More than 500 eight graders will crawl the campus Tuesday and Thursday to learn more about the electives and courses available. 

In lieu of Plan4myfuture night, Rising Rangers will take place this week for Smithson Valley and Spring Branch Middle School eighth graders. On Tuesday, Jan. 25, SVMS students will tour electives during times of active learning from 9 a.m to 12 p.m., and SBMS will tour on Thursday, Jan. 27 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. 

Rising Rangers will help students make educated decisions when it comes to picking their schedule for next year. 

“Ms. (Angel) Mitchell, lead counselor and I felt that Rising Rangers would be a better approach than just taking our elective teachers to the middle schools,” academic dean Sally Bratton said. “This year schedule changes were a popular demand, and with the switch to Rising Rangers, we are hoping to see a decrease for the class of 2026.”

When high school counselors visit the middle school campuses, eight graders will have already seen what’s available, helping with four-year planning. 

Eachday will begin with a short preparation and introduction in the auditorium. Students will then be put into stations to tour classrooms. 

“We knew we wanted 8th graders to have the opportunity to not only learn about electives at SVHS,” Bratton said, “but also to get into our building to help manage the fears that accompany students transitioning from middle school to high school.”