Eighth-grader Caitlin Lennox (top) watches as Gianna Pallante (c) practices opening her locker during Locker Day at the Millstone Township Middle School. ERIC SUCAR staff MILLSTONE — Although the first day at a new school is trying for any student, many of the sixth-graders entering the Millstone Middle School on Sept. 6 will do so with an air of confidence, thanks to Locker Day.
“I really think that it’s helpful for the new kid coming in,” Jill Lennox, the school’s PTSA vice president, said of the Aug. 23 event. “It’s like a rite of passage.”
In its fifth year, Locker Day provides incoming students a chance to meet with upperclassmen who show them around and teach them how to open their lockers, alleviating some of the inevitable first-day jitters.
According to Maria Bandola, secretary to Principal Karen Barry, the majority of the school’s 161 incoming sixth-graders turned out for the orientation day.
A group of students talks with John Kuchar (c), an incoming sixth-grader at the Millstone Township Middle School, during Locker Day on Aug. 23 at the school. PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff “It just kind of relieves the pressure for the little ones,” she said. “It makes a smooth transition for them.”
The students came with parents and other family members in tow. According to Lennox, some dads showed up in suits, having taken off from work to be by their chil- dren’s sides as they made their first foray into the middle school.
“It was really nice that a lot of families came out to support their kids as they start at a new school,” she said.
Along with Barry and Thomas Semko, assistant principal, Lennox and other PTSA members were also on hand to lend support.
The PTSA distributed water and Nutri- Grain bars to students in attendance.
Incoming sixth-grader Angelina Napolitano relaxes in front of her newly decked out locker during Locker Day. As the students became acquainted with one another, as well as with the hallways where their lockers and homerooms are located, they also got to know at least one older student.
According to Lennox, just having an upperclassman as an ally can make a world of difference to the new sixth-graders.
“It’s nice to see them feeling like they’re accepted by an upperclassman,” she said.
Seeing their lockers as more than just a place to keep their books and coats, many students brought along the latest in locker décor to make it feel like home. Items included magnetic wallpaper, chandeliers, shag carpets and mirrors, Lennox said.
“It was great,” she said, adding, “I had a lot of people come and say, ‘thank you so much.’ ”