ANDOVER — Class was back in session for Andover Public Schools’ students who kicked off the new school year in style on Wednesday.
The district’s three middle schools held special welcoming events where eighth-grade student leaders made their new sixth grade schoolmates feel at home.
Doherty Middle School eighth graders gave high-fives, handshakes and encouraging words to the newest members of their school community during a morning full of activities at the Youth Center.
The first half of the middle schoolers’ day was filled with the kids getting to know each other and clearing trepidation that may have come from starting at a new school.
“It’s a very special day,” Doherty Middle School Principal Rebecca Perry said.
She told the sixth graders on Wednesday morning that their first day of middle school would be one that they will remember. She said she knew that from their peers’ experience who were once in their shoes.
Perry asked the eighth grade student leaders if they remembered their first day as a sixth grader last week during a peer training and their hands flew up.
Part of that reason has come with the district’s middle schools participation in The Boomerang Project’s Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) orientation and transition program.
During WEB, a group of older students help the younger ones feel more comfortable in middle school.
The program helps sixth graders transition to middle school through peer mentorship in the year-long program. The student leaders applied for the positions during seventh grade.
And it’s a popular one. Doherty Middle School had 83 kids apply for 40 spots. WEB student leaders made phone calls over the weekend to welcome their fellow classmates.
During the morning, the middle schoolers found commonality with one another and learned about their peers through various activities led by WEB trainers and special education teachers Kate Carlton and Shannon McIntyre.
The day is just the beginning for these eighth-graders and six graders who will get together for social follow-ups and academic lessons driven by the student leaders throughout the school year. Lunchtime trivia has been a popular activity, Carlton said. The student leaders will also go into classrooms and teach a lesson during the year.
Perry said the program helps smooth the transition to a new school where the sixth graders develop relationships with the older kids.
“They don’t have to go to an adult to ask questions,” Perry said about the eight graders showing their younger classmates the way.
“There are familiar faces in the hallway and they aren’t scary eighth graders,” she added. “It alleviates the apprehension some students have going into middle school.”