We all know the feeling about going to a new school, be that for moving, advancing from elementary school to junior high, or some other reason. But one feeling we experience when this happens is anxiety- we all know it and some of us have problems with it. In this project I will uncover the changes in anxiety with our youth going from elementary school to Junior high. I want to know what happens to a 6th grader when they transition from elementary school to junior high. I also want to know what is the hardest part of the transition and what genders have the transition the hardest out of them all.

When I thought about doing this project, I decided to talk to the grade 6 teacher (Ms Watson) to put out a survey in powerschool for the 6th graders from different schools to answer the questions in the form (click here). The questions asked were about how they feel about school and how worried they are about junior high school. I also gave them a questionnaire when they had been in  7th grade for a semester (click here). I then used pivot tables to see the differences in stress level between gender, or if they moved schools over time (click here).

• Anxiety is a common condition found in children and adults of all ages, but one of the more common age groups that experience anxiety are teens. The anxiety can come from small stresses from their social or personal lives, slowly coalescing into higher anxiety.(https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/advice-for-parents/anxiety-in-children/)
• Some children have disorders that might aid in their anxiety. Some of them are(https://www.anxietycanada.com/learn-about-anxiety/anxiety-in-children/):
  • Social anxiety disorder: Tens are scared of meeting new people or doing things in front of other people because of the fear of regret resulting from doing something embarrassing or  silly.
  •  Generalized anxiety disorder: They worry about small things or future problems. These worries can be about family problems, school work, or friendships.
  • Selective mutism: They are comfortable with speaking in some places but won’t in other spaces.
• We can help people with anxiety by talking about their problems and trying to figure out how to help them out in their situation.

Observations(the ratings were out of 5)

• Female students were more stressed than male students (in 6th grade they scored on average 0.875 points more stressed than the males and in 7th grade they were 1.1 points more stressed than the males)

• The female students' stress levels of going to 7th grade were 0.194 more stressed than when they were actually in 7th grade. The male students’ stress levels were 0.085 more stressed about going to 7th grade than when they were actually in 7th grade.

• The students found that they were most worried about harder assignments and making new friends before going to 7th grade. Once they got to 7th grade they still worried about these two aspects.

• The hardest part for the  grade six students hardest  were the PATs while the 7th graders hardest part of school were the assignments.

• The 3 schools with the most students in them were Ramsay, Rideau park, and Elbow park. These schools are also closeby. The average stress levels of these schools were on average 2.54 while the average for the other schools that were further from Rideau was 2.9 on average.

In conclusion, the change from 6th grade to 7th grade can be stressful for students. The harder homework and new people can cause stress or other troubles for some students. No one student is the same and neither is how they go through school, but we can help them by talking about their problems with them and finding a possible solution to it.

Anxiety Canada- anxiety in children:https://www.anxietycanada.com/learn-about-anxiety/anxiety-in-children/

NHS- anxiety in children: https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/children-and-young-adults/advice-for-parents/anxiety-in-children/

I would like to acknowledge Ms Watson, Mr Brush, Ms Redwood, Hena Ramay, Ardo Illaste, and all of the students that participated in the project.