8th Grade (Middle School) Graduation

[sam_gordon]

As I was sitting at my DD's 8th grade "graduation" ceremony last night, I was thinking "we didn't have this when I finished 8th grade". Finishing 8th grade was no different than finishing any other grade (with the exception of Kindergarten & 12th).

Granted, my school was so small, grades 7-12 were all in one building.

So I'm wondering, did you have an 8th grade (or middle school) "ceremony"?

 

[Pixiedust34]

I graduated from high school in 1987. We did not have elementary school or middle school graduations. Of course, there was a high school graduation.

Times have changed. It seems now that every kid gets a trophy for activity participation and each level of school has a graduation ceremony of some sort.

 

[Bren's Mom]

I graduated from HS in 1988. We DID have a Jr High graduation in 1984. When I was in school we had K-6, then 7-8 (Jr High) then HS. We had a full outdoor, cap and gown grad ceremony.

I think it depends on the make up of the schools, etc.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

I had an 8th grade graduation but I went to a Catholic school that went from Kindergarten-8th Grade.

 

[Hrhpd]

As I was sitting at my DD's 8th grade "graduation" ceremony last night, I was thinking "we didn't have this when I finished 8th grade". Finishing 8th grade was no different than finishing any other grade (with the exception of Kindergarten & 12th).

Granted, my school was so small, grades 7-12 were all in one building.

So I'm wondering, did you have an 8th grade (or middle school) "ceremony"?

Yes, in the early 70's. I still remember it very vividly as it was a big deal for us. It ranks up there with some of my fondest memories of school.

 

[luvsJack]

I graduated from high school in 81 and yes we did have an 8th grade graduation. My mom is 78 and she had an 8th grade graduation (still has the picture from it). I would't say things have changed that much.

 

[Mkrop]

Graduated from 8th grade from a K-8 Catholic school in 1983! Boys wore suits, girls wore gowns...it was a huge deal.

DS14 is graduating from his K-8 Catholic school in June, he has been there 9 years...the whole year has been a huge deal and it has been great! The boys and girls wear robes in the school colors.

I think it depends on the makeup of the school and what you are use to. For me this was how it was done, and it is a huge accomplishment, it is what I know. DH went to public school in a different part of the state and he shakes his head most days at all the hoopla. No one made a fuss about anything where he is from until HS graduation.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

We had a huge 8th grade banquet, with no parents, at a catering facility & all the girls bought or had custom made dresses. It was a huge event & I enjoyed it very much. We did not have an actual graduation ceremony.

 

[MichelleVW]

I graduated in 85 and nope, I didn't have one. My girls had a ceremony but it was no big deal.

 

[SmallWorld71]

Yes I did!
It was 1985; it was a nice ceremony with awards and all. I remember my grandmother taking a friend and I out to lunch and to the movies to celebrate.

 

[Sgt Mickey]

We didn't have a graduation but we didn't have a 8th grade appreciation day and I don't even know what we did besides dress up that day in school.

 

[Northstar]

I believe I had an 8th grade graduation ceremony because I can remember sitting out in a row of chairs under the broiling sun. That is my sole memory so it couldn't have been a big deal.

This was way back in the day (1970s).

My impression is that these graduation ceremonies have been around for a long time, but they used to be so low-key that no one remembers them. No special dress, no trip to the teen spa, no gifts. No invitations or pressure on everyone in the family to attend. No cheering and screaming and carrying on as if you'd won the Nobel Prize. Maybe the school would spring for a little cake and punch served in paper cups if you were lucky!

 

[JVL1018]

I graduated high school in 1989 and we had a middle school graduation-it was 7th grade bc our middle school went from 4th-7th.
We had a dance(at the school) one evening near the end of school. Girls wore nice dresses and boys wore shirts and ties.
Our graduation(probably called a promotion ceremony?) was in the school gym on the last day of school, no caps and gowns, but we were all dressed up.

 

[Katy Belle]

I graduated from HS in 86. No 8th grade graduation for us.

DS14 just finished 8th grade. On the last day of school at 1:00, they had a "Farewell Assembly." No caps and gowns, the kids did not walk across the stage, they didnt read all of their names. They sang a song, a few kids spoke, shared memories, there were a few awards, and a slide show. The whole thing was 45 minutes. I felt it was perfect.

 

[goofy4tink]

I graduated in '68, ds graduated in '91, dd in '94, and youngest dd, graduates in two weeks. Not one single 'other' graduation for any of us. We graduated from high school, then college. No graduating from 3rd grade, 6th grade, or 8th grade. Just wasn't that big a deal.

 

[luvlumpy]

I graduated HS in 1988..no graduation ceremony for 8th grade. My daughter just finished 5th grade and they had a "graduation" for them, but it was more of an awards night. Principal spoke, awards given, and then cake after. I think the whole ceremony, awards thing has gotten a little out of hand in most schools these days!

 

[mickeyboat]

We did. I graduated from high school in 1988. The 8th grade "graduation" was during the day and included an awards ceremony. There was an 8th grade class trip to an amusement park a couple hours away to which we traveled by "luxury coach." There was also an 8th grade grad dance. We went as boy/girl couples. We went to dinner at a nice restaurant before the dance. We wore nice dresses - but not formal ones. This was the conclusion of middle school, which was grades 5-8 at the time.

DDs are at the same middle school now which is grades 6-8. They will have a grad dance and an evening graduation ceremony in two years.

When the kids "graduated" from 5th grade, there was a 5th grade field day and a daytime ceremony where they received their class t-shirts and awards. There was a cookies and punch reception afterwards where all the kids had their friends sign their shirts.

I think it is a nice tradition.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

I had an 8th grade graduation but I went to a Catholic school that went from Kindergarten-8th Grade.

Same here, back in the early 70's, with caps and gowns and all the hoopla. After that, the class split up, going to several different Catholic high schools or to the local public high school.

My kids didn't attend Catholic school and did not have an 8th grade graduation. The only celebration with caps (no gowns) were paper caps from nursery school, which was just a fun little celebration.

 

[bettymae1121]

I graduated 8th grade in 1990 and we had a ceremony. Heck my oldest brother graduated 8th in '84 and he had a ceremony and it wasn't a new thing then either. It was just a ceremony in the gym with NO caps/gowns and we got "diploma" that was a certificate printed off the computer in the main office, it wasn't anything fancy.

I only had a party afterwards because the same year my brother graduated high school and it was our birthdays (my brother and I have birthdays that are only 4 days apart at the end of may) So my parents got 4 parties for the price of one!

 

[luvsJack]

Everyone keeps saying "these days" but an 8th grade graduation is nothing new. Its been a tradition in dd's school for at least 65 years!

Take Kindergarten, before it became a part of the public schools Kindergarten was usually at a private preschool or part of a church. When the kids completed that year, they were leaving that school. So, there was a graduation/promotion/ceremony in their honor.

For a lot of 8th graders, they are leaving one school and going to another. They are the oldest grade in the school, they are in essence "graduating" from that school. Most of them will have attended that one school far longer than a high school student attends high school. So there is a grad/promotion/ceremony in their honor.

Its not just "giving everyone a trophy", its saying goodbye to one part of their life and hello to another--not really so different than a high school graduation.