Last Days of School - Teaching Idea - Moving Up Day Illustration

Last Day of School Idea
Moving Up Day

Moving Up Day

I still remember my Freshman Year, moving up day. This activity was announced over the loudspeakers during the second week in June, asking interested people to sign up for their class committee.

We had never done a moving up day. Nobody knew what to do. The "day" was really an hour. Our assignment, because that's how we thought of it that first year, was to quickly write and distribute a class song and chant to the entire 9th grade, written by our 9th grade Moving Up committee. (Ditto for 10th & 11th grades, but not seniors)

That first year, our Freshman committee consisted of three people - one made the posters, one wrote the chant and worked with the cheerleaders to create easy to learn movement to go with it, and I wrote the words to the song tune we chose - "Itsy Bitsy Yellow Polka Dot Bikini". I had less than a week, because we had to pass out the words and the chant, and put our posters up in the hallway to generate some interest.

Even though we had such a short time to prepare - and very part time as we also had to prepare for finals - moving up hour was so much fun! The whole school, minus the seniors who had already graduated and left the building, gathered in the auditorium during the last hour of school.

The front seats were left empty to hold the moving up Juniors. The Juniors went first, singing their song, then screaming their cheer as they moved up into the empty seats. Then the Sophomores moved up. And finally, it was our turn. Our Freshman song & cheer concluded the last the day of school.

By the time I graduated, Moving Up Day had become a real day, and a school tradition, with all kinds of fun activities that cultivated in the auditorium with songs and cheers and moving up.

Here's our Moving Up Day Song (from long ago)

We are the itsy bitsy teeny weenie tiny whiney fat and slimy
thin and scrawny Freshman are we,
With all our cares to spare from everywhere we do our best to pass our tests?,
to make the grade and never fade, to organize and socialize,
to help each other and discover how to reach that certain number - (your graduation year)
we are the itsy bitsy teeny weenie tiny whiney fat and slimy
thin and scrawny Sophomores to be, maybe.


(I'm sure you can do better!)