The last classes of East and West talk about future at new Thibodaux school

Students of 50-year-old rival schools talk about potential fights, and share excitement for new opportunities.

East and West Thibodaux Middle Schools will merge at the new Thibodaux Middle School in August, combining roughly 724 students in a larger school building located between the two schools straddling the two campuses. West Thibodaux Middle School's principal is slated to become the principal of the new school, and East's principal will become the Assistant Principal.

The Daily Comet/Houma Courier interviewed seven students ranging from sixth through eighth grade. The students' opinions ranged from excitement for all the opportunities the new school would provide, to worry about the long-standing rivalry and the fighting it could bring.

Seated at a U-shaped table at West, students of each grade level sat by one another, and one eighth-grader, Ava Gibbens, said what was on everyone's mind.

"I've got a question, am I the only one who thinks there will be a lot more fights at the new school?" asked Gibbens, concerned that she would move to Thibodaux High School and her sister would be at the new middle school.

The West student's personalities began to bounce off one another, discussing the historic rivalry the two schools had and how it would play out in the new school, agreeing that they too feared fighting might be a problem. One even mentioned her mother telling people to pray for the teachers because of it.

They spoke of how social media chatter was predicting fights, and that as the athletic and cheer teams began sharing facilities, bathroom wall graffiti began talking smack to one another. The longstanding slogan "East is the least, West is the best," is the most prominent.

Then eighth-grader Jackson Bartnesky's voice cut through their conversation. He said the fighting would just happen sooner because kids wouldn't have to wait for Thibodaux High, and this would lessen high school conflict.

"When they combine they will have kids that didn't have to wait til they went to Thibodaux High but just did it at the new school," he said.

Gibbens then said, given a few years, people will forget the rivalry ever existed. The group then started to talk about how occasional fights are normal and used an airdropped video of a recent fight as evidence.

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Students from East weren't worried about the rivalry, and across both schools those who would be attending Thibodaux Middle said they were excited for the opportunities. Sixth grader Payton Leblanc, of West, said she was ready for the adventure, "It's sort of like your first day of school all over again," she said.

"It's a little bit of mixed feelings because you know it's going to be good for the schools to combine and go to a bigger school, and you'll have more teachers and stuff like that," she said. "But at the same time it's like that also means all the kids from East are going to be coming there so it's like going to high school, but you're not actually going to high school."

Sixth grader Jynasis Delasbour of East, and seventh grader Aaliyah Martin of West agreed with Leblanc. Delasbour said she had only been to East for one year so she wasn't super attached. She added that she really liked the school and its teachers, but wasn't sad about moving on. Leblanc said she felt a little intimidated about the size of the new school and the large number of students.

All of the students below eighth-grade were excited to see the many clubs they were told would be offered, as well as curious if new classes would be available. Bartnesky even said he was kind of jealous that he wouldn't get to see the new school and the opportunities it held.

Each eighth-grader who spoke with The Daily Comet/Houma Courier felt differently about being the very last graduating class. Chloe Cunningham of East said she was documenting the school for her yearbook club, and Madison Bell, also of East, said she felt honored to be one of the final graduates to walk the halls.

All were asked if they had any parting words as the last to graduate the halls. After a long pause, Gibbens said, "Long live the Rebels."

This article originally appeared on Daily Comet: Students from rival schools discuss fears, joys about August's merger