By Gabrielle Kesh ’20

West Essex gets an exciting glimpse into the future on Move -Up Day. Anxious eighth graders take their first steps into high school while seniors take their last steps out. Students receive their new schedules, meet their teachers and find friends in their classes. Teachers are given 10 minutes to explain their course before the bell cuts them off. In all of the madness of Move-Up Day, it’s easy to overlook how beneficial the whole process actually is. It is a great process that works positively, and the spirit of the day gets students excited for the next school year.

Move-Up Day makes the transition to the following school year an easier process. Finding out our classes and teachers for the next year relieves school stress. Knowing what classes I have before summer allows my time off to be relaxing. If there was no Move Up-Day, school would constantly be on my mind during a time period where I am supposed to be on a break. I am not alone in the sentiment that I would be more anxious and nervous without Move-Up Day.

“It helps me prepare for what my schedule will be like,” freshman Francesca Apito said. “If I found out my schedule on the first day of school, I would be completely overwhelmed.”

The day supplies students with the opportunity to fix messed up schedules as well. The insight received from it allows students to decide what kind of schedule will help me succeed. Students are not usually thrilled with their original schedules, therefore, Move-Up Day allows the student to make any necessary changes.

“If I have any scheduling issues, Move-Up Day is a great opportunity for me to fix them before I get back to school,” junior Danielle Kohler said.

Move-Up Day is not a common day that many other schools take part in for their students. For almost a decade, allowing a day dedicated to giving students their schedules has been very successful. Giving people the opportunity to have insight on their future classes is a helpful and enjoyable process.

I have another idea that could benefit the students of West Essex positively, like Move-Up Day has. A day for students to try different electives and find which one suits them best would be beneficial. It would be easier to choose electives with a better understanding of the class. This year I picked electives based on what I thought sounded good, but had no idea what I was actually in for.

In all of its chaos, Move-Up Day is very effective and makes the start of the school year an easier transition. It calms students’ nerves and makes scheduling issues more convenient to fix. If we incorporate the idea of this day into other aspects of West Essex, more students will find themselves looking forward to school events. Moving into a new school year is hard, but this day makes it easier.