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Date: 5/11/2022
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Setting an example and inspiring young pupils at Memorial School isn’t just a job for the teachers and staff. It’s also the role of the Leadership Team, a group of fifth graders who step up to help their younger schoolmates.
“It feels good to be a leader and to role model for the younger kids, on what they want to be when they grow up,” said Taylor Armstrong Barnes, one of the participants in the volunteer program.
“I just like people, and being able to be a leader, I like that,” added T.J. Cortis, another of the fifth graders in the group.
Fifth grade teachers Kimberly Heroux and Brett Overgaard, special education teacher Sarah Meara and Principal Donna Calabrese developed the idea.
“The leadership program I thought be a great opportunity for the students to test out some of their skills and see what they were capable of doing,” said Heroux. “The idea is to build a community and expand it to the whole school by having them work as a team with other grade levels.”
Interested fifth graders must fill out an application, which includes questions such as what makes them a good leader, a time they were a good leader, and some examples. Along with this, students must have a letter of recommendation from a peer and a staff member. When they turn in their application, the teachers review and select the students.
“Students come from all different backgrounds, we have some students that were selected in this program that come from struggling learning backgrounds and then have thrived, and then students who are very strong academically,” said Heroux.
The students who are chosen take responsibility for creating a positive community for everyone at Memorial School. They design the school bulletin board, for example, with recent themes including Teacher Appreciation Week and Black History Month. They also work one-on-one daily with a paired first grader.
“Every morning, a fifth grader sits in the hallway with the first grader that they were paired with and reads a book aloud,” said Meara. “There was one time that a first grader began to read to the fifth grader. The fifth grader was impressed with how strong their partner’s skills had become, and the excitement on the first grader’s face was precious. ... It was such a special moment.”
Other responsibilities include the Leadership Team students splitting into two groups to create math and English lessons with diverse and fun activities to help develop the younger students’ skills. For instance, students would create mini-press conferences were they would become a journalist and need to take photos and find certain information. All the lessons that were created were based on friendship and diversity.
Leadership Team members also meet weekly to discuss what worked well and what did not, to gather materials, and discuss how to build a stronger community.
“It really speaks to the community at the school, that everyone can really respect one another, and they are all seen as unique individuals and a part of the family,” said Heroux. “The excitement and the pride that they feel when they do these activities, and see them light up with just pride for what they have done ... they are really exploring things about themselves.
This is the first year for the Leadership Team. Both staff and students say they would like to see it grow in future years.