Recess Rendezvous, Buddy Reading, Doldrums Buster, Thankful Thursday, and the Spring Fling—the National Honor Society students have been busy this year.

NHS advisor Kathy Naughton added to the experience for NHS students. Throughout the school year, NHS students led different activities at the high school and the elementary school.

One of Naughton’s goals for the students was to experience leadership while people were watching and to connect with multiple students. “It’s hard to demonstrate leadership when no one is watching,” Naughton said.

One way to implement leadership and connect with students was Recess Rendezvous. 

Naughton introduced Recess Rendezvous to elementary school teacher Nancy Cook and her staff. “I saw this as an opportunity for high school students to be positive role models for our younger students,” Cook said.

The senior and junior members of NHS took turns every first Thursday of the month to go to recess. By the end of the school year, both grade levels had participated in recess four times. At recess, the high school students played games, including football, basketball, tag, and hide-and-seek with the elementary students.

NHS member Maleah Demmer (12) said, “I enjoyed seeing all the kids’ faces and how excited they were when we got there. It put me in a good mood to see how happy the kids were, and I enjoyed listening to the stories.” 

Naughton and Cook both said this was a positive experience for both of the grade levels. “They look up to the high schoolers because they bring new, creative ways to play and model positive social skills,” Cook said. 

The recess staff also noted how well the students from different grade levels were building strong relationships.

Seeing the positive impact of recess, elementary librarian teacher Carolyn Shives wanted to create her own activity with the NHS students. With the help of Naughton, she put on Buddy Reading during library class.

During Buddy Reading, the NHS students introduced themselves and their superpower. Then, in small groups, the elementary students listened to them read a book. 

Shives said the Buddy Reading was an amazing experience for the elementary students, and they were given “an encouraging space” from the NHS students. 

“The buddy reading with high schoolers was absolutely one of my favorite activities of the year,” Shives said. “High school students were amazing role models with the way they patiently listened and supported elementary students.” 

Shives added that the elementary students appreciated feeling “seen, heard, and appreciated.”

Another way to encourage positivity and leadership was the new Doldrums Buster event held in February. Naughton created the Doldrums Buster event to let the NHS students be leaders in front of their classmates.

“Felderman mentioned how he wanted more fun, and that period of the school year drags on. So it was an opportunity to exercise leadership skills,” Naughton said.

To put on these games, NHS pairs selected a game from the game list provided by Naughton. Using materials provided by Naughton, the NHS students led the games.

Each grade of homerooms rotated between four locations and took turns playing a game. At each game, an NHS student gave instructions and rewarded stickers, so students could earn a prize. 

The next way Naughton implemented leadership and positivity was Thankful Thursdays. 

The idea of Thankful Thursdays came from the daily announcements. Every Thursday, the students reading announcements read something positive and it was called Thankful Thursday.

To take this one step further, Naughton handed out cards to each classroom, and students wrote a thankful note to someone in the building. Then, all of the cards were delivered to Naughton’s room where the NHS students sorted and delivered them.

During this activity, students showed their thankfulness in a more concrete and meaningful way, which was Naughton’s goal.

The last way the NHS students will show their leadership is through the Spring Fling by picking a partner and coming up with a game to lead. The NHS students are in charge of coming up with their own supplies for their games to show their leadership and initiative. 

Each homeroom will take turns playing each game at different locations. This will take place on May 6. 

The NHS students showed their leadership this year through these new experiences. “The new NHS experiences were great opportunities for us high schoolers to be involved with the kids who look up to us,” NHS member Kate Wenger (12) said.