Transitioning from middle school to high school can be daunting and exciting - for students and parents.
For approximately 30 students who spent the last eight or more years in parochial schools, they will step into Simonsen Ninth Grade Center this fall with those emotions and then some.
Add to the change the fact this Class of 2019 will be the second group of about 650 students to receive iPads through the 1:World program and be immersed in the public schools' new Academies concept.
Several families with parochial middle schoolers took a Tuesday evening tour of Simonsen led by selected Academy Ambassadors. They also met with counselors to consider enrollment from among the seven academies. Also, as required of all incoming freshmen, many took a math placement test.
Ambassador Charlotte Renner was an eighth grader at St. Peter Catholic Church last spring. Interested in becoming a graphic artist, she was intrigued by the academy concept.
This year, Renner has been able to take classes, like introduction to media and introduction to digital photography, as part of the Fine Arts Academy.
"Those are classes I would not have taken as a freshman at Helias (Catholic High School)," Renner said.
Ambassadors Hanna Watson and Mikayla Thomas led a tour, sharing their personal experiences. Thomas is in the bio-tech pathway of the Health Services Academy. Watson is in the liberal arts pathway of the Global Studies Academy.
Many of their classes are "academy pure," meaning all of the students in that classroom are in the same academy.
"It helps to be surrounded by people who want to do the same thing you do," Thomas said.
Even core classes are tailored to the interests and applications within an academy, the ambassadors told the tour.
For example, the physics class for those in the Human Services Academy might problem-solve for the most effective pair of shoes to wear on a runway, whereas the Health Services Academy students might study physics through a crime scene investigation scenario or the Industrial Engineering and Technology Academy students might apply physics to create a safer car design.
These are called "tier two" classes, combining the academies with the core requirements, Thomas said.
Similarly, in the Prospectus of Citizenship classes core subjects are combined for dual learning.
Thomas said she is researching Gov. Mel Carnahan for her government learning, while also working on her English skills by writing a narrative from her research and also computer applications by typing the report.
"We've seen a lot of neat stuff happening," said physics teacher Kevin Alewine, who moved to Simonsen from the high school. "I wanted to be at the ground floor."
In this first year of academies, Alewine said he has enjoyed the natural engagement and practical applications that happen in this type of learning environment.
Parents appreciated the multiple events hosted by the school to help them and their student acclimate to the new setting.
"In grade school and middle school, parents are more involved in the day-to-day," said Cathy Lewis, mother of Trinity Lutheran School eighth grader Anna Kruse. "In high school, it's more individualized."
Her husband, Don Lewis, added, "the more times they can be in the building beforehand will ease the tension on the first day."