The excitement of 8th graders as they get their first high school experience.

The 8th grade class of Barstow had an exciting time during move-up day! They were each paired with a high schooler and were given the opportunity to get their first glimpse of what school will be like in the upcoming school year. 

Move-up day is a tradition at Barstow, providing incoming freshmen with new experiences and expectations. Many enjoyed meeting up with carefully selected buddies of all high school grades, fun activities, classes, and socials. 

“I was excited to experience high school for the first time,” says Dorothy Buckner ‘29. Dorothy is an eighth grader who had a great time being shown the high school experience at Barstow. She explained how excited she is to start high school next year, and how move-up day gave her a positive attitude towards the upcoming school year. 

The day began with middle and upper school buddies meeting and enjoying donuts before their first class. They were able to meet someone new, or someone they didn’t know well, before spending the day with them. Students from grades eight to twelve had a great time getting to know their buddies for the first time, and the room was filled with positivity. 

For the first four classes of the day, upper school students went about classes as usual with their buddy by their side. They were able to see what some of their future classes might look like. Then, they went to lunch together and had some free time with their friends. High school students were happy to show their buddies that they are given flex periods to relax in between classes.

“I liked showing her how we have a lot of free time,” said Elizabeth Patry ‘28, a highschooler who was given a buddy. As someone who experienced move up day as an eighth grader last year, she was excited to have the opportunity to give someone an experience as good as hers. She explained how, as a middle schooler, she was nervous to go into high school. Now that she has finished her first two months of high school, she enjoyed getting to show the fun parts of it. 

After lunch, buddies participated in a very fun kickball game! Eighth grade went against upper school in a friendly competition. The game took place out in the sun on the baseball field, where students had a lot of fun connecting with each other and getting some exercise. High schoolers won the game after an hour of playtime. Kickball was easily a favorite part of everyone’s day, and it was so exciting to see everyone laughing and playing together!

Students were able to cool off after kickball with some ice cream. Everyone gathered in the lunchroom, and buddies soon separated off into smaller groups. Some talked with groups of friends from middle and high school, some went outside to watch some of the tennis matches, and others walked around.

Eighth grade move-up day was an enjoyable experience for both middle and high schoolers. Buddies that were carefully selected improved the expectations of the incoming freshman class. Everyone had fun with all the activities planned, and it provided eighth grade students with an outlook on some of the things they can look forward to in the future. Barstow plans to continue this day as the years go on because it’s fun for everyone!