Photos by MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Blacksburg Middle School students perform the play "School Daze" at Harding Avenue Elementary School. The play was designed to introduce elementary school students to middle school life.

Blacksburg Middle School students' 30-minute play "School Daze" tackles topics familiar to many: locker combination disasters, becoming to the social outcast, that first pimple and the necessary girls' fashions.

MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Harding Avenue Elementary School students attentively watch the play "School Daze."

| Anna L. Mallory

anna.mallory@roanoke.com, 381-8627

You remember it. The dread of walking into a building filled with new faces, new classes, new groups and you, sporting the not-so-new trends.

That's right, the first day of school.

And for sixth-graders in Montgomery County, that means middle school, a decidedly difficult transition that countless studies and programs have tried to understand.

This year, drama students at Blacksburg Middle School took on a new project to ease some of the anticipated pain: a vignette play performance to local elementary schools.

The 30-minute play -- "School Daze," not to be confused with the Spike Lee movie of the same name -- tackles topics familiar to many: locker combination disasters, becoming to the social outcast, that first pimple and the necessary girls' fashions. In this case, it's the requisite cute T-shirt, jeans and sweater.

Ben Parker, a shaggy-haired eighth-grader, performs his part in the play like the experienced middle schooler he is.

"All I want to know is when? When is it going to happen?" he asked, as a group of Harding Avenue Elementary School fifth-graders stared back at him intently.

"Before school? After school? Today? Tomorrow? When am I going to get shoved into my locker? It happens to everyone, right?"

The performance at Harding Avenue was the BMS drama club's first, and a second showing is planned Friday at Kipps Elementary School. Language arts teacher Sue Kass divided her group of about 80 into two teams for the different performances.

Kass said the students hope to extend the performances to other elementary schools in the county this winter.

She selected the play, written by Lindsay Price of Canadian company Theatrefolks, because it was fun and sent the right message.

It's accurate, but fun and over-the-top, the student actors say.

Some said they would have liked to have the same message directed at them a year or so ago.

"This would have scared me to death," said sixth-grader Michaela Perdue, but she said that while some of its tales are accurate, most are not.

She said the play would have raised the level of apprehension about middle school, but once she arrived there, her nerves would have subsided because she realized its storylines were exaggerated.

Unique quiz bowl set for February

Montgomery County's Community Group and Christiansburg High School's Black Awareness Club are hosting an academic competition based on black history.

The Community Group is a Christiansburg organization formed to increase black participation in local decision-making. School board member Penny Franklin is a member.

"It will be eye-opening" how much people don't know, Franklin said of the competition.

She said the competition was created because of questions surrounding Black History Month.

"Last year, there was a lot of talk about the relevance of that [black history month] and it bothered me," Franklin said.

The quiz bowl will take place Feb. 20 and Feb. 27. The latter date may not be needed, depending on the number of participants, Franklin said.

All county high school students are eligible and teams must have four members. Participation is $10, and deadline to register is Jan. 8.

Winners will receive first, second and third-place monetary prizes.

More information can be obtained by contacting Franklin at 382-2310 or Christiansburg teacher Roxanne Beamer at rbeamer@mcps.org.

Former NBA player to talk at high school

Former Atlanta Hawks player Michael Glenn will speak at Floyd County High School on Saturday about the importance of proper nutrition.

The events begins at 1:30 p.m. and is free.

Floyd resident Amy Adams, who is friends with Glenn, organized the campaign. She and chiropractor Gary Collins have teamed to sponsor the event to get the word out about eating healthy, she said.

Glenn is expected to speak at a second school in the area Saturday, but that location has yet to be finalized, Adams said.