Transitioning to high school from middle school can be stressful for students! This stress comes out in many ways through our teenagers, from withdrawal to acting out. Understanding how to help your teen adjust to all the changes they're facing can help them learn social-emotional skills to use later in life.
When you add the hormone changes that come with puberty with all of the physical, emotional and cognitive growth, you realize that the worries your teenager faces could be tons of different things! However, most teenage concerns in regards to the high school revolve around two main topics- Friends and the sheer size of NFA!
One concern that teens face is making friends at their new school. This is a concern for middle school girls in particular. There is also worry in your teen about making good choices in friends that will be at the new school. With the size of our high schools, it is easy to see why middle schoolers would be uneasy about the transition out of a school where they "fit," where they have their friends and they understand the social rules. When your middle schooler gets to whichever NFA is in their future, they will be mixed in with students from all four middle schools! How cool is that?! They have unlimited chances to make new friends!
Positive relationships and a sense of belonging are things that your teenager is going to have to re-discover as they find themselves at NFA. When your teen feels like they belong, they'll also find comfort, confidence, competence, and motivation to learn!
The adolescent years are significant in the transition from relying on parents to learning to trust and rely on peers and self. During this time, peer socialization becomes critically important and being part of a peer group can make the transition smoother while helping to ease stress. Confidence in social interactions with peers contributes to positive self-evaluation and successful school transitions.
Youth can identify friends from their previous school who plan to attend the same high school. If they live close together, they can travel together to school or plan to meet up before school, at lunch breaks and during times when they might not have scheduled classes. Among other things, this will give them the opportunity to share and compare experiences — essentially normalizing what they are going through, while brainstorming solutions to challenges they might be facing.
The sheer size of a high school can be overwhelming! The potential loss of social status among a larger group of peers and the increased number of teachers — each having different styles and expectations – can also be intimidating for 9th graders.
Just like in middle school, your student will transition in between classes and change classrooms- however, unlike most middle schools, a transition in the high school could mean booking it across the entire building to make it to class on time.
If your student says this is a concern for them ("I'm worried I'll be late to my classes!") remind them that they've successfully been switching classes for at least three years!
Another concern many students face is getting lost...but have no fear!! NFA offers Freshmen Orientation over the summer! Encourage your student to attend orientation! This is a FANTASTIC way for them to see their new school, meet other teens (who have the same fears), and even be able to get a feel for their building and their daily transitions for classes!
The idea that emotions matter — and matter a great deal in school but also in everyday life — is at the core of research and programming at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. RULER is premised on a fundamental insight from research: emotions influence attention, memory, and learning, decision-making, health, and creativity. They influence our ability to form and maintain healthy relationships; they are integral to our physical and mental wellbeing. And, they open opportunities for us to succeed in school, at work, and beyond.