Making the transition from middle school to high school can be a difficult experience for many students.
Faculty and students at the high school and middle school are working together to help ease the process.
Twenty-six juniors at Owen County High School are currently involved in a mentor program with Maurice Bowling Middle School eighth-graders who might need help adjusting to life at the high school.
Shannon Treece, assistant principal at Owen County High School, and high school guidance counselor Melissa Carpenter, began brainstorming ideas to help ease the transition process for incoming freshman.
After attending a conference, Treece was introduced to the idea of a mentor program, and both she and Carpenter began working with Pat Gibson, the youth center service coordinator, as well as others, to create a program.
“We had intended on starting with only 10 kids to mentor, because we didn’t think we’d find enough mentors at the high school,” Treece said.
When she introduced the idea to members of the National Honor Society, she said 12 to15 students immediately signed up.
Since then, the number has grown to 26.
The idea is to have juniors mentor eighth-graders, so that when the middle school students move up to the high school in the fall, they will have a senior mentor.
Treece said the eighth-graders aren’t troubled kids or ones struggling in school, they’re kids who might need a little help getting used to the different life at the high school level.
“It’s just kids that may need some support to transition effectively,” she said.
The group, which was split in half because of its size, had its first meeting on Friday afternoon at the high school.
Mary Ann Vetter, from the Kentucky YMCA, led the group during the first meeting.
“We work strictly with teenagers,” said Vetter, who said the Kentucky YMCA is split into three main areas: civic education, leadership training and mentoring.
Vetter started off the meeting by having the students arrange their desks in a circle, mixing the group up in an effort to have each high school student sitting next to a middle school student so they could interact.
The students were also given snacks and the environment was loose and open, allowing the students to express themselves without fear of getting in trouble for talking.
“Today is about having fun and getting to know each other,” Vetter said. “What you’re committing to is making yourself a better person and to have fun over the next nine months.”
The mentors will meet once a month during that time frame, continuing the process during the summer.
“We hope the relationships just get stronger and the positive influence is there,” Treece said.
In the first meeting, students were given 20 blank cards and told to write down an interesting fact about themselves.
The cards were then randomly handed out and students had to try to figure out which person matched the fact.
That enabled the students to interact and learn something about each other.
For the juniors, the program is an opportunity to help someone else.
“I enjoy helping other people,” said Joanna Murray, who is serving as a mentor. “I never had anyone to help me through problems in life, except my mom. I just enjoy helping people, especially younger generations.”
For the middle school students, the program is a chance to get a jump-start on life at the high school.
“I think it will be good for me to do it and learn everything they have to say and have fun and just to get to know more of the students,” said eighth-grader Derrick Hoop.
“I’m looking forward to going to high school next year and I’m looking forward to playing football in high school for the first time and just having a good time,” Hoop said.
At the end of the meeting each junior was paired with an eighth-grader. The juniors’ first assignment was to make sure the middle school student safely found their way to their bus.
Treece said the group plans to organize activities such as a rope course and a visit to the zoo, but the programneeds more facilitators and funding.
“The school has been seeking help from the community to help make the program a success,” Treece said. “We would like to have more community folks involved.”
Anyone interested in participating can call Shannon Treece at the high school at (502) 484-5509.

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