Fourth-Grade Gateway Program Marks Transition from Lower to Middle School

As the fourth graders of the Hampton Roads Academy Class of 2034 approached the end of the academic year and prepared to advance to the Middle School, Director of Lower School Susanne Swain ’78 reflected on the significance of the moment. “It’s important for the kids to process that change in their lives,” she said, “and it’s important for the parents and families as well to celebrate their accomplishments in Lower School and look forward to the next step.”

On Thursday, May 21, the proud soon-to-be fifth graders gathered with their teachers and loved ones in the Svein J. Lassen Auditorium to mark the occasion and pay tribute to their incredible growth over the course of their Lower School years with the annual Gateway Program. A beloved tradition since 2010, the morning ceremony saw the current fourth-grade class pass through a symbolic gate into the second phase of their Navigator journey. The event was not only a moving opportunity to honor the outstanding work of the Lower School faculty and student body, but also a reflection of the sense of connection that unites the HRA community across all three of its divisions.

“This is not a graduation. This is a transition ceremony,” Swain emphasized. “Our school is a continuum.”

Middle School will bring a gradual but meaningful adjustment, as the students tackle more rigorous coursework, discover an array of new artistic, athletic, and co-curricular options, and develop ever greater independence. Both the Lower and Middle School teams at HRA are confident that the rising fifth graders will enter this next chapter with a solid foundation for success.

“It’s been so special watching this group reach their goals and grow throughout the year,” said fourth-grade teacher Savannah Whitten. “Many of them have been together since they were four or five years old. Their relationships have grown over time, and they’ve become stronger and smarter together. I feel honored to have been part of their final year in Lower School, and I know they’re ready for Middle School and to take on its unique challenges and opportunities.”

Through the Gateway

According to Swain, the Fourth-Grade Gateway Program is deliberately designed to parallel the Crossing Ceremony that marks the transition between Middle and Upper School, as well as Commencement for the graduating seniors. From a celebratory crossing of the stage to a slideshow tracing the fourth graders’ growth from babies through their early Lower School years to today, the ceremony was full of echoes of these later milestones at HRA. Years from now, the Lower School director explained, this foreshadowing will not only make subsequent rites of passage feel familiar, but also lend weight to the culmination of Middle and Upper School as students are reminded at each juncture of how far they have come.

Dressed for the occasion, the fourth graders began the exercises with a formal processional. After they took their seats front and center in the auditorium, Swain delivered her opening remarks.

Next to take the podium was Grant Brown ’34, chosen by his peers to speak during the ceremony. Brown seized the opportunity to express his gratitude for the exceptional Lower School faculty and their role in helping him and his peers reach this milestone.

“On behalf of the fourth-grade class, thank you for making learning fun,” he said. “And to the fourth grade, thank you for all the laughs, the friendship, and the memories.”

After Brown’s speech, his classmates joined him on stage as their teachers read their names and their families applauded. The students collected their certificates, shook Swain’s hand, then proceeded through the ceremonial gateway to be greeted on the other side by Interim Director of Middle School Karen Gillespie.

Having known many of the fourth graders since they were in Pre-Kindergarten, Junior Kindergarten, or Kindergarten, Swain reported that she was “tickled” by the ambivalence she observed on several students’ faces while they crossed the stage, pondering whether giving her a hug would make them appear less grown-up. Ultimately, most happily embraced the Lower School director as she shared a memory and her personal congratulations during a “one-on-one moment” with each of them. This, Swain said, is her favorite part of the ceremony every year.

The assembly concluded with a performance of Becki Slagle Mayo’s and Lynn Shaw Bailey’s “We’ll Always Share a Song” by the Lower School Trade Winds Chorus, directed by music teacher Erika Caulford, followed by Gillespie’s warm welcome to the newest Middle Schoolers. Afterward, students and families enjoyed a reception with lemonade and cookies in the Lower School Commons and departed campus to celebrate over lunch.

Challenges, Independence, and Support

The pomp and circumstance of the Gateway Program inspired the fourth graders not only to take pride in their achievements in the Lower School, but also to ponder the gravity of their progression to Middle School.

“We know that they’re going to be successful, but we want them to take a moment to reflect upon what’s coming ahead and what that means,” Swain said. “The fourth graders are really looking forward to the freedoms that come in Middle School, and we’re trying to impress upon them the responsibilities that come with that freedom.”

The start of Middle School entails a number of significant transformations. Students shift from a relationship with one primary teacher for the majority of every school day to a roster of seven different instructors with slightly different expectations, separate books and notebooks for each class, and, for the first time, a locker. They—and their families—are challenged to adapt to a new norm, whereby students exercise greater autonomy. Middle Schoolers must, for example, navigate the OnCampus system to access homework assignments, book lists, and other course materials themselves, rather than coming home with a weekly folder that presents all this information to their parents.

While this expanded independence will present new challenges for the students, it will also open doors. “In the fifth grade, I hope they try new HRA activities, participate in community service opportunities, make new friends, and put forth their best effort with their academic work,” said fourth-grade teacher Gretchen Speece.

“It is certainly a year of transition, and I know that [incoming Director of Middle School] Abigail Whorley will do a wonderful job with that,” Gillespie said. “Most of all, there’s a whole cast of seasoned teachers here that have dealt with the fourth-to-fifth-grade transition. … The kids will be in good hands.”

A Strong Foundation

In a sense, the Middle School faculty has already begun to help the rising fifth graders with this adjustment. “The fourth-grade team doesn’t work in a vacuum,” Swain explained, but rather works with their Middle School colleagues to ensure that the scope and sequence of the Lower School curriculum “dovetail” with the coursework students encounter in fifth grade.

“There’s just a bevy of skillsets that we’ve put in place,” Swain said, citing examples ranging from studying to delivering a presentation before an audience.

In math, Lower School students receive a firm grounding in multiplication and division, fractions, and basic geometry and algebra. From second through fourth grade, they learn how to annotate what they are reading to deepen their comprehension and retention and lay a foundation for more advanced literature classes in the other divisions at HRA. Students complete a considerable amount of project work in those same years in order to learn how to collaborate with peers on assignments, a crucial facet of the Middle School experience. In third grade and, at a higher level, in fourth grade, Lower Schoolers practice citing and synthesizing books, magazines, and online sources to write research papers, sharpening their expressive and critical thinking abilities.

“I have known some of these students since they were in Junior Kindergarten, and it has been a pleasure to watch them grow both as students and as people,” said fourth-grade teacher Jennifer Massengill. “They ask questions, engage in class discussions, and give and receive support when it is needed. Most importantly, they have learned to enjoy the good moments and persevere through the challenging ones.”

For her part, Swain is certain that the fourth graders will thrive in Middle School because she has witnessed how they approach their work, friendships, and interactions with their teachers on a daily basis.

“They have begun to take ownership of their education,” she said. “When you begin to see that—when they step up in that way—you know they’re ready.”