Incoming Herrick Middle School students get sneak peek of new school

With the aid of three eighth grade guides, Herrick Middle School seventh grader Temperance Diep was busy learning the ropes of her new school as part of Downers Grove Grade School District 58′s middle school transition event.

Diep, who attended Lester Elementary School, said she is very excited to see friends who went to other elementary schools at Herrick every day this school year.

Having a schedule that includes early bird orchestra and choir, she also is looking forward to cooking class, which is part of the school’s Family & Consumer Science curriculum.

In addition, Diep has plans to try out for the chamber orchestra and join cross country or track.

She said that in elementary school, music and art came to her classroom on a cart.

In middle school, she and her fellow 650 incoming students will get the chance to travel to multiple classrooms during the day.

It’s something that can get a bit tricky, eighth grade guide Tessa Novak said to a group of incoming students.

To keep passing-period traffic moving, there is one staircase designated for going up and another exclusively for going down. Two other staircases are designated for going both up and down.

“Always walk on your right going up,” said Isabella Augustine, another eighth grade guide.

She also suggested that if a student runs into a friend in the hallway, the student should head to class and drop off their items before returning to chat with the friend.

After all, “getting to class on time” should be the student’s first priority.

On two days in August, incoming seventh and eighth grade students at Herrick Middle School got the chance to check out the ongoing renovations at the school, test opening a locker and learn about new procedures and their new surroundings.

It was all part of the Sneak Preview event.

Friday is the start day of the 2024-25 school year. Georgann Grecco, a Herrick student counselor and the coordinator of this year’s Sneak Preview, said “a lot of planning” went into the event because of the ongoing construction.

“Typically, the goal of this program is to give kids an orientation to Herrick so they don’t feel quite as nervous when they come in on the first day,” Grecco said.

Funded by the Education Foundation of Downers Grove District 58, the event gives students a chance to meet some classmates and teachers and “talk a lot about the details of middle school that are different than elementary school,” she said.

This isn’t the first time the incoming seventh graders are hearing this message.

“In the springtime, our counseling team goes to the sixth grades to talk about what to expect at Herrick,” Grecco said. “We talk about running through a schedule and lunch. There are so many things that are different.”

In District 58, there are 11 elementary schools that feed into two middle schools – O’Neill and Herrick.

Megan Hewitt, the district’s community relations coordinator, said that based on school boundaries some students may be entering a different middle school than many of their elementary school classmates.

It’s something that makes orientation events all that more important.

During one of the sessions, language arts instructor Brian Barnas told a group of incoming students some of the specifics regarding seventh grade, such as remembering to take gym clothes home to be washed and not spraying scented body spray around the locker room.

Barnas also talked about the clubs and other activities that are available to students including the Guitar Club and Improv Club.

Barnas said if a student remains after school for a club or sport there is an activity bus that runs Tuesday through Thursday. It allows regular bus riders to stay for after-school activities.

Students will receive a binder on the first day of school that includes folders, an assignment notebook and pencil pouch, Barnas said.

The event was delayed for a few days to allow construction crews to finish up the first summer of a three-year renovation project that includes state-mandated repairs, indoor air quality improvements, upgrades to air conditioning, additional classrooms and the reconfiguration of classrooms.

Once the project is completed in 2026, sixth grade students will become part of the middle schools.