Barranca’s Natural Helpers hold reunion Wednesday at Los Alamos Middle School. Courtesy photo
By Nicole McGrane, M.Ed
5th Grade Teacher
Barranca Mesa Elementary
Barranca Mesa Elementary School’s 5th and 6th grade Natural Helpers took advantage of the Los Alamos Middle School not being in session Wednesday and invited our now 7th grade Natural Helpers to join them for lunch, activities and bonding.
This was a great opportunity for all of our Helpers to meet, discuss what the middle school is like, how their helper skills have served them at the middle school, and support each other in general. After lunch, they completed their favorite teamwork activity from the overnight retreats but this time there was a twist that made it a little more challenging.
Despite a rocky start, the students quickly started communicating effectively and successfully completed the task. As a group they also talked to each other about ways they can continue to support each other beyond the luncheon. The kids seemed to have an immediate bond and respect for each other. They vowed to plan a few more opportunities to get together this year to give support despite attending different schools.
Audrey Juliani, Anne Shirey and I were so proud of our 7th graders for taking time to come to this activity and share with our younger helpers. Consequently, we are even more certain that the skills and life lessons we are teaching to our 5th and 6th graders will continue with them long after they have graduated from Barranca.
We want to thank the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board (JJAB) for their continued sponsorship as well as Kiwanis for their support. The funding they provide is critical to helping us in our mission to impact our youth and empower them to provide support to their peers.
“It was really neat hearing how the 7th graders still use their Natural Helper skills at the middle school.” – Carley, 5th grade
“It was interesting to learn about the different issues that 7th graders are helping their peers with compared to what we deal with here at Barranca.” – Aidan, 6th grade
“It was awesome knowing that we have older students to turn to for support.” – Annika, 5th grade
“I found it reassuring learning more about what the middle school is like and that there will be experienced Natural Helpers there as 8th graders next year.” – Andrew, 6th grade
“It was really neat coming back to Barranca, meeting the new Natural Helpers, and being able to share experiences with the group.” – Kaitlyn, 7th grade
