it doesn’t get stolen
• Keep on smiling, life’s not that bad

We hope that we have calmed some of the common fears/worries that run through a 5th graders mind as the school year ends.