NFMS Peer Leadership Program
2016-17 has been a busy year for our Peer Leaders!
Our Peer Leadership program is expanding! With 40 peer leaders, we realized that we have quite a bit of student leadership power, so we created more opportunities for them to lead. Now, not only are they busy motivating our entire student body through Student Success Plans, but they are also touring parents/guardians and students around our school and tutoring peers. In addition, this year we have added a number of peer leader activities that they can run for their fellow students during lunch. These lunch time activities help to promote motivation, forward thinking, and team building, The peer leaders help to make these activities fun. As we reach the end of this school year, we wish our 8th grade peer leaders well as they graduate and move on to lead in the high school. We are also hopeful that our 7th grade peer leaders will return to continue their good work. It has been a great year!
Building our Chain of Success
In October and in April our peer leaders went into the 6th, 7th and 8th grade lunch waves for two days for each month. They were armed with colored paper, markers and staplers. They assisted all three grades in writing goals and/or positive statements on the strips of paper. They made these strips of goals into a chain that accumulated 1,577 links. They had a link guessing contest and the winner that guessed the entire number of links on the chain won a $10 iTunes gift card.
Training through out the year.
After the group finished up with the school's SSP initiative the peer leaders started training for other leadership opportunities such as; Parent's Night, Step Up Day and for 6th Grade Team Building activities. This year we had eight training opportunities through out the year. This training supports their leadership and pushes them along, and a little out of their box. Leadership is a great skill, but you have stay active and engaged to keep that skill sharpened.
The newest leadership opportunity:
Ms. Mooney and Mr. Muratore created 8 different (one a week for 8 weeks) team building/ fun activities for the 6th grade students to participate in after they eat their lunch. This provided a time for the peer leaders to execute the activity, be in charge and help the 6th graders with collaboration skills. It sounds like work, but our peer leaders make it a fun time!
Peer Leaders are the Welcoming Committee for MHHS's Step Up Day at NFMS
Our Peer Leaders also conducted tours for the MHHS's soon-to-be 6th Graders.
Don't forget, our Peer Leaders also have a summer time opportunity.
We will need Peer Leaders to assist with our Summer Orientation for incoming 6th grade students on August 21st and on August 22nd. The first day is for students that are new to our community and/or district, the activity is for an hour and a half in the morning only. The second day is for all the incoming 6th graders and there are two sessions during that day. The peer leaders can opt to work the morning session, the afternoon session or both. This is a great opportunity for our 8th grade Peer Leaders because they can earn a total of six hours towards their high school volunteer requirement hours. Times to be announced when we contact Peer Leaders at the school year's end.
Mrs. Jacques & Mrs. Severino, Peer Leader Advisors
Email: jacques.amy@newfairfieldschools.org
Location: New Fairfield, CT, United States
Phone: 203-312-5885
Twitter: @arcj1989