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Students gear up for new year

New J.L. Crowe students get a preview during move-in day
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Grade 8 Georgia Merry added some personal touches to her locker Thursday during move-in day with her friends Taylor Thorimbert

It was throwback Thursday for three Fruitvale moms who sat in J. L. Crowe Secondary School on Grade 8 move-in day reminiscing of their high school days.

Students buzzed around them, seeking out classrooms with schedules in hand or carrying a tower of books to settle in before school starts next week.

“I'm nervous for him, nervous and excited,” said Raina Witt, Chase's mom.

Witt was joined by Tammy Issel and Jozanne Sbitney, two other moms who were experiencing the same emotion as they waited for their children to get acquainted with their new school.

“On the way down here I was trying to give him the 'you know you've got to step it up, you know it will be hard but it will be OK' and I was almost starting to tear up a little bit,” added Witt. “I'm like, 'you'll be fine' meanwhile it's like, no, 'I'll be fine.'”

All 130 Grade 8 students were invited to walk the halls at Crowe Thursday on move-in day, an event held for those making the movefrom elementary school.

“It's a nice relaxing atmosphere to get a sense of their schedules, where different classrooms are and what kind of time they'll need between classes to get to and from their locker,” said Crowe principal David DeRosa.

The four minutes allotted to get from one class to the next was an initial challenge for Grade 9 student Nicole Johnson, who was on hand Thursday to show her cousin the ropes.

“It was kind of scary at first but then when I got used to it, it was all better because I wasn't as scared of everyone,” she recalled.

Grade 8 Max Bentley isn't too worried because he knows a lot of the senior students though he admitted it will be an adjustment.

“There's kind of a lot more bigger kids than littler kids like us,” he said.

“I remember going from the top of the school in Grade 7 to now the bottom of the school in Grade 8.”

He and his buddies are mostly looking forward to iFun, an elective where students learn a variety of information technology tools to help them solve problems.

Jessica Semenoff and Megan Heximer towered over other students, as they navigated their new school.

The former Rossland Secondary School students will be completing their final year at Crowe, a reality that they've accepted.

“I'm a bit better now but at first I wasn't very happy about it because I like Rossland because you sort of know everyone in the school because it's so small,” said    Heximer.

Crowe already welcomed its new Rossland students into the school last year but the move-in day is also for new students and attracted some senior students, too.

“The school is designed and built to accommodate 850 students, we're currently sitting at 831, which was approximately the number of students we opened the school with in 2009, so yes, we are able to accommodate new students from Rossland and other communities,” added DeRosa.

“We have increased the number of tables available in the multipurpose room for break periods, but not really much else.”

School is in session Tuesday, a half day for students to confirm their first semester schedule.