Have you ever been new to something that took a while before you started to get used to it?

That is exactly how the new sixth-graders feel. This is their first year at Watertown Middle School.

So what do they think about it so far?

“It’s been going good… it’s decent,’’ Aaron said. “The teachers are pretty nice.”

“It’s pretty good, I guess,” said Gabriel.

Most of the students liked being able to walk around the building rather than being confined to one classroom. In elementary school, many of the students were confined to the same classroom throughout the day.

With all three elementary schools pooling into one middle school, most students agreed that it was easier to make friends with the larger peer population.

WMS teachers have a different point of view about the new sixth-grade class..

“Definitely more laid back than last year’s class,” Cluster 1 English teacher James Kirkcaldy said casually.

“I love them,” said Spanish teacher Holly Cachimuel. “They are very quiet though.”

However, in the lunch room, for the most part, the sixth-graders seemed like a very rowdy bunch of kidss, and jumping out of their seats.

“One of the most quiet groups in the lunch room, but definitely not the best,” said WMS assistant principal Jason Del Porto.

Overall, the kids are settling in and beginning to really like WMS. The only consistent complaint was — shockingly! — about the “tons” of homework.

So that is how the sixth-graders feel about being in a new school.

–Dec. 14, 2013–