Ever wondered what it's like to face the big leap from elementary to middle school? Join Avery , Ava and me (Amilia) as we share our personal stories of excitement, fear, and everything in between about leaving fifth grade behind. From the thrill of meeting new friends and picking out exciting electives to the anxiety of tougher academic challenges, we've got it all covered. We'll chat about adjusting to a new school structure, dealing with a bigger workload, and the adventure of navigating multiple classes with different classmates.
But that's not all. We also dive into the unique team system at our middle school, where students are grouped into teams like Arrows, Defenders, and Jedi based on their knowledge level. We'll talk about our hopes and fears regarding our team placements and balancing the demand for challenging classes with the fear of them being too tough. Plus, we share our excitement for upcoming fifth-grade events, such as the dance and the bowling alley social. Hear us reminisce about classroom antics, especially our experiences with the strict Miss P and her quirky methods. Don't miss this heartfelt and candid episode packed with shared experiences and the bittersweet moments of growing up.
Be Apart of the Show!! Text and Talk!!
Get $10 off of Dr. Squatch soap right now! Use the code WDYM
www.drsquatch.com/WDYM
Email me! Thewdympodcast@gmail.com
Intro by Kobeofei via Fiverr Season 2 Artwork: Ishida1694 via Instagram
Ever wondered what it's like to face the big leap from elementary to middle school? Join Avery , Ava and me (Amilia) as we share our personal stories of excitement, fear, and everything in between about leaving fifth grade behind. From the thrill of meeting new friends and picking out exciting electives to the anxiety of tougher academic challenges, we've got it all covered. We'll chat about adjusting to a new school structure, dealing with a bigger workload, and the adventure of navigating multiple classes with different classmates.
But that's not all. We also dive into the unique team system at our middle school, where students are grouped into teams like Arrows, Defenders, and Jedi based on their knowledge level. We'll talk about our hopes and fears regarding our team placements and balancing the demand for challenging classes with the fear of them being too tough. Plus, we share our excitement for upcoming fifth-grade events, such as the dance and the bowling alley social. Hear us reminisce about classroom antics, especially our experiences with the strict Miss P and her quirky methods. Don't miss this heartfelt and candid episode packed with shared experiences and the bittersweet moments of growing up.
Be Apart of the Show!! Text and Talk!!
Get $10 off of Dr. Squatch soap right now! Use the code WDYM
www.drsquatch.com/WDYM
Email me! Thewdympodcast@gmail.com
Intro by Kobeofei via Fiverr Season 2 Artwork: Ishida1694 via Instagram
Speaker 1:
you're listening to the wdym, the what do you mean? Podcast. Now everyone gather around and listen to one of hamilton's best podcasts. No research to back this up. Your host, michael Gillespie.
Speaker 2:
Hey guys, welcome back to the WDYM, the what Do you Mean podcast. And today it's another Sassy Sisterhood podcast. It's just kind of not Sassy Sisterhood. It's with two top special guests, avery Carly and Ava McMullen, and today we're going to be talking about sixth grade. So let's get into it, okay.
Speaker 2:
So sixth grade we are going to sixth grade in a few months and I think it's scary. So what are your thoughts on sixth grade? Um, I'm excited, I'm sorry. Yeah, what are your thoughts? I'm excited, but then at the same time, I'm nervous. Like I'm excited to advance to new grade and try something new, you know, and like I don't know, I might meet some new friends and stuff, but at the same time, I'm so nervous because it's such a big change. Okay, what about you, ava?
Speaker 2:
I'm very excited because I get to like meet like new people or like old friends and like get like a fresh start. But I'm also very scared because of what I've heard about it. Yeah, me too. How do you feel, amelia? I feel scared. There's no excited. And because there's no excited, because I heard some stuff about the middle school and I don't, I'm just like not ready to move on because, like I literally love fifth grade. So much, and I just don't want to leave because our teacher is the best. Yeah, I love my teacher. Yeah, we're all in the same class this year and yeah.
Speaker 2:
I'm, which is like something I'm like scared to lose, yeah yeah because we're all gonna have like we switch. Since we're in elementary school we switch with the same classes to every class. We have the same group of class that switch different classes. But in middle school we'll have multiple classes. In elementary school we only have and different people. Yeah, and different people switch those classes and we'll have like six different classes. Yeah, and we have three different classes right now.
Speaker 2:
That's going to be like double yeah. Okay, let's talk about electives. So electives are, um, like extra, kind of like extra, but not really extra. They're like things you do in the day, like with your school schedule. So electives are like, for example, gym, like health and there's, and then art and cooking and like languages. So, yeah, we picked our electives, like a few months ago, and let me tell you what I picked. Okay, so I picked choir, gym, health and smart, and smart is like something for your future, to like help you go on to success. And then I picked art skills, or I picked art, and then I picked life skills, which is cooking, and then I put cultural explorations, which is like languages. So those are the things I picked. What'd you pick Avery? Um, I didn't do a music collective, I did gym, life, art, cultural explorations. Did you pick health and smart? Yeah, I had to pick health and smart.
Speaker 1:
I picked health and smart, and then I picked technology, but I'm not sure.
Speaker 2:
Design technology, design and modeling. I did do design and modeling as well. Okay, what did you pick? Ava Do you remember what you picked. I remember most of it so I did orchestra as my music elective and then I did smart gem health life skills. Did you pick art? Yes, art. Did you pick like a technology?
Speaker 1:
I did cultural exploration.
Speaker 2:
Yes, and then I did information technology and then design and modeling. Oh, that's nice. Oh, so we don't know if we're gonna get all these elective. It's just what we want, like the school actually picks it. So, yeah, if you like I entered it like the morning it came out and so I have better chances of getting the electives I want, because if you enter it early you have better chances to get electives. I entered it probably two a day or two days after, yeah, okay, so I really hope I get the electives I want, because I actually want to learn a new language and I want to learn like. I just want to like yeah, so I'm no, I'm like super, like, super, duper scared for middle school because like it's a new step and there's changes everywhere and it's like scary, like like I've heard that middle school is like probably the worst experience of like your whole, like your whole school years, and junior high is like I don't know yeah fifth grade has been my like, my favorite same elementary school.
Speaker 2:
Besides first grade, first and fifth grade have been my favorite year, and I'm like me, I'm so scared to go to 6th, 7th, 8th because you get so much homework. Can we talk about the homework? Let's talk about the homework.
Speaker 2:
Okay, so my sister is in the 8th grade now, but she's going on to the high school and she had the first. I think it was like actually the first day of school she got homework and it's like so, like like why are you giving us homework on the first day of school? Like is there a reason? Like I know we need to get like a better education, but there doesn't need to be homework every single day of the week, and the next day, the day you get it of the week, and the next day, the day you get it, it's due the next day. Like how is that fair exactly? I don't think you get like time in middle school. It's like not fair. Yeah, one of our teachers not gonna like call her out, but she likes to lose our papers, then blame them on us and when we have like when we get really mad at her. I can't even imagine what like middle school is going to be like, because I feel like every single teacher is going to be like that. But my sister, she does her homework in class, so she doesn't really bring a lot home, which is good for her because she's doing all her homework, so she doesn't have to do like a lot at home. So all three of our siblings like my sister, avery's sister and Ava's brother, they're all in the eighth grade. I don't know if they have classes together. That's why we're just sharing about this, because they've told us a lot of stuff and like, um, yeah, that's why we have a lot of experience.
Speaker 2:
And one thing I want to talk about is bullying, because in sixth grade I have a feeling you're definitely gonna get bullied and I'm like so scared because, like I don't want to be like get in trouble. Like I don't want to like just do that. Like I don't want people to bully me because, like I don't think nobody wants them to bully, but I just don't think, um, people have a like reason to bully, like it's just rude. So, like what I've heard is that, like, since I'm like doing orchestra, right, my brother has told me stories about how, like making me scared because he's like, oh, like, you shouldn't do orchestra because people get bullied. Doing like orchestra and band like I seriously just saw a girl get bullied because of it yeah, I don't think that's right. Like, if you're doing something that you like you should just do it?
Speaker 2:
yeah, you shouldn't you shouldn't get bullied for that. Like that's actually super messed up, like what if they actually did it and for one year? And they're just like bullying you like they did it and then they had a bad experience, so that's making you like that you get bullied by them. But I'm not. I think I'm. I think I'm gonna get like a nickname for middle school because, like you know how like people have nicknames and they it just sticks on them and I feel like that's gonna be one. I'm gonna be one of those people. Yeah, also, I'm like scared that since we have our classes separated, I feel like we won't be as good of friends as we used to. Like that's what I'm scared. I'm scared of losing my friends.
Speaker 1:
I'm like scared of losing my friends.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, because some of my friends like at my school right now aren't even like are going to go to a different school next year, or like, yeah, and I don't know, like I'm scared of losing my like these people that I'm hanging out with right now, like Amelia and Ava, but also just people at my school, like I feel like we'll drift apart more, you know, since we're all yeah. I heard that like there's like all these videos saying that elementary like friendships, like Don't last, yeah, don't last To high school.
Speaker 2:
So I feel like I don't think that's gonna happen and I hope it doesn't happen. So if that does happen, um, if, like, we at least start drifting apart, we should start hanging out really often or just like at least talking at school. And I want to talk about something, but we're gonna talk. We're gonna, um, talk about something, but we're going to talk about something next.
Speaker 2:
Okay, so we're going to move on to lockers and there's like two in one big locker, yeah, but right now in fifth grade, we have our own like big, long locker, yeah. And then in middle school it's going to be like split in half and you're going to have to share it with someone else and they're like really skinny, like bottom or top, there's literally going to be no room. And they're like really skinny, like bottom or top, there's literally gonna be no room. And I would hate to be on the bottom because if I'm trying to get my things and then someone like bought me the locker, bought me trying to get their things, yeah, like my brother, he had a bottom locker. It was not nice.
Speaker 2:
I would want to have a bottom locker because I'm not very tall and I'd rather bend down than go all the way on my tippy toes. Yeah Well, something happened with my sister on her locker. So basically for I think it was sixth grade or seventh grade, I think it was sixth grade Like her first year going there, she had her locker and her locker like for the whole half of the beginning of the year, literally the whole entire year, until that very end of the year. They finally cleaned it up but there was blood on her locker from like someone getting beat up. There was like blood all over her locker and the janitor never cleaned it up. Oh my God, until the very end of the year.
Speaker 2:
So like I'm like scared that I'm going to get like placed by like a bunch of bullies Because like right now I to like defend her, I'm trying to like move.
Speaker 1:
Like you're literally You're blocking her locker.
Speaker 2:
Putting their back on her locker and not letting her get into the locker. I'm like, move, like, please move, like, get out of the way.
Speaker 1:
I'm not trying to be rude, but but like get out of my way what is being achieved.
Speaker 2:
I'm like, honestly, like scared to go in my locker because, like I don't want to see the things that they do over there or hear it. Yeah, yeah, because the boys are just weird, like very weird. I like stop at, like amelia's locker, or like would like we're. We have another friend named charlie but that's just her codename.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, her codename is just Charlie, and so is. When Ava mentioned Josie, that's also a codename. We already have our codenames prepared and so, yeah, okay. So let's talk about teams. If you don't know what teams are, teams are like for just middle, like our middle school. I don't know if it happens at other middle schools, but it's just our middle school. It's basically your knowledge level, your knowledge level Like there's, yeah, there's like things called TNT, no, TMNT, okay. So I think, okay, Arrows is a sixth grade team, which is the advanced team.
Speaker 2:
My sister was on there and then I don't, I've heard of Defenders and then, and then, um, I don't there, I've heard there of defenders, and then like teen mutant, teenage mutant turtles, yeah, and then, like I don't know, and jedi, and then I've heard like a lot of other teams and I don't know what team I'm gonna get on, because my um sister tells me about like all the teachers. I forget their names and so I just like don't, I just don't remember. I really I really want to get put on it like I want to get put on an advanced team, but at the same time I feel like the classes are gonna be too hard yeah, and my sister she has some teachers right now that she's been telling me some stories about that are super mean.
Speaker 2:
But yeah, like I don't know, like for right now. I know that like we all right now, I know that, like we all have like good grades, so I'm pretty sure we're going to be put on like some sort of like Advanced team. Yeah, like advanced like classes or something.
Speaker 1:
Or a good team.
Speaker 2:
I hope I I don't.
Speaker 1:
I feel like. I feel like there's like a dumb called win, like.
Speaker 2:
I just hope that I get on a team, like with one of my friends at least. Yeah, because, if I don't get on a team with one of like like any of my friends, I'm gonna be so depressed and it's not gonna go good and I really hope I get on a good team with good teachers, because I I want my like middle school experience to be good, because middle school is like the hardest like level of like school and I'm like just like super nervous for it.
Speaker 2:
And like I'm just like scared. I feel like we're all going to cry at the last day of school and it's not like, oh, we miss our teachers, we miss the schoolwork. Like it's not that, it's that we're scared to move on to the next grade. Like we're scared of losing our friends.
Speaker 1:
I cry every year.
Speaker 2:
I cry every year though I don't cry every year, but I'm definitely going to cry this year Because this year we're having a dance soon. Omg, I am so excited for the dance Because it's only for fifth graders, it's called the fifth grade dance and I am so, so, so excited for the fifth grade dance, and I'm also excited for more events we have coming up.
Speaker 2:
So, right now we're going to talk about like the special events we're going to have in the like end of the year, like fifth grade, and so first of all, we're going to have, um, a dance and I'm so excited for the dance. It's may 3rd, may 3rd and yeah. So we're gonna let avery talk because she wants to say something. So I am going with my friend elizabeth her code name is elizabeth, so I'm going with elizabeth to the fifth grade dance. We're basically going to be matching and Amelia and Ava are going to be going together. They were going to go with Natalie, but I don't think Natalie wants to go with us anymore.
Speaker 2:
So I'm having this really hard decision what dress I should wear. I know it might be stupid, but it's not, because it's really hard to pick out a dress and like, if you wear like a bad dress, people like would judge you for like wearing like such an ugly dress, and so it's either between blue, like a lightish blue with butterflies, and then like and then like a light purple and stuff, and I'm like so I'm like so nervous, and everyone so far, like my favorite color is purple, everyone's voted the purple. Yeah, I don't think anybody is actually going with a boy. I feel like everyone's going with their friends, like a boy's going with a boy, a girl's going with a boy.
Speaker 2:
Oh, I think I know someone who's going with a boy, okay, so we're not going to get into that, but we're also going to talk about the fifth grade social. So, avery, what is the fifth grade social, the fifth grade? Okay, this is like the bowling alley. Oh, the fifth grade social is basically kind of a field trip and you'd be going to the bowling alley. It's basically a field trip, but not, you know, okay, so it's like I think we're going to the bowling alley. They used to actually go to the YMCA to swim. Wait, did they go?
Speaker 1:
I think they did, yeah, but after COVID they didn't go, so we got like sprayed by like the fire truck.
Speaker 2:
Oh yeah, so we're going to get T-shirts that says our year, that says 31, which we're graduating in 2031, and it's gonna have every single fifth grader's name on the back of the shirt and I'm like so excited to get that shirt because I want to wear it so much and so basically at the I think it's on the last day of school you get sprayed by no, I think it's like the last day of school, around the like the week, the last week of school, so you get.
Speaker 2:
so our school is right next to a fire department and so a fire truck comes and they spray you with a fire, like a like the fire hose, and yeah, that's basically the whole end of the day. Yeah, that's like no, I think that's the whole day, because we're going to go to the bowling alley, we're gonna get like pizza or something probably yeah, but you I'm I'm pretty. If you don't want to, you don't have to coat eyes.
Speaker 2:
I know we're getting coat eyes for sure yeah people are probably gonna be wearing a swimsuit under a t-shirt or something yeah, I actually heard that, um, the last day my brother's teacher took, like, like they like cleared all the desks, so they brought in a towel as their like desk. Yeah, they sat on the floor. Why Wait for the social? No, like on the last day of school, like when, like what grade was he in Fifth? Oh wait, did he have our teachers? Wait, are we going to have to do that?
Speaker 2:
So one of our teachers, let's call her Miss P. Miss P was the one who loses all of these papers and stuff, and she can be very mean sometimes. Okay, let me share a story. So like we switched seats, like we used to switch seats like every other week, but now it's like two months. So basically how she switches seats, which the other teachers didn't, it was just Miss P, miss P. So Miss P, miss P, she would, um, so Miss P, she would, she would get this deck of cards and there would be a number like on the card, it would be like the One out of six.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, one out of six. There were six tables. If you got a card number of six, then you would have to sit at table six. So like I feel like people have heard of that before, so like you probably know what it is, but we're just explaining if you don't know what it is?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so let.
Speaker 2:
Amelia continue. Okay. So Miss P I'm she is very like, like rude towards me and like only me because very nice to me, I know, she's like, I know, but like she's so mean to me because one time we did that car thing and then she stopped doing it and I got placed at the front table and then when, when she like actually chose the assigned seats, she put me at the front table just on the opposite side, and so I have to beat and now I'm in the back of the room. So I'm glad I'm in the back of the room because miss p is very rude to me and I don't like it. It's so rude.
Speaker 2:
Oh, it's like she is our math teacher and she like gives us like so much grit, like we have a thing called grid and we have to do so much papers in order to finish. Yeah, so basically let me just tell you, let me explain the grid. Me and Ava will explain the grid. Okay, so basically you would start off with this thing and you would start it's like a whole different piece of work. So you would get one piece of work and like, basically you don't do it with the teacher, you do it all by yourself. So like you would get like a paper, like with a bunch of squares in it and it'll have a name in it and that's the name of the paper, yeah, and like we have like this like thing that goes along our walls rotations, rotations we'll talk about okay, okay, so basically you would start off with one piece of paper.
Speaker 2:
Once you finish that piece of paper, once you finish that piece of paper, you'll move on to the next piece of paper. Would you like go to the wall? And then there's like a pocket thing yeah, a pocket holder with a bunch of different and you have to get them checked by the teacher. And if you have forever, yeah, if you have two or more papers in the bin like you like, have to stop, then you have to do freckle, which is an online math site.
Speaker 2:
An online math site, freckle is booty cheese. Okay so we'll let Amelia all of us will explain rotations, but you can start. Okay so rotations like there's like 20, we are the biggest class and there's 25 kids in our class and so we have A, b, c and D, which are rotations. So A is like just like, just like. They're all like the same rotations, just like um. So basically, on monday it can be a's, c miss mrs p and then b's uh, like a's and b's like switch that what they're working on, and then c's and d's switch it's like before lunch and then like a little bit after lunch, let me just help explain, yeah, so it's like describe so we have 30 minute rotation, they will
Speaker 2:
be group a, group b, group c, group d, so there will be multiple people in each group, but everybody in our class, and so, um, they're group a. Let's say group a will be on Freckle until lunch and then after lunch they will be on the grid. So group B then will go see Ms Pennington and after lunch they will be on Freckle. So they will switch before lunch and after lunch. Yeah, okay, so what group are you in Avery? I am in group A, I'm in group B, and what group are you in Avery? I am in group A, I'm in group B, and what group?
Speaker 2:
are you in? I'm in group D. There's a certain person in there that I kind of want to be in my group, but I kind of don't want to be in my group. Okay, anyways, okay, so, anyways, yeah. So I have some people in my group. Let's just say that aren't the smartest, yeah, but there's this girl in my group. Let's just say that aren't the smartest, yeah, but there's this girl in her group. Let's name her izzy, and then, like she's so smart and she's like so, she's like so, like not trying to be rude, but she's like so lonely and she's like no one ever hangs out with her but she's so nice she's like one of my good friends like I don't know if a lot of people see it, but like she's.
Speaker 2:
You guys talk a lot yeah she's like my lunch buddy, like in, like the line, and I sit right next to her too.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, well, anyways, she's like super smart and then there's like other people yeah, but group group a, wait, no. So group a and group d. So let's say, group a the first thing that they would do was grid. The last thing that group d would do was grid. So they would basically flip-flop. And then group b and group c they would both flip-flop. So group a and group b would do was grid. So they would basically flip-flop. And then group B and group C they would both flip-flop. So group A and group B would never, ever do the same thing, so neither would C or.
Speaker 2:
D, so me and Amelia, I'm inB and she's in A.
Speaker 2:
So we would never basically be on the same thing, but me and Ava would be on the same thing. So, yeah, that's all about Miss P and what we do, and I think this podcast is coming to an end. So thank you for listening to the WDYM the what Do you Mean podcast, and I hope you guys all have a good day, slash night, and we will see you the next time we make a podcast. So thank you for listening to the WDYN podcast, the what Do you Mean podcast, and I'm like the co-host, amelia Gillespie, I'm Avery Carly and I'm Ava McMullen. Thank you for listening to the WDYN podcast. Thanks for listening. Bye.
