Middle school is a pivotal time for students, and Roseboro-Salemburg Middle staff are ensuring none of their youngsters fall through the cracks by offering what they called a new house system, with eighth and seventh grade houses sorted and sixth to come this Friday.
The energy was palpable throughout Roseboro-Salemburg Middle Friday as the school prepared for the Seventh Grade Sorting Ceremony. All staff members were wearing their house shirts, as well as the eight-graders, who were sorted the previous week.
The gym was set up with buckets that held a random assortment of blue, green, black, and red wristbands representing the houses of Gratia, Seicho, Tharros, and Neema. The house names are Latin and represent gratitude, growth, grit, and grace, four traits RSMS leaders agreed students should develop in middle school.
Teachers and administrators were buzzing with excitement as each house was represented in the four corners of the gym with a sign, banner, and balloons in each house’s color, and music played over the speaker.
The PTO was set up on each end with snacks and drinks for students to purchase when they came in, and the parents all agreed — the house system was good for the students and the school.
“The excitement of the students and staff is overwhelming but in a joyful way. The aura is different. Teachers and staff are selling it,” shared parent Brittany Adams.
“I thought it was fun the kids enjoyed it, and a great way for them to end each week,” shared Jessica Sessoms, another parent and member of the PTO.
“A sense of belonging,” was what parent Lindsay McNeill stressed as important about the event, and that the house system was providing that.
“You’d be surprised, there’s a lot of kids that don’t have a place to belong. They don’t have the options to play sports or do other activities. This gives them a place,” the mother emphasized.
As the students filed into the gym, the eighth-graders were wearing their house shirts, received when they were sorted the week prior, and teachers could be heard announcing “sit with your house,” as they grouped themselves in the bleachers.
Once everyone was in the gym, all the sports teams were recognized, and the eighth-graders who still needed a house were sorted. Then, it was seventh grade’s turn.
Roseboro-Salemburg Principal Becky Hines called the students 10 at a time, where they each stood at a bucket. She then instructed them to shake the bucket and then would count down for the houses to be chosen.
“Three, 2, 1,” she would count down over the microphone and then cheers would erupt as every student pulled their wristband and was welcomed into their houses.
Teachers and students who were already sorted celebrated each and every addition to their house with the vigor often reserved for athletics at the middle school level. It became clear as more students were sorted, and each house grew, that the excitement only spread. By the end of the ceremony many students were waving their house flags around the gym emphatically, and the cheering became deafening.
This week will be the sixth-grade’s turn, and all students are encouraged to wear their wristbands to school each day, with opportunities to earn points for both academic success and good character. The teachers and staff in each house will be intentionally checking on the kids in their houses, ensuring all students have someone looking out for them.
The middle school administrators and staff say they are championing belonging in a way that the students are already responding to, with many parents acknowledging that they are already noticing a positive change for the school and the community.