Luke Simpson-Merz, a New York School student, gets his light saber award as part of a monthly Character Recognition program during a school assembly Tuesday. Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi, a.k.a., Keenan Wycoff and Ernie Dyer, were masters of ceremony to present each knight with his or her award. The assembly was presented during a visit by Kennedy School students, who were checking out the new school they will be attending next fall because of boundary changes.

Kennedy School fifth-graders Mikey Wycoff, Kevin Nichols and Caleb Miller on Tuesday got a first look at their new school.

They are among 60 students affected by a boundary change effective in the fall. Because of budget cuts, board members elected to move the East Heights Early Childhood Family Center into Kennedy. And some Kennedy students will move to New York School.

“I don’t know. It’s kind of weird for me because I’ve been at Kennedy for all grades,” Mikey said.

Caleb used the same word — weird — to describe his feelings. “Because I’ve been to Kennedy for kindergarten through fifth grade,” he said, “I was hoping that I would be there for sixth grade.”

But New York Principal Nancy DeGarmo and staff members at both schools are making it their mission to give the students as smooth a transition as possible.

DeGarmo greeted the 60 Kennedy students with handshakes, high-fives and kind words during a visit Tuesday to New York.

“I wanted them to have a chance to see the building so that as they think about coming to New York, they have a picture in their mind,” DeGarmo said. “I wanted them to see that the kids are here. We have a good time and just wanted them to get acquainted with us and start looking forward to being here.”

After tours, the students participated in a school assembly, where they learned New York School cheers and about the school’s mascot: the Knights.

According to some future sixth-graders who were apprehensive, the warm welcome worked. “The visit today helped me because I got to meet some of the people and got to see around the school,” Mikey said.

Smiles greeted them in the hallways. “They looked very nice. I think they are going to be very nice,” Caleb said.

DeGarmo said at least six staff members, including two classroom teachers, are expected either to move from Kennedy or serve both schools. Logistics still need to be worked out to handle the extra students, she said.

“But what we do every day academically, that’s not going to change because we have high standards,” she said. “We have high expectations, and we’re just going to educate all kids.”