By Kelli Gile

Walnut – Suzanne Middle School reached out to its 6^th Grade students during a Friendship Summit on Jan. 29.

“The school’s pillar of the month is “Caring” and Summit activities focused on how to make friends, how to build relationships, and find commonalities with other classmates,” said counselor GeorgeAnn Cusson.

8^th Grade student leaders from Peer Assistance Leadership Students (PALS) and Peer Leaders Uniting Students (PLUS) worked with students during breakout sessions at the 4^th Annual event.  The school also hosts specific Summit events targeted for 7^th and 8^th Grade students.

“Suzanne fully embraces character education and really educates the whole child,” stated teacher and advisor, Marla Rickard.  “I love that our 8th Grade students care so much about the well-being of their classmates.  They spend a lot of time getting trained for facilitating all of the groups and are committed to making sure all kids are engaged and have the opportunities to connect with their peers.”

“These Summits help students interact with each other,” said PALS member Sabrina Chou. “Today’s all about friendship! We want the kids to make new friends and be there for each other during the tough times, too.”

“They help people make new friends,” added Amilia Picella, 13, a PLUS member.

“Basically this entire Summit is to help everybody get out of their everyday groups. We’re trying to mix them up so they don’t just hang out with the same group of people all the time,” Maggie Ho added.

In Room 22, 6^th Graders watched “The Sneetches,” by Dr. Seuss, about a group of yellow creatures who are very judgmental to those without a green stars on their bellies.

“I think the moral was, don’t treat people differently because they’re different,” said Natalie Zzhamezhyan, 11.

Field activities included a new version of rock-paper-scissors called giants-wizards-elves.  During the match, groups formed two lines with their backs to each other. At the signal, students simultaneously turned to each other shouting out their response during the quick draw game.  Giants beat elves, wizards beat giants, and elves beat wizards – fun!

“Everybody has to make a decision who they will be,” Picella explained.

In the Trust Game, students with eyes tightly closed are guided through a maze by partners. Then they switch,” explained PLUS member, Jaslynn Lugo, 14.

“It was fun and a little scary,” said Melissa Munoz, 11, after completing the course.

“Seeing these kids interacting with each other, caring for, and holding each other accountable in life are just a few of the positive outcomes of the Summits,” said Rickard.

“I’ve had a good time today,” said 11-year-old Arin Thompson. “The best thing was the friendship web that showed what people have done for us or what we can do for people.”

“In this particular Summit kids learn that true friends may seem hard to make, but in order to have good friends, you must be one yourself,” said Rickard.  “They learn that character shines through everyday decisions and the relationships they attain.  You just have to be you and embrace the unique attributes others have!”