During the week of Halloween, ALMS 7th grade media assistants partnered with local elementary schools to be guest readers, lead craft time, and teach a sing-a-long/dance.
A Day students visited Corinth Holders Elementary School to visit 100 Kindergarten students. Students read Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and prepared a craft for students to create and decorate their own broomstick. Arianna Pearce, former CHES student, was excited to go back to her elementary school to visit the students there. “It was a great experience, and it was a lot of fun to see which teachers would recognize me.” ALMS students loved getting to spend time with the Kindergarten group. Brenden Bailey said, “It was a fun experience. The kids were great. I loved reading to them and telling them about middle school.” Belle Parker added, “It was fun getting to interact with the kids. They said some really funny things that brightened my day.”
B Day students visited Thanksgiving Elementary School to visit thirty 3rd Grade students. Students read Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds and created their own jumbo creepy crayon to take home. Charlotte Walker (pictured) said the experience was amazing. “I was happy to be there. All of the kids were so cheerful and positive.” At the end of the visit, students - both ALMS students and TGES students - had a time of reflection on their experience. Many third grade students said they were comfortable being around Archer Lodge students, they had fun, and they made new friends. Harper Keel, an ALMS student and former TGES student, was touched by the reactions of the elementary school students. She said, “Their reactions to spending time with us made me realize that you don’t want to grow up too fast. They were so excited to see us and wanted to be like us, and this was a really big deal to them. It felt good to be a part of that experience”.
Media Coordinators across the schools worked together to make this event successful. Mrs. Counts, ALMS Media Coordinator, wanted our students to be guest readers because it is important for them to have opportunities to embrace leadership and see the impact that they can make. ALMS students put a lot of effort into this field trip and they did an exceptional job working with the younger grades.
We are very thankful for both Mrs. Barber and Mrs. Warring for their collaboration and for letting us visit their schools.