WILLISTON, ND (KUMV) – Change is in the air at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Williston. Last year’s sixth-graders would normally be moving on to the middle school, but now seventh grade is being taught there for the first time.
“It’s a great feeling to connect with all the people and be grateful to be in church,” said Maci Hanson.
The ten seventh-graders as well as the fifth and sixth-graders now learn with different teachers in different subjects, similar to a middle school.
“It feels good. You get more exercise when you walk around,” said Chay Ekblad.
Most seventh-graders have been together since their first years of school, so they say it’s exciting to spend another year together.
“I’ve been with them for so long that when I go to high school with them, it feels like I’m saying, ‘I know these people.’ So it’s nice,” Alice Tamdjokoueng said.
St. Joe’s Principal Narcel Clark said the introduction of seventh grade was made possible by moving the preschool classes to Little Joe’s.
“The first day went really well. I got good feedback from some of our teachers and as I walked around I felt like everything was going pretty smoothly,” Clark said.
Clark said they still plan to add an eighth-grade curriculum next year, meaning seventh-graders will stay together one more time before moving on to high school.
St. Joe’s School has over 200 students enrolled in kindergarten through seventh grade, about 40 more than last year.
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