This letter is in regards to the Abbotsford school district’s proposal to change the rural schools from K-7 to K-5 and having those Grade 6 and 7 students attend middle school like all of the other elementary schools in the district.
I am a noon-hour supervisor at Eugene Reimer middle school. What I have found from observing the students and talking with them is that the students who have come from a rural school just for Grade 8 are the ones generally standing by themselves or walking around all by themselves, simply because they have not been at the school for their Grade 6 and 7 years, while the other students were forming their groups and getting to know each other and learning about the way a middle school is run in compared to an elementary school.
Unless the child is involved in athletics or any of the other many clubs offered, they are alone and on their own.
I strongly feel that if all elementary students in the district started middle school at the same time, then they would all be in the same situation at the same time, learning about the middle school model and dealing with lockers and class changes, etc. Why not have them all start off in the same boat?
I am not a parent nor related to any student at Eugene Reimer, so therefore I am not being biased, but what I have noticed is the great generosity of the students and staff. They have been collecting food for the food bank and placing it under the Christmas tree in the school lobby. The amount that has been collected is very impressive! Bottom line is this: Eugene Reimer is an incredible school with great students and amazing staff and I’m extremely proud to get to be a part of it, even if just for a short time each day.
Stan Mehrer