"osa has new sixth graders, now they have to adapt to their new ENVIRONMENT. how is it going so far?" -- Sayuri espinoza, 6th grade
OSA is filled with students from all over Oakland who have to adapt to their new school environment. The halls are packed with kids trying to get to their next class without being late, different teachers with different classrooms for each class. This can be troublesome and hard to navigate if it’s your first time, so what do the sixth graders think about their new environment?
“The art class is just how I expected it to be, art,” said Adonna Bailey, a new sixth grader here at OSA.
According to Bailey, she finds that “the classes are okay, the teachers and classmates are cool.” Her adjustments here at OSA seem to be happening quickly and with ease.“The classes were hard to find the first few days but now I've gotten used to it, I know where everything is,” Bailey said. While she seems to have gotten the gist of it, how are other new 6th graders doing? Let's take a look.
Jonni Mae Taylor, A sixth grade Visual Arts student here at OSA has a lot on her mind. “Well the adjustments have been good, I'm still getting used to all the stairs here at OSA, ” Taylor said, before proceeding to explain how she believes the school needs adjustments. “The cafeteria isn’t a cafeteria really, I had to get used to that alot. Supposedly it’s a meeting place, the school uses it for everything! P.E. is in there, it’s the Welcome Center? I don't know, it's just really weird.” Taylor is right—cafeteria at OSA is a multi-purpose room used for P.E., meetings, and more.
“I wish the hallways were bigger, it’s very hard to move around. I've gotten a little used to it but I don't really like bumping into people,” Taylor adds.
Taylor appears to be having a slight issue with the adjustments here in her new school but how does she feel about her school in general? “I enjoy my classes, the teachers are okay and my classmates are relatively nice!” she continues, “The Art class is way stricter than I thought though, like way stricter.” Taylor says she expected a more calm and chill environment from her arts, but her teacher is far stricter than she thought she would be.
However she also explains that her classmates are nice, same with the teachers. “Overall adjusting has been easy. It feels like I've been here for years even though it’s only been a month,” Taylor says. . She appears to be having a nice time fitting into the community here.
“It was kind of hard going to a bunch of different classes at first, because at my old school I only had two teachers. So going from two teachers to about six, that's hard,” says Lit Arts student, Alice Stewart. She found it hard adjusting to going from class to class as she, like many other sixth graders, has never had to experience this before, especially not looking for your room number.
But other than the classes what else is different? Stewart had no trouble answering that. “Over here there are a lot of kids who would rather play on computers than read or do work, so that kind of surprised me.” She explains that at her old school; Lincoln elementary, she experienced more academic engaged students than over here at OSA, where everyone here is usually on a computer playing games or watching Youtube. “Literary Arts is kind of different from what I was expecting, I thought we were just going to write stories and they were going to be super strict. But it's very laid back,’’ Stewart explains. She expected to be met with a strict teacher in her art class, however that was hardly the case.
However, it’s not all easy going. “The hallways are stinky, small, and there aren’t enough bathrooms,” she complains, explaining that there are few bathrooms in the halls, and that the few there mostly consist of staff bathrooms. “Overall my experience here at OSA so far has been good.” Though with the few flaws here at OSA and the different settings they find themselves having a good time here at OSA.
Oliver Perze, a sixth grade vocal student here at OSA says, “My original school bullied me, over here they don’t. I actually love it here, it's so chill and my teachers and classmates are nice.” He explains that there was more of a toxic environment at his old school, Edison elementary, whereas OSA has a more pleasing environment, with nicer people to interact and socialize with. “Vocals aren't different from what I was expecting. We just sing, I don't know.”
And with no further context he answers the next question. “The adjustments have been relatively okay, nothing big.”
“The art class is just how I expected it to be, art,” said Adonna Bailey, a new sixth grader here at OSA.
According to Bailey, she finds that “the classes are okay, the teachers and classmates are cool.” Her adjustments here at OSA seem to be happening quickly and with ease.“The classes were hard to find the first few days but now I've gotten used to it, I know where everything is,” Bailey said. While she seems to have gotten the gist of it, how are other new 6th graders doing? Let's take a look.
Jonni Mae Taylor, A sixth grade Visual Arts student here at OSA has a lot on her mind. “Well the adjustments have been good, I'm still getting used to all the stairs here at OSA, ” Taylor said, before proceeding to explain how she believes the school needs adjustments. “The cafeteria isn’t a cafeteria really, I had to get used to that alot. Supposedly it’s a meeting place, the school uses it for everything! P.E. is in there, it’s the Welcome Center? I don't know, it's just really weird.” Taylor is right—cafeteria at OSA is a multi-purpose room used for P.E., meetings, and more.
“I wish the hallways were bigger, it’s very hard to move around. I've gotten a little used to it but I don't really like bumping into people,” Taylor adds.
Taylor appears to be having a slight issue with the adjustments here in her new school but how does she feel about her school in general? “I enjoy my classes, the teachers are okay and my classmates are relatively nice!” she continues, “The Art class is way stricter than I thought though, like way stricter.” Taylor says she expected a more calm and chill environment from her arts, but her teacher is far stricter than she thought she would be.
However she also explains that her classmates are nice, same with the teachers. “Overall adjusting has been easy. It feels like I've been here for years even though it’s only been a month,” Taylor says. . She appears to be having a nice time fitting into the community here.
“It was kind of hard going to a bunch of different classes at first, because at my old school I only had two teachers. So going from two teachers to about six, that's hard,” says Lit Arts student, Alice Stewart. She found it hard adjusting to going from class to class as she, like many other sixth graders, has never had to experience this before, especially not looking for your room number.
But other than the classes what else is different? Stewart had no trouble answering that. “Over here there are a lot of kids who would rather play on computers than read or do work, so that kind of surprised me.” She explains that at her old school; Lincoln elementary, she experienced more academic engaged students than over here at OSA, where everyone here is usually on a computer playing games or watching Youtube. “Literary Arts is kind of different from what I was expecting, I thought we were just going to write stories and they were going to be super strict. But it's very laid back,’’ Stewart explains. She expected to be met with a strict teacher in her art class, however that was hardly the case.
However, it’s not all easy going. “The hallways are stinky, small, and there aren’t enough bathrooms,” she complains, explaining that there are few bathrooms in the halls, and that the few there mostly consist of staff bathrooms. “Overall my experience here at OSA so far has been good.” Though with the few flaws here at OSA and the different settings they find themselves having a good time here at OSA.
Oliver Perze, a sixth grade vocal student here at OSA says, “My original school bullied me, over here they don’t. I actually love it here, it's so chill and my teachers and classmates are nice.” He explains that there was more of a toxic environment at his old school, Edison elementary, whereas OSA has a more pleasing environment, with nicer people to interact and socialize with. “Vocals aren't different from what I was expecting. We just sing, I don't know.”
And with no further context he answers the next question. “The adjustments have been relatively okay, nothing big.”
