Dear In the Dark, 

Let me enlighten you on this topic! 

“Transitions” are visits that children of the lower levels pay to the level they will join next year. At Cascadia, April & May is when 3rd years start visiting Upper Elementary classrooms and when 6th years start visiting Middle School. Visits are intentional but guides strive to make them as organic as possible.

There are multiple opportunities for children to see what’s happening in the next level. 3rd years start by attending Friday recess with Upper El and then soon “tour” the Upper El classrooms to see what their environments are like. Simultaneously, 3rd years start occasional independent visits - taking their work to an Upper El classroom for a short time. Classroom placement hasn’t happened yet, so 3rd years get to visit both Willow and Trillium.  Once students are placed in a classroom, there will be another opportunity to spend more time with the class to get to know the students, guide and assistant. 

For students transitioning to Middle School, 6th years will be invited to attend some seminars, and later to spend a morning and lunch/recess with Cedar.

All of this is done to give students an opportunity to get acclimated to and prepare for moving to a new classroom come Fall.