The first day of school in Riverside is Monday, August 12th – with the exception of seventh graders.
They entered their new campuses a day early.
RELATED: School starts in the Inland Empire, here’s what to look out for this year
On Friday, August 9, new students at Sierra Middle School in Riverside and throughout the Riverside Unified School District walked through the gates with excited faces as they walked through the bustling common areas, hoping to spot friends.
Sierra’s newest Eagles were allowed to explore campus the day before the eighth-graders arrived, a policy school administrators hope will ease first-day anxiety.
1 from 13
Expand
“Welcome, Sierra Eagles!” Principal Renell Robinson called as seventh-graders filed into the gym for opening assembly, cheered on by their new teachers and staff, who waved gold and purple pom-poms.
Sierra’s eighth-graders – and everyone from across the district – will be on campus Monday.
“Eighth graders can be a little… not nice. So having seventh graders start a day early reduces the stress and anxiety of the students,” said seventh grade math teacher Theodore Peña.
The fact that the first days of school are only accessible to seventh graders has been common practice throughout the district “for many years,” said spokeswoman Liz Pinney-Muglia.
The Riverside district currently has six middle schools that serve seventh and eighth graders. In contrast, some middle schools throughout the Inland Empire also serve sixth graders.
In Sierra, 12-year-old Mia Reyes was one of many students who came to campus from Jefferson Elementary School in Riverside.
“I hope to make more friends here, but I’m a little nervous and excited at the same time,” she said. “… I’m glad we started today so I can handle classes better next week.”
Other new middle school students, like 12-year-old basketball player Xavier Neba, want to ease the transition by participating in extracurricular activities at Sierra.
“I plan to try out for the basketball team so I can make new friends,” he said.
On Friday, Sierra’s new seventh graders received their schedules, got to know their classrooms, learned about school rules, and were introduced to their teachers for their first period.
“It’s going to be a tough year because I’m only taking advanced courses, but I’m ready because I have my new outfit on for the first day,” said 12-year-old Issac Garcia, wearing a clean pair of new shoes and summer shorts.
Sierra’s staff worked Friday to help ease some of the stress parents and students may be feeling.
“It’s obviously a huge transition from elementary school with one teacher to several, plus all these new students they don’t know,” said eighth-grade counselor Kimberly Davis. “Our job today is to make sure everyone is comfortable and help students know where to go.”
Many parents agreed that starting early would benefit their children.
Amanda Hanley said her daughter is excited about starting school.
“My daughter actually went to summer school, so she’s had a little look inside, so she wasn’t as nervous about starting today,” said Hanley, who lives in Riverside. “I think the school is doing a really great job of allowing students to participate from sixth grade through today.”
Robinson, himself a former Sierra student, said he has a soft heart for these children “because they come from the same community as me.”
He also welcomed the early start on Fridays for the new middle school students.
“This early start is just a good introduction to the world of the children and so that they know who we are,” he said.
Originally published:
