How to Celebrate the Last Week of Middle School

As May ends and June rolls around, you are probably finishing up your final exams and are pretty excited for the summer. But, if you are graduating middle school, you may find the experience of school ending a little differently. You may struggle to come to peace with the fact that you may be separated from some of your friends, and you may not see them again. You might not want to leave middle school, as you've made so many friends, known people since elementary school, and had so many nice teachers. You might be nervous about going to high school, college, and choosing your future career. If you need advice about graduating middle school, this article is for you!

[Edit]Steps

[Edit]On the Last Week of School

1. Clean out your locker. Some middle schools may give you a class period during the last week of school to clean out your locker if you use it. Bring a spare bag to put the items you want to keep if they won't fit in your backpack. Remove any wallpaper, magnets, pictures, school books, and other accessories that you have put in your locker. If there are items you don't need, such as old school projects and broken stationery, throw those out. Keep the rest in your backpack or your spare bag.
   • Keep items that you can reuse for high school, such as a small whiteboard to keep track of assignments.
2. Save any online school assignments. Most schools give enrolled students a school email (and sometimes, access to document software/websites like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides with the email). If someone leaves the school due to any reason, they will disable their email and their school account. This will prevent you from accessing old school assignments like essays and projects. So, download things from your school account during the last week of school, since you don't know when the school will disable your account.
   • You may just want to look at old items for nostalgia, or you may need to take a look at old projects for inspiration for future school assignments in middle school. For example, the format for your 7th grade book report may be similar to your 9th grade English book report, so you can take your old assignment into consideration.
3. Resolve any friendship problems as soon as possible. It's best not to hold any grudges at the end of the year, as you may regret it after a few months. Plus, it ruins your feelings at the end of the school year. If there are any unresolved conflicts between friends and classmates, talk to them before the end of the year. If you need to apologize, write a sorry letter and apologize to them in person.
   
   • This will add on to the happy memories instead of the sad memories you have had with your friends.
4. Participate in as many spirit week activities as possible. Usually, the last week of school is designated as "spirit week", in which you dress up differently every day based on a theme and participate in many end-of-the-year activities. Participating in these will allow you to spend some last days together with your friends if you are going to different high schools. Dress up in fun clothes, and attend as many of the events as possible.
   • For example, you can dress up in school colors on Tuesday, beach clothing on Wednesday, and pajamas on Thursday if that's what your school spirit week schedule says.
   • There will probably be a field day, in which students participate in gym activities. The grade (or the whole school) might be divided into groups to compete against each other.
5. Attend your school's graduation ceremony. Most middle schools have a graduation ceremony each year for the eighth (or ninth) graders graduating. There, you can meet all of the classmates in your grade level and see all of your classmates' family members. Your family members will probably come to your graduation, and they will be very proud of you. Your teachers will congratulate people too. There will most likely be a valedictorian, a classmate who delivers the graduation speech to the entire audience of classmates and family.
   • Your school will most likely let your grade level practice this ceremony a few times before the actual graduation, so you don't need to worry about messing up. Just walk up to the stage from the right entrance and be careful when walking up the stairs to the stage.
   • Smile when you go up on stage, as everyone will be taking pictures.
   • Your school may determine the valedictorian based on the people with the highest grades, or they may allow anyone to go up and speak. If your school doesn't pick people based on grades, send an email to the head of school beforehand if you want to be the valedictorian.
6. Attend your school's graduation dance. Many schools will probably follow-up the graduation ceremony with the graduation dance in the afternoon or night. If you don't have any events or extracurriculars to attend, you can go. There, you can socialize and have one last night of fun with the other eighth or ninth graders before the summer starts.
   
   • There might be a dress code you have to follow for the dance, so ask the head of school if you have any questions. For example, it may be summer-themed (so people have to wear Hawaiian shirts, dresses, and straw hats), or a formal dance (polo shirts, suits, knee-length dresses, and formal shoes like black leather shoes or flats).
7. Write thank-you notes to classmates, friends, and teachers. During the last days of school, start writing thank-you cards to all of your teachers or your favorite ones. This shows your gratitude and appreciation of their hard work this year. You can share a personal experience you had with your teacher and add it into the card. You can also write longer letters to your best friends and give it to them on the last day. Add some positive adjectives in there to bring out positive qualities of your teachers and friends, like "hard-working", "honest", "humorous", "creative", and "persevering". ^[1]
   
   • Decorate your card with things like drawings, photos, glitter, and color to make it even more meaningful.
8. Cope if you cannot make it to the last week of school. If you cannot make it to the last week or day of school (due to something else planned, like a vacation, dance recital, a doctor's appointment, etc.), you may feel upset or overwhelmed. If you really want to go to school on the last week or day, ask your parents to see if you can reschedule the event last-minute. If this causes too many complications or if you cannot reschedule, you will have to cope with the aftermath.
   • Say goodbye to the friends you are leaving beforehand, and plan something fun before the last week/day of school, like a sleepover or a trip to the amusement park with your friends.
   • Take some final photos of you and your friends before summer break starts.

[Edit]During the Graduation Dance

1. Follow the dress code for the graduation dance. Each school probably has a different theme for the dance. Your dance may be informal (which means you can wear regular home clothes) or formal (which means you need to dress up). Ask the head of school or the people who plan the dances (like the teachers, parent committee or the student council) about the dress code if you have any questions. Find some clothes you have at home, and buy some if you find that you are missing some items.
   • For a summer theme, find Hawaiian shirts, flowy dresses and blouses, and cargo shorts. You could also wear athletic shorts and T-shirts. You may need to wear sneakers instead of sandals/flip-flops if your school doesn't allow them. You can add a baseball cap, a straw hat, a lei, and sunglasses if you want.
   • For a school color theme, find clothes in your school colors and wear them. You can add accessories like necklaces and additional school merch if you want.
   • For a formal theme, find (at least) a polo shirt, formal pants (khaki, navy blue, or black depending on how formal the dance is), and a belt. You may want to rent a suit or get one if the dance is very formal (this means a suit jacket, white polo shirt, belt, dress pants, and a tie). For females, get a dress that is at least knee-length. Don't buy dresses in overly flashy colors, and avoid strapless dresses if your school is strict. You can also buy a pantsuit. Get formal shoes too, such as leather shoes, buckled shoes, and flats.
2. Say hi to your friends and classmates when you arrive. Everyone likes a warm welcome, even people you don't know. You can greet your friends and other classmates nicely by bringing them items from the dance (if they arrive later than you). Bring accessories and food to them and enjoy the dance.
   
3. Dance to the music. Most school dances have happy music for people to dance to. There probably won't be any ballads or sad songs, as the school want to lift people's spirits during graduation. Even if you are downcast or down in the dumps during graduation, try your best to dance and have fun. You don't need to dance a specific way; just make sure your dance moves match up with the beat. For example, slow-dancing does not match well with fast, EDM music, so dance and shake your body faster.
   • Get your friends to dance if all of them are shy. If you make a move first, it is likely they will join in. If their favorite songs are on, dance to their favorite songs if you can.
   • You can tell everyone to sing along to the songs too, to increase spirit and energy.
4. Sing along loudly to the songs. Sing as loudly as you can to your favorite songs. Don't be shy- you don't have to be the best at singing, as it is not a singing competition. Don't be worried about people judging you when you are singing, as the point is to have fun before graduation and high school. You can try to sing along to songs you don't know as well, by chanting the chorus when it comes up multiple times.
   • Show your enthusiasm by waving glowsticks or other props up and down. You can also dance and jump up and down to the music.
5. Grab some food. There is usually party food served at dances. This includes snack foods such as chips, pretzels, raisins, crackers, cookies, and fruit. Some easy meal foods like pizza, sandwiches, and hot dogs may also be served. ^[2] There will probably be a variety of drinks to choose from too, such as juice boxes, water, and soda. If you are hungry or tired during the dance, grab some food at the food table. Then, sit or stand and eat while enjoying the music.
   • Make sure the food does not trigger any of your allergies. If you're getting food for your friends, ask them about their food allergies to make sure nothing happens.
6. Participate in any fun activities during the dance. There may be special activities offered to everyone during the dance. For example, there may be board games, pin the tail on the donkey, balloon events, and other activities for everyone to play with. ^[3] If you can, go to as many of the activities as possible.
   • It's fine if you aren't interested in the activities; continue to have fun. Don't force yourself to join activities you aren't interested in, as that ruins your time there. You're also wasting time doing something that you don't want to do.
7. Take as many photos as you can. You may be camera-shy or hate taking photos, but you should still take a few pictures of the experience. You probably won't cringe at your pictures in the future, and it lets you relive past fun memories you had as a young teenager. If there are photo booths, go to a photo booth in the dance and take some pictures! You can go with your friends if you want.
   • Allow a member of staff to take a photo of you if phones aren't allowed during the dance.
8. Say final goodbyes at the end of the dance. If the dance started in the afternoon, it is probably nighttime at the end of the dance. Before you leave, say goodbye to your friends by hugging them. If you wrote a goodbye letter/note to them, give that to them before they leave. You can wish them a happy summer break, and find ways to contact each other (e.g. by phone, email, social media, mailing physical letters, etc.) when you need each other during the summer and high school.
   • You can also take one last photo of you and your friends before summer break starts.

[Edit]After the Last Day of School

1. Contact your friends after school ends. Contact your friends after school ends if you are starting to miss them. You can start up a long conversation which may lead to tears, sobbing, and singing melancholy songs about leaving the past. You can talk on the phone with your friend if you are really missing them, or you can find ways to meet up with your friends during the summer if all of you have time.
   • If your friend doesn't respond immediately, assume that they are tired or busy (as graduation is a large event, your friend may be celebrating it with family).
2. Know which high schools your friends are going to. Some of your friends may be going to the same high school as you, which means you will see them, even if they don't attend the same classes as you. In middle school, you probably have a certain group of people who are in the same class as you. In high school, the people will change during each class switch. So, your graphic arts pals will be different from your geometry classmates and different from your biology ones too.
   • If you don't know, contact your friends and ask them about it.
3. Invite your friends to spend one last time together before summer vacation. Invite your friends to a party or sleepover before summer vacation, especially if you are leaving them. Plan some fun activities to prevent people from getting sad and melancholy. You can plan board games or a trip to the bowling alley, for example. You can also have a sad karaoke session, where you sing sad songs about leaving someone or breakups to release your emotions.
   • Right before the event ends, don't forget to hug your friends and bid them farewell if you are leaving them! You may also take one last picture with everyone together.
4. Release your emotions. You are probably dealing with some tough emotions after graduation, so take some time by yourself to let it out. If you are tired, go to bed early. If you are sad, cry it out in your room. Crying is a natural response to change and sad events, so don't pretend that you are ok and fine if you aren't. If you want to start crying but can't, look through old photo albums and listen to sad music. Here are some examples of sad music that will get the tears flowing:
   • I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton (1974), although the more famous version was covered by Whitney Houston in 1992
   • Cat’s in the Cradle by Harry Chapin (1974) ^[4]
   • Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd (1975)
   • Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division (1980) ^[5]
   • Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper (1983)
   • With or Without You by U2 (1987) ^[6]
   • Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinéad O'Connor (1990) ^[7]
   • Kiss the Rain by Billie Myers (1997)
   • Angel by Sarah McLachlan (1998) ^[8]
   • Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt by Nine-Inch Nails in 2002
   • My Immortal by Evanescence (2003)
   • Back to Black by Amy Winehouse (2007) ^[9]
   • Someone Like You by Adele (2011)
   • Praying by Kesha (2017)
   • Sign of the Times by Harry Styles (2017)
5. Recharge yourself. After a long day, it's best to recharge yourself. Draw, listen to calming music, fidget with objects, game, or do other relaxing activities that allow you to de-stress when you have a ton of overwhelming emotions. You might've cried all day after leaving your friends and talking to them in person for the last time, so you're probably really tired. If you are really tired, you can also go to bed early. If your family wants to celebrate your graduation, tell them that you can do it tomorrow.
   • You can talk with your family about your emotions and how you are feeling after your graduation.

[Edit]Tips

• Enjoy yourself during the last week of school. Don't stress out about anything; worry about things after.
• Say goodbye to your friends (if you are going to different high schools) by writing a long letter, sending a meaningful text, making a craft, or doing something fun with your friends for the last time.
• Invite your friends out to dinner, have a graduation party/leaving party, go on a shopping spree, or invite them to other fun events for the last day.

[Edit]References

1. ↑ https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/home-lifestyle/a43540099/thank-you-teacher-messages/
2. ↑ https://whimsyandspice.com/graduation-party-food-ideas/
3. ↑ https://www.myteenguide.com/awesome-things-to-do-at-a-graduation-party/
4. ↑ https://www.tonestart.com/saddest-70s-songs/
5. ↑ https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/sad-songs/
6. ↑ https://www.ranker.com/list/sad-80s-songs/ranker-music
7. ↑ https://punkee.com.au/top-20-most-depressing-hits-of-the-90s/
8. ↑ https://www.bustle.com/p/21-songs-you-definitely-cried-to-at-least-once-in-the-90s-42068
9. ↑ https://www.spin.com/2021/07/10-best-sad-songs-of-the-2000s/