SOMS HSA Holds Tours for Sixth Graders

For the second year in a row, according to Lisa Nolet, the South Orange Middle School Home & School Association has offered back-to-school tours of the building. Monday’s tours were led by seventh and eighth graders and designed for students who are new to the school this year. “We had over 60 new students and some parents attend today,” said Nolet.

The tours were started in 2008 “to help alleviate some anxiety about moving up to the bigger, more complex middle school. Hopefully a visit this week, a couple of days before school starts, helps relieve some of the first-day-of-school jitters,” explains Nolet, whose children attend district schools.

The tours began at 9:30 a.m. and well before that time, the parking lot began to fill with parents and children. Jake, 12, said, “I’m not really worried about getting lost because I was here a lot before,” while Isabelle confessed to being, “really, really nervous” about the new school. She recalls a spring visit to South Orange Middle School, but was pleased to have another chance to see her new school. “I’ve also been practicing doing a combination lock all summer,” she noted. “I can’t wait to have a locker.”

While some parents waited in the parking lot, just as nervous as their children, there is reassurance about the new school and new friends. “The kids, both tour guides and new students, were terrific," said Nolet.