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55 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, September 20, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 8, 2004 Talent Middle School sixth-grader Emily Sharpe, right, waits for help with her locker combination on orientation day at school. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Students get a crash-course at school By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune It’s a classic nightmare — twisting and turning the dial on a combination locker that just won’t open. You’re going to be late for class and you don’t even know which room it’s in. Talent Middle School sixth-graders and other new students went through orientation Tuesday to keep that common anxiety from coming to life when classes start today and more than 700 students, new and old, fill the middle school halls. "It’s about getting the locker to work and knowing where classes are," Principal Patti Kinney said. The new students got a look at schedules, located their classrooms, met teachers and classmates, and were assigned "the all-important locker," Kinney said. Parents also got to check out the world beyond elementary school with a parents’ night open house. Kelli Reno, 11, an Orchard Hill Elementary alum wearing a pleated denim skirt and pink T-shirt, knelt in front of locker 80. Advertisement "It’s so stubborn," she said. "I can’t get it to open up." Back and forth she twisted the knob — left, right, left again. No, wait, it should start with right — right, left, past the zero, right again. "This locker hates me," Kelli lamented. Eighth-grader Bella Tibbetts, 13, knelt beside her and effortlessly dialed up the combination to pop the green locker open. A few more turns and Kelli nailed it, too. "Yes! I’m so happy," she said. Once students get the combination down, they can personalize their lockers. "I love decorating my locker," Bella confided. Most girls do, agreed Matt Libante, 13, another eighth-grader helping new students figure out the rigors of middle school. "With boys, it’s usually messy with lots of papers everywhere," he said. Matt and Bella, who were on hand to help out the new students, said their prot�g�s — excited and just a little nervous — did well Tuesday. "Lots of them have brothers or sisters who go here, so they know what to do," Matt said. In addition to mastering her locker combination at least once, Kelli went to health class and did math. At a locker just across the aisle, Emily Sharpe, 11, had her own locker worries, but was not really nervous about life after Orchard Hill. "I’m excited," she said. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities