Isabella Trombetta, an eighth grader at Clarke Middle School, sits in the Clarke Central High School E.B. Mell Auditorium during a visit to CCHS on Feb. 23. CCHS Family Engagement Specialist Christian Barner organized the trips for CCHS feeder middle schools, CMS and Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School. “We did change the eighth-grade visits a lot this year. (Before), typically, it was more of teachers and adults talking, (but) we tried to have more performances, and the elective fair was a new thing,” Barner said. “So, we are trying to adapt and make (the visits) more student-friendly and more engaging.” Photo by Aza Khan
CCHS Family Engagement Specialist Christian Barner organizes several events to make the transition to high school easier for CCHS feeder middle school students.
With the end of the 2023-24 school year approaching, Clarke Central High School Family Engagement Specialist Christian Barner is preparing to welcome the incoming class of freshmen to CCHS.
Barner does this by hosting various events like trips to CCHS from Clarke Middle School and Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School, where students from both schools come to tour the CCHS campus. BHL eighth grader Shepherd Shaikun came to CCHS on Feb 21.
“(The trip) was helpful. I’m still a little confused on the entire layout (of the school), but I think I’ll have an easier time figuring it out (now),” Shaikun said. “We had a little discussion about (the trip) when we got back (to BHL), and we all agreed that it was quite helpful.”
According to Barner, there’s a big learning curve in student’s experiences when transitioning from middle school to high school, which is why it’s important to have things like the tours.
“(There’s a) big transition from eighth grade to Clarke Central, and there’s a lot of questions (about) what it’s gonna be like, both by students and families,” Barner said. “So, we do multiple things to try to make that transition easier.”
“There’s a presentation that (the Freshman Academy teachers) have, and they go over what is the Freshman Academy and what it’s like at Clarke Central. We’ll have tables set up outside the (E.B. Mell Auditorium) lobby so that parents can meet teachers, learn about electives and learn about clubs. It’ll be an opportunity for people to get introduced to Clarke Central.”
— Christian Barner,
CCHS Family Engagement Specialist
Barner also puts together the Rising Freshman Parent Orientation, which will take place on April 18 at 6 p.m. in the E.B. Mell Auditorium. There, several resources will be available to eighth graders and their families.
“There’s a presentation that (the Freshman Academy teachers) have, and they go over what is the Freshman Academy and what it’s like at Clarke Central,” Barner said. “We’ll have tables set up outside the (E.B. Mell Auditorium) lobby so that parents can meet teachers, learn about electives and learn about clubs. It’ll be an opportunity for people to get introduced to Clarke Central.”
Barner hopes that these resources provided at the Rising Freshman Parent Orientation will help rising freshmen come into CCHS with confidence.
“(We have) almost 1900 students here, (and) we want students to find their community within the larger community,” Barner said. “If you want to do band or orchestra, that’s like a class that gives you a community, like ODYSSEY, whatever. (We want students) to find their place within here, (so) they’re not just coming in without something that grounds them to a group of folks.”
