Do you remember when you were in 6th grade? We decided to go to the source to refresh our brains on what 6th grade was like.  We interviewed a few 6th grade students to see what it’s like for them, seeing PFMS with  fresh eyes.  We interviewed three 6th grade students, including Artis Branford, Matthew Staniar, and a third student who preferred to remain anonymous.  

Here’s what they had to say:

 

 

 

Artis Branford

Park Forest Times (PFT): How did you feel about 6th grade before your first day?

Artis Branford (AB): I was nervous, excited, basically a mix of both.

    

PFT: How do you feel about your transition here?

AB: I was kind of sad to leave Park Forest Elementary.

    

PFT: Do you miss your elementary school? If so, why?

AB: Not really, in the first week I did miss my elementary school, but after the first week I liked PFMS more.

    

PFT: What are some of the major changes that affected you?

AB: Lockers, switching classes. I liked having one classroom better.

 

PFT: What do you think about your teachers here at PFMS?

AB: They’re nice..

 

PFT: What worries do you have about your future at PFMS? Anything you’re looking forward to?

AB: I’m afraid that I will be in eighth grade and still not know where I am going.

 

PFT: What’s your favorite subject?

AB: Math. I like having two periods because there’s more learning time.

 

PFT: What message do you want to give to 7th and 8th graders about 6th grade?

AB: I didn’t like when they would talk about teachers and teams before school.

 

Anonymous

PFT: How did you feel about 6th grade before your first day?

Anonymous:  I was a little bit worried about how I would get to all my classes on time, but on back to school night I realized I was mainly switching between two classes.  I was also worried about how I was supposed to wake up so early to catch the bus.

 

PFT: Question Two: How do you feel about your transition here?

Anonymous: The transition was really not all that hard.  The hardest part is trying to memorize the layout of the school so that I don't get lost and end up in the 8th grade hallway again.

 

PFT: Do you miss your elementary school? If so, why?

Anonymous: I don't really miss my elementary school all that much.  One thing that I definitely miss is that our gym teacher, Mr. Lloyd, always used to have us play fun games in gym around Thanksgiving, Halloween, and the teamwork unit.  I also miss getting to sleep in.

 

PFT: What are some of the major changes that affected you?

Anonymous: How much homework we get and the fact that I keep getting lost are two major changes.

 

PFT: What do you think about your teachers here at PFMS?

Anonymous: I really like all my teachers and how they don't mind if you are a little late to class.  I also like how Mr. Seamans' computer sends us messages in Tech Ed.

 

PFT: What worries do you have about your future at PFMS? Anything you’re looking forward to?

Anonymous: I'm not really worried about anything in 6th grade.  Something that I am really looking forward to is going on field trips.

 

PFT: What’s your favorite subject?

Anonymous: That's hard to decide.  If I had to chose, I would probably say that ELA, Art, Tech Ed, and Gym are my favorites.

 

PFT: What message do you want to give to 7th and 8th graders about 6th grade?

Anonymous:  A message that I want to give 7th and 8th graders about 6th grade is that they should try not to say anything bad about middle school because it is a little annoying to hear bad stuff about a school we haven't really been in yet.

 

Matthew Staniar

PFT: How did you feel about 6th grade before your first day?

Matt Staniar (MS): I was pretty excited, not super nervous. My brother had met my teacher before, so we knew she was pretty nice.

 

PFT: How do you feel about your transition here?

MS: It was pretty good. The lockers were hard, because I wasn’t used to that kind.

 

PFT: Do you miss your elementary school? If so, why?

MS: My old school was a lot smaller, and I liked being able to know everyone in the school.

 

PFT: What are some of the major changes that affected you?

MS: All the class changes.  It was strange being in different classes for different subjects.

 

PFT: What do you think about your teachers here at PFMS?

MS: So far, I think they’re pretty nice. I haven’t met many teachers I didn’t like.

 

PFT: What worries do you have about your future at PFMS? Anything you’re looking forward to?

MS: Nothing really worries me, but I’m really pumped for Tech Ed later in the year.

 

PFT: What’s your favorite subject?

MS: Probably science. I like math, but science has math and experiments.

 

PFT: What message do you want to give to 7th and 8th graders about 6th grade?

MS: I don’t know, I don’t really have anything to tell them. I mean, they went through it right?

 

Take time to think about your 6th grade year. Do you remember how PFMS felt to you? If you do, we would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!