The first day of school in Riverside is Monday, Aug. 12 — except for seventh graders.
They walked onto their new campuses a day early.
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On Friday, Aug. 9, new students at Riverside’s Sierra Middle School and across the Riverside Unified School District stepped through the gates with eager expressions as they made their way through the busy common areas, hoping to spot friends.
The newest Eagles at Sierra got to explore the campus one day before eighth graders arrived in an arrangement that school officials hope will relax first-day fears.
“Welcome Sierra Eagles!” Principal Renell Robinson chanted as seventh graders poured into the gymnasium for an opening assembly. They were cheered on by their new teachers and staff members who waved gold and purple pompoms.
Sierra’s eighth graders — and those across the district — will be on campus Monday.
“Eighth graders can be a little … not nice, so having the seventh graders start a day early alleviates a lot of stress and anxiety for the students,” seventh-grade math teacher Theodore Peña, said.
These seventh-grade-only first days of school have been a practice “for many years now” across the district, spokesperson Liz Pinney-Muglia said.
The Riverside district currently has six middle schools, which have seventh and eighth grades. In contrast, some middle schools across the Inland Empire also educate sixth graders.
At Sierra, 12-year-old Mia Reyes was among the many students who came to the campus from Jefferson Elementary School in Riverside.
“I’m hoping to make more friends here, but I’m kind of nervous and excited at the same time,” she said. “… I like that we started today so I can find my classes easier next week.”
Other new middle school students, like 12-year-old basketball player Xavier Neba, intend to ease the transition by participating in extracurricular activities at Sierra.
“I’m planning on trying out for the basketball team so that way I can make new friends,” he said.
On Friday, Sierra’s new seventh graders received their class schedules, were shown where their classrooms are, told about school policies and introduced to their first-period teachers.
“It’s going to be a tough year because I’m taking all honors classes, but I’m ready because I got my new, first-day outfit on,” said 12-year-old Issac Garcia, who wore a clean pair of new shoes and summer shorts.
Sierra’s staff worked Friday to reduce some of the stresses that parents and students might be feeling.
“Obviously, it’s a huge transition from elementary school, having one teacher to now having multiple, plus all these new students that they don’t know,” eighth-grade counselor Kimberly Davis said. “Making everyone feel comfortable and helping students know where to go is our role today.”
Many parents agreed that the early start would benefit their kids.
Amanda Hanley said her daughter was excited to begin the school year.
“My daughter actually attended summer school so she kind of got her feet wet so that way she could not be so nervous when she started today,” said Hanley, who lives in Riverside. “So I think that the school is doing a really great job at allowing students to be involved from sixth grade up until now.”
Robinson, himself a former Sierra student, said he has a soft heart for these kids “because they come from the same community as I do.”
He too applauded the Friday jump start for new middle school students.
“This early start is just a good introduction on who the kids are and so that they know who we are,” he said.
