Come next fall, Natrona County High School might be home to around 200 new students, as the high school is planning to add ninth-grade classes for the 2008-2009 school year.

Natrona County School District's five middle and junior-high schools offer ninth-grade programs. Both Kelly Walsh and Roosevelt high schools enroll ninth-grade students.

In the future, the district plans to move all ninth-grade students into high schools, and move sixth-grade students into middle schools.

The ninth-grade committee chair at Natrona County, Scott Schutte, said nearly 120 ninth-graders already attend the high school on a part-time basis. They might spend two or three hours a day at the school, taking honors courses, ROTC and other classes, he said.

"These students will have the opportunity to come here full-time," Schutte said.

Around 1,300 students attend Natrona County, Schutte continued, and adding a couple hundred more won't be a problem for a school that's seen enrollment climb as high as 1,700 students in the past.

"We've got room," he said.

Poison Spider School principal Tammy Kelly said the change will benefit students greatly. Poison Spider, on Casper's southwest side, enrolls students up to the eighth grade, which meant students spent a year at another junior high before moving on to high school.

Past students who graduated from Poison Spider chose to enroll at Kelly Walsh, Kelly said, but that's quite a drive for students living on the west side of town.

"It's going to be a better situation for our students," Kelly said.

Incoming freshmen will take part in the high school's Mustang Connections classes. The classes combine sophomores, juniors and seniors in a laid-back, social setting. They're also designed for students to connect with teachers about grades, school problems, or anything else going on in their lives.

In teacher Ashlie Howell's Mustang Connections class on Wednesday, students pitched in to help senior Kolby Eaton decorate the room for his date for the school's upcoming Football Ball.

It's a tradition at NC for students to ask each other to the dance in outrageous ways, the students explained, as they draped blue streamers from the ceiling and tossed blue balloons around the room.

Junior Christine Pond said Mustang Connections is a nice break from her honors courses.

"I like that we can just study and relax," she said. "I just think it's a great time."

Christine liked the idea of having ninth-graders coming to Natrona County in the fall. It will help keep them focused during high school, she said. Plus, ninth grade is when many students are learning to drive, and attending NC may force them to take more responsibility for themselves.

"I think it's a huge time to grow up," Christine said.

Senior Scott Rickabaugh said the incoming freshmen should have no problem getting the hang of being at Natrona County. There are plenty of teachers always willing to help students, and Principal Dean Kelly does a great job of making everyone feel welcome in the school, he added.

"The ninth-graders are going to be okay here," he said.

Reach Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com.