With the new school year and life in the new building in full swing, staff and students of both the middle and high schools are finding innovative ways to collaborate for a more unified community. Specifically with the combination of the high school and middle school comes more opportunities for a coherent and beneficial learning environment.

Not only will students benefit from sharing one space, but the staff between schools will also have the ability to better communicate and collaborate. With less than one fourth of the school year completed, students of different grades and academic levels are already finding ways to learn from one another.

One activity that took place was  between about 80 students, 40 in Ms. Pflaumer’s American Literature class and 40 in Mrs. Samsel’s and Mr. Pease’s fifth grade classes. Dubbed “Myths for Fifth,” juniors wrote creation myths and read them to a fifth grade buddy. At the end of the reading, the juniors presented their fifth grader buddy with a bookmark they made, containing their name, the title of their myth, and a symbol.

Both the upperclassmen and the middle school students thoroughly enjoyed this interaction.

Fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Samsel said, “I believe it will inspire those who love to write to push themselves to be ‘like the big kids’ and may persuade those that may not love writing to see the fun in being creative and using your imagination to create a piece that someone really enjoys reading or hearing.”

Mrs. Samsel also believes that other school-wide events, such as the drama club’s musical, “Oliver”, and new events, such as outdoor activities, field days, and joint sporting events will also bond the Abington students as one unit.

This collaboration was hopefully the first of many more to come.

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