Hommocks Orients Its Sixth Grade with Fun Friday

by Byrne Sleeper

(October 1, 2006) The beginning of every school year is filled with anxiety, and anticipation. For sixth graders entering the Hommocks Middle school it is a new school, new teachers, new lockers, new teams, new everything. So the anxiety is palpable even before entering the building. Much has been done to help the students through these first days, but this was the first year for Fun Friday, which was on September 28.

The idea began last spring after a group of parents approached principal Seth Weitzman about improving the 6 th grade orientation. Four hundred students from four separate elementary schools are placed on four teams at the Hommocks. The challenge is to help these students blend and form cohesive, cooperative teams that will see each student through the next three years of middle school.

Administration, team teachers and PTA quickly embraced the idea. Brainstorming sessions were lively and productive, and the final plan had teachers working through the summer to iron out details.

The result was a program of four units focusing on team building, cooperative learning, and meeting new friends, and one unit helping the students explore and understand the myriad of after school clubs and activities available to them. Anyone walking through the Hommocks on Fun Friday found teams of students working with plumbing size PVC half pipes. The object was to build a giant marble run from one end of the corridor to the other. The ‘game’ necessitated honing cooperative skills and learning to communicate effectively with other team members.

Sixth graders lined the halls to cooperatively shuttle marbles through yards of PVC pipe.

Another unit had teams working on a scavenger hunt where students hunted for other classmates fitting various categories, such as speaks another language, was born in Ohio, etc. One hallway was eerily quiet as a team worked diligently to line up by birth date. Seems easy, but the students were not allowed to speak. Each team also had time together with teachers to write up individual team constitutions and philosophies. Respect for one another was at the top of the list.

Teacher Anthony Vitti and Principal Seth Weitzman grilled hot dogs; Cold Stone Creamery supplied dessert.

"Human Bingo" was another Fun Friday game to break the ice and foster cooperation.

All this activity needed fuel, and the PTA provided a hot dog lunch. Principal Weitzman, Asst. Principal Larry Keane, and 6th grade science teacher Anthony Vitti donned chef caps, aprons and raincoats and braved the elements to grill over 600 hot dogs. For dessert there were 400 ice cream servings donated by Cold Stone Creamery from Mamaroneck Avenue.

Despite the uncooperative weather, the Hommocks sixth graders appeared to be living up the event's purpose of having a Fun Friday to start their new school and school year.

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