Fifth graders move to Sisters Middle School

Sisters Middle School will have a new crop of students when school starts on September 5. Sisters' fifth graders will be part of the new student body.

The decision to move the fifth grade to the middle school was made last year after a group of parents, teachers and community members spent approximately nine months researching the possibility. This committee looked at schools that are structured fifth through eighth grades and found that these schools are very successful.

"It is good education," Sisters School District Superintendent Ted Thonstad said.

The committee also evaluated the need to free up space at the elementary school. Thonstad stated that space was needed at the elementary school and space was available at the middle school.

The middle school was built as a middle school/high school combination. The building allows for a separation between the two age levels with a common area in the middle that houses the gym, music rooms and the like.

The fifth graders will be in the east wing of the building. The sixth graders will also be in the east wing for the most part, although they will have science in the west wing. Seventh eighth graders will be in the west wing.

Lunch will be separate and the fifth and sixth graders will eat together. Release times will also be separate.

Thonstad said, "It will be difficult to keep the passing times separate."

Passing times are when students move from one class to the next.

Thonstad noted that unless a student has an elective like music, fifth graders do not have passing times.

Fifth graders will be in self-contained classrooms with the same teacher all day except for music, physical education and technology. There will be four fifth grade classes. Curriculum will be the same as when the students were at the elementary school.

Thonstad remarked that the whole idea of changing from junior highs to middle schools was to provide a more nurturing environment, more of an elementary approach than a high school approach. The concept is the same in moving the fifth graders to the middle school. The fifth graders will acclimate to middle school while being provided the nurturing elementary school environment.

SOAR provides after school sports for the seventh and eighth graders. No after school programs are planned by the district for the fifth graders.

Predicted enrollment is for 92 fifth graders with a student teacher ratio of 23 to one. There will be 111 sixth graders with a ratio of 28 to one, 132 seventh graders with a ratio of 29 to one and 111 eighth graders with a ratio of 28 to one.