By Savannah Wider, Seventh Grade
LOUISVILLE, KY, AUGUST 21, 2026 – School is officially back in session, and it’s no secret – middle school can be scary, especially for new sixth graders.
It’s their first year of middle school, and for most of them, they have to go to an all new school where they might not know many people.
Kalie Enix just started sixth grade here at Noe on the Incredibles team. She previously attended Wheeler Elementary school, which had only about 600 students, then came to Noe which has nearly double the amount of students.
“I was excited and a little overwhelmed about how different everything would be,” Enix said.
When asked how Noe compares to Wheeler and how she likes it so far, she said; “I like how much more freedom it (Noe) gives me and I have more classes.”
Like many other 6th graders, Enix was nervous about starting middle school. But she said if there was anything she would tell someone her age who might still be nervous about middle school, she said that it’s “awesome and not as scary as it seems.”.
Marlena Sells is a teacher on the Incredibles team, and has taught sixth grade for 16 years. She said,“Most 6th graders are nervous about school even when they come to Cougar Camp. Students feel nervous for all kinds of reasons: getting lost, knowing people, are the teachers strict? Remembering everything, opening lockers, getting used to the bathroom policy.”
Sells has seen so many new sixth graders, and while she said they usually adjust pretty quickly, they’re still nervous. If she could tell nervous sixth graders anything, she said it would be, “We [teachers, staff, etc.] are going to take care of you. Promise.”
New kids on the block
By Josephine Strain, Sixth Grade
LOUISVILLE, KY, AUGUST 21, 2006 – Yesterday, they ruled the fifth-grade hallway. Today, they are tiny fish in a massive middle school ocean. Sixth graders explained how they were adjusting to Noe Middle School. Sixth-grade teacher Kelsey Blandford, the Achievers Co-team leader and math teacher, described her experience with sixth graders.
Blandford, who has taught for 10 years, described getting new middle schoolers every year as, “It’s like Christmas, like surprises, sometimes surprises are good and sometimes bad.”
When it comes to the next year, “The little success you have. Like when you finally get something or excited about something” keeps her going year after year.
Sixth graders said that their school year is going well so far. Hazel Quiles said, “Learning an instrument could be cool and meeting new people along the way,” when we asked about why she chose band for her related arts.
Raivyn Ricketts, Arya Gonzales, Logan Sellinger, and Charley Zurkuhlen said that they came to Noe because it is the best in the district.
There were mixed reactions to passing periods and getting to the restroom. Some expressed it was quick and easy, while others complained about long lines and being tardy to class.
