By: James Canner & Caroline Maxon

As the school year is coming to an end and our fellow students at Grand Avenue are moving on in their academic career, whether it be to eighth grade here at Grand or to high school, we wanted to take some time to reflect on this year and some of its highlights.

To start off our reflection, we interviewed a few current seventh graders and asked them what their favorite part of attending Grand Avenue has been so far, as well as what they look forward to receiving or participating in next school year. These students include Shira Rosen, Luca Bicocchi, Chris Buckheit, and Annmarie White.

Shira’s favorite part of seventh grade was performing in the school musical as Annie. Looking ahead, she is excited to take the Past, Present, Future course next year.

Next, we spoke with Luca Bicocchi, who found the lunches at Grand Avenue to be delicious—especially when burgers are on the menu—because, as he says, the food our kitchen staff serves is “better than elementary school!” When thinking about next year, Luca is excited about enjoying scrumptious school lunches every day and taking the Regents Exam in June of his eighth-grade year.

We also spoke with one of our Grand Avenue athletes, Chris Buckheit, who enjoyed participating in various sports each quarter, including basketball, baseball, football, and wrestling.

To wrap up our seventh-grade section, we interviewed Annmarie White. Her favorite part of this school year was not having too much homework and being able to choose where and with whom she sits at lunch. Next year, she looks forward to having a top locker—and to no longer being asked if she is her brother Lucas White’s sister.

After hearing the point of view of Grand Avenue’s Class of 2026, we also wanted to hear from our current graduating class. The students we interviewed include Rhianna Elise Agdinaoay, Kennedy Young, Yandiel Espinal, and Antonio Sicignano.

During her middle school experience, Rhianna enjoyed meeting new people and making many new friends. As the school year comes to a close, she looks forward to continuing to meet new people and learning topics that weren’t available during her time at Grand Avenue.

Kennedy also enjoyed meeting new people and learning how to be independent throughout middle school. Now, she looks forward to joining new programs and clubs, as well as working toward her goals in high school.

Next, we spoke with Yandiel Espinal, who enjoys being social, making new friends, and joining different clubs. He can’t wait to participate in sports teams and continue building friendships during his upcoming high school experience.

Finally, we spoke with Antonio Sicignano, who appreciated switching classes and creating new friendships. Looking ahead to high school, Antonio hopes to make even more friends and earn good grades.

While this concludes our eighth-grade interviews, we’ve noticed that the majority of students found making new friends to be one of the highlights of their time at Grand Avenue.

Overall, it seems that our students here at Grand Avenue—whether they’re moving into their final year or heading off to their first year of high school—all have meaningful memories, friendships, and experiences to carry with them into the future.

So now, we have a question for you: What was your favorite part of middle school?

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