A new program that started this year is our Recess Buddies for our TK and Kindergarten morning recess.
During the morning recess, there are about five or six 4th and 5th graders that help in each of the kindergarten and TK yards. Mrs. Vander Kooi, one of the teacher advisors for our Student Council Leadership program, developed this idea so that that are older students that are available to younger ones to help solve problems that would arise on the playground and to help lead games and activities.
There are three weeks of students that help, so like our adult yard duty, they rotate weeks. We have provided the weekly schedule on the Student Council Leadership Seesaw for the students to have access to, and all of the 4th and 5th grade teachers have posted the schedule in their classrooms. In the end, it is the students' responsibility to make sure they know what week it is.
For the students to learn what to do, Mrs. Vander Kooi and Mrs. McClean reviewed recess expectations during one of their student council meetings. They also discussed the expectations of the recess buddies during the meetings. Students understand that they are in the TK and Kinder yards to be good role models and provide examples of respectful, responsible, and safe behavior.
The students that are involved are in the areas prior to recess play time to help the students open their snacks and drinks. They also have been helpful in taking students to the office when needed. We can tell how excited the kinder and TK students get when they see the recess buddies come out to facilitate games with them! This program has been a huge success in its first year and we hope to continue it next year. Thank you to all of our fourth and fifth graders who have helped this year, and to Mrs. Vander Kooi and Mrs. McClean for getting the program started!
