My school is, at the moment, in the midst of a crazed, stressful few weeks. It seems that we’re in a boat filling with water and we can just barely stay afloat if we work really hard, but there’s a constant level of work that stays around no matter how hard we try. Projects are turned in and new projects are handed out. There are elections for student government positions next year. There’s a research paper deadline looming on the horizon. Final exams are a dark shadow in people’s minds. This state of tension is further compounded by the transition from middle school to high school.

I am surprised at the amount of emotion the process has caused already. We have been well prepared and we have frequent meetings about course selection and the transition process. The transition will, undoubtedly, be difficult for some and easier for others. There will be mistakes, courses dropped, and challenges taken on, but I confess myself to be relatively relaxed about the transition.

I’ve been telling people for the last several days that moving to high school is nothing new. We’re not trailblazing, we’re walking a few extra feet to a new building. That understates the challenges of new teachers, a new kind of day, and the new responsibilities that come with being in the Upper School, but we are not the first people to transition to high school and we will not be the last.

I suppose that it’s impossible to combat irrational fears with rationality, but I’m always stunned at the amount of stress that seems to be generated out of things that are important, but not groundbreaking.