Co-authored by: Rebecca Meyer and Jamie Russo
Building a new tradition, the fifth and eighth grades recently held their first buddy day of the 2010-2011 academic year. Thanks to the help of Ms. Brown, Ms. Cassino, Ms. Rubenstein and Mr. Viscusi, the day was a great success, and planning for several more buddy days is underway, with new and exciting activities being considered.
Each eighth grade advisory was paired with a fifth grade advisory. The fifth grade girls lined up in the eighth grade advisories, eager and ready to meet their buddies. The advisories were split up into different rooms, so everyone could have enough space with her buddy. Each pair was given a sheet that was labeled, “Getting to Know Your Buddy.” The sheet was arranged like a bingo board, but instead of having numbers, each square had a statement. For example, one of the squares stated, “Has a pet.” The girls wrote “yes” or “no” in each square if it was something they had in common with their buddy. This created conversation, so the girls could get to know their buddies better.
This idea for buddy day came from the collaboration of Ms. Brown, Ms. Cassino, Ms. Rubenstein, and Mr. Viscusi. They took ideas that the eighth grade had given to them into consideration, and they came up with Getting to Know Your Buddy Bingo.
The fifth and eighth graders also participated in an entertaining game of Apples to Apples. Ms. Cassino thought that “everyone was having fun…” and “it looked like [the buddy day] was a success.” She said that there are going to be many more fifth and eighth grade buddy days which will include activities like cupcake and cookie decorating, friendship bracelet making, watching a movie, and more.
Overall, the students’ feedback on the day was very positive. A fifth grader said that the day was very fun. She especially like playing Apples to Apples. An eighth grader shared that she “really got to know her buddy well from the activity,” and, “the brownies and cookies that were served were a nice touch to [the] buddy day.”
In addition to an enthusiastic fifth/eighth grade buddy day, the 4th – 7th grade buddy day was also a success. It included the middle school going over to the lower school building and getting paired up with a buddy. The lower school buddies interviewed the middle school students. They also played a variety of games and reflected on what they enjoyed in a closing circle at the end of the day. Two seventh graders agreed that it was a cute and creative twist on interviewing, and they thought it was incredibly fun.
The buddy days have always been exceptional events in the middle school and still continue to be so. Look forward to more fun activities with your buddies in the middle school!