Imagine it’s your first day of middle school again- were you nervous, or excited? Happy, or even sad? No matter how you felt, everyone can agree that starting middle school is a big milestone, and a big leap from elementary school. There’s more homework, new people, and six different classes to go to throughout the day that you can’t be late to!
This can feel like a blur, especially for sixth graders, and that’s why WEB was created. WEB, which stands for, “Where Everybody Belongs,” is a relatively new program that’s made up of about sixty trained eighth grade students. They not only help with the sixth grade orientation, but also act as leaders, mentors, friends, and role models to the sixth graders for the entire year, helping them adjust to this new chapter in their lives. The eighth grade students act as guides to show the new students what it takes to be successful when transitioning to the middle school environment.
On August 3rd, 2023 the FMS class of 2026 started their middle school journey. The sixth graders had their orientation, met their new classmates, toured the school, got their schedules, and met the eighth grade WEB leaders. They were taken to classrooms to play games, get to know each other, and make some new friends. Afterward, they were given fun themed tours of the school and were asked trivia questions about the school. Sixth grader, Charlotte Wong, stated that the tour was her favorite part of WEB. She explains, “[That] they asked trivia questions and you could earn candy, so it was part learning, part fun. The tour that the WEB Leaders gave helped me understand where my classes would be. I always see them in their WEB shirts, and I feel grateful that they were there for me during the first week.”
After the closing assembly, the new Mustangs received their schedules! They excitedly compared classes with their friends, as their parents arrived to pick them up.
The motivated WEB Leaders worked hard to make sure the sixth grade students felt supported during their orientation. They participated in a two-day WEB training course during the summer, and arrived early to set up and welcome sixth graders.
Eighth grade WEB leader, Sanvi Singh, said that she joined WEB, “To be more involved in the Fallon community and to help out sixth graders.” She explains, “Now that I’ve joined it, I realized that a lot of people have the same mindset to try and make others happy, and leave a positive mark before the eighth graders leave Fallon.”
Additionally, WEB leaders could be spotted on the first day of school in their WEB t-shirts, helping the 6th graders find their new classes and their way around school. The WEB Leaders sat in the sixth grade section during the first rally of the year, the WAOW rally, to model appropriate rally behavior. They also directed the sixth graders to get them seated faster.
According to Ms. Park, the Fallon WEB director, WEB is planning to have advisory lessons for 6th graders about various topics to help them succeed in middle school. Ms. Park explained that, “[We would do] things like goal-setting and giving some tips and ways for people to be more successful.”
WEB helps sixth graders with both academic and social aspects of middle school. Ms. Park mentioned that, “We are hoping to do social events like movie nights or things like that for sixth graders as well.”
WEB is building community and confidence in this year’s sixth graders. By pairing new students with a mentor to help their transition to middle school be a successful one, sixth-graders started the school year with one foot forward. Fallon is lucky to have such a great program in place!
