Administration and School officials begin to prepare for the transfer of the entire 7th grade class to attend Shuksan middle school in the fall.
Pressure is beginning to rise for the staff and faculty at Shuksan middle school as they prepare for next fall, as they plan to take on two hundred plus students from Whatcom Middle School. Class capacity, schedules, and finding room for filing of these students were some of the main concerns brought up by attendance secretary Kim Schmitt.
Whatcom fire and where students are set to attend
On Nov. 9, Whatcom middle school burst into flames around 1 a.m, destroying the oldest and most historic school in the Bellingham district. Flames destroyed an historic building and hurt many of those who saw Whatcom as a home. With this devastation came the loss of an institution for over five hundred middle school students. Cause of the fire is still under investigation, the aftermath however caused Whatcom students to be immediately split up and have 6th graders attend Geneva elementary. While 7th graders attend Fairhaven middle school, and 8th graders attend Bellingham high school. Resulting in a huge change to the schools current class size, curriculum, scheduling, and staffing making it a lot more difficult to handle. Plans for next year involve moving the 8th grade class to Fairhaven middle school while 6th graders will stay at Geneva and 7th graders of around two hundred students will move to Shuksan middle school.
With the arrival of these additional students Shuksan plans on adding portables on its school grounds to accommodate the extra students attending in the fall. “Room is our biggest concern and managing paperwork” said office assistant to the principal Peggie Foster. Shucksan which currently was just newly remodeled and opened this year hold 700 students currently which is not over its buildings capacity. This was one of the main reasons the school district decided to transfer the current 7th grade class from Whatcom middle school to Shuksan.
Students concerns
Current 7th and 8th graders show concern for the additional students attending expressing that things have become a lot stricter this year with the current remodel of the school. They feel that with the additional students coming in, school is not going to be a fun environment anymore. With administration rushing to figure out how everything is going to work including the student’s curriculum, students feel they will just be constantly being told what to do.
Pressure is beginning to rise for the staff and faculty at Shuksan middle school as they prepare for next fall, as they plan to take on two hundred plus students from Whatcom Middle School. Class capacity, schedules, and finding room for filing of these students were some of the main concerns brought up by attendance secretary Kim Schmitt.
Whatcom fire and where students are set to attend
On Nov. 9, Whatcom middle school burst into flames around 1 a.m, destroying the oldest and most historic school in the Bellingham district. Flames destroyed an historic building and hurt many of those who saw Whatcom as a home. With this devastation came the loss of an institution for over five hundred middle school students. Cause of the fire is still under investigation, the aftermath however caused Whatcom students to be immediately split up and have 6th graders attend Geneva elementary. While 7th graders attend Fairhaven middle school, and 8th graders attend Bellingham high school. Resulting in a huge change to the schools current class size, curriculum, scheduling, and staffing making it a lot more difficult to handle. Plans for next year involve moving the 8th grade class to Fairhaven middle school while 6th graders will stay at Geneva and 7th graders of around two hundred students will move to Shuksan middle school.
With the arrival of these additional students Shuksan plans on adding portables on its school grounds to accommodate the extra students attending in the fall. “Room is our biggest concern and managing paperwork” said office assistant to the principal Peggie Foster. Shucksan which currently was just newly remodeled and opened this year hold 700 students currently which is not over its buildings capacity. This was one of the main reasons the school district decided to transfer the current 7th grade class from Whatcom middle school to Shuksan.
Students concerns
Current 7th and 8th graders show concern for the additional students attending expressing that things have become a lot stricter this year with the current remodel of the school. They feel that with the additional students coming in, school is not going to be a fun environment anymore. With administration rushing to figure out how everything is going to work including the student’s curriculum, students feel they will just be constantly being told what to do.
Staff and faculty
Bellingham school district expressed that teachers currently from Whatcom will be incorporated into the staff of the schools of which they are transferred to and will work together for the upcoming school year. Currently Shuksan, Geneva, and Fairhaven are still working out the plans and hope to make the transition as smoothly as possible for the students.
Student set to be at Shuksan and the other middle school for the next two years as Whatcom is being remodeled. Remodeling has already started on Whatcom with the exterior walling of the school. Whatcom is set to be completely remodeled by the 2012 school year. The Nov. 5 fire not only affected the students of Whatcom middle school, but also the hundred of other students in the Bellingham school district.
Bellingham school district expressed that teachers currently from Whatcom will be incorporated into the staff of the schools of which they are transferred to and will work together for the upcoming school year. Currently Shuksan, Geneva, and Fairhaven are still working out the plans and hope to make the transition as smoothly as possible for the students.
Student set to be at Shuksan and the other middle school for the next two years as Whatcom is being remodeled. Remodeling has already started on Whatcom with the exterior walling of the school. Whatcom is set to be completely remodeled by the 2012 school year. The Nov. 5 fire not only affected the students of Whatcom middle school, but also the hundred of other students in the Bellingham school district.
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