Bridging the Transition to Upper School

Imagine being a new Upper School student at MICDS. Perhaps you’re advancing to ninth grade from MICDS Middle School or you’re joining from another school in the area. Maybe, though, you’re moving not only from another school, but you’re also changing cities, states, countries, or even continents. In the experience of Aanya Tiwari ’23, she joined MICDS Upper School in August 2019 after her family relocated all the way from Colombo, Sri Lanka to St. Louis, Missouri. Knowing just how that transition felt and the questions that she had at that time, Aanya joined the MICDS Bridge Program to help all new Upper School students orient well to our ninth through 12th grade community. Whether coming to MICDS from just down Warson Road or from over 9,000 miles away, she knows a thing or two about this important transition.

«Per tradition, I make a welcome video for the incoming new students every school year,» Aanya shared. «This video represents what I hoped to have seen when I was a new student joining Upper School.

«In the process of finding my place in this new community, I wished to have received a glimpse of the individuals attending MICDS along with their thoughts and opinions regarding school. Inspired by that, I decided to join the MICDS Bridge Program, a program that works all year round in order to best support and integrate new students joining our community. Besides taking on the responsibilities of a mentor, I pursued a small initiative of making welcome videos for new students. These videos encompassed questions, concerns, and curiosities that any new student would have.»

Since her sophomore year, Aanya has embraced this initiative of supporting new students by improving her Bridge videos consistently, expanding their reach, and diving into deeper questions. «As a senior, my video from this school year feels bittersweet,» she explains. «As I worked toward compiling my final video, I posed a single question to my fellow interviewees. This a question I now have an answer to. The same question I leave for these new students to explore and answer through their time at MICDS.»

How has MICDS impacted your life?

Watch the 2022 Upper School Bridge video below thanks to Aanya and the many students she interviewed before the 2022-23 school year began!

Also, check out some of the photos from Upper School Bridge in August!

Moving forward, Aanya plans to pass the baton of creating the annual Upper School Bridge video, so look out for more Bridge videos in the following years! A big thank you to Aanya and her classmates for helping so positively and passionately bridge the transition into MICDS Upper School!