Educators strive to be sensitive to young learners’ emotional and academic needs in the classroom.  We also do our best to build a strong grade-level community within the context of a group of young people who may be at different levels along the cognitive, psychological, and social spectra.  Building community within such a broad developmental range is a challenge further complicated by school size.  In a school with multiple sections of each grade, students don’t always know each other well – if at all.

But we can create and nurture a sense of community throughout the year with activities that promote community and instill in students and faculty a sense of “we.” Younger students look forward to them and older students look back on them with fondness.

At Greenhills School, an independent 6-12 school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, our approach to building a sense of community among seventh graders, specifically includes three strategies:

• We engage students in meaningful service activities, each of which has a common, important goal that is achievable and to which everyone can contribute.  Participation in these activities allows students to interact positively with each other and with faculty members.

• We reinforce these community-building efforts through social interactions and discussions centered on the concept of community.

• We create positive memories so students always remember the good work and the fun times they had with their classmates.

These strategies include participating in community service projects, holding meaningful grade-level meetings, and creating a “feel good” permanent record artifact that captures the highlights of the year.

Community Service

Serving others can be a powerful tool to help build a strong sense of camaraderie.  It nurtures positive relationships among students and faculty and emphasizes to students that each of them can contribute in important ways to society.

We plan a community service “smorgasbord” throughout the year through which students sample a variety of service activities.  When we are electing community service projects, we ensure they are

• Simple, have achievable goals, and provide an opportunity for everyone to participate and see concrete results.

• Meaningful and important to young adolescents

• Not taxing on already overworked, yet dedicated faculty.

• Connected to the curriculum when possible.

Some community service projects are exclusive to the seventh grade; others are organized by the seventh grade on behalf of the entire school.  Seventh graders also contribute to school-wide projects.  Following are three examples of community service efforts that help create a “we” culture among the seventh graders at Greenhills School.

Chipping In

One day in September, seventh graders and teachers chip a trail at a local park.  First, they work as a team to carry wood chips by sled from a “home base” chip pile.  Then, for a couple of hours, they shovel chips and smooth them out to create the chip trail.

This activity is a great way to kick off a year of service.  Organization is simple and includes working with a community preservation society or parks department.  The activity also builds student accountability, as students are responsible for bringing the sleds used to haul the chips.  Because each student is integral to attaining the goal, each student experiences success.  Students enthusiastically work together and the visual results are impressive.

Because chipped trails help prevent dirt from running off into various waterways, this project connects nicely to an environmental science curriculum.  We celebrate everybody’s hard effort and good work by having a picnic lunch, followed by games during which students continue to build positive relationships with each other and their teachers.

Feeding Others

Our entire school participates in a food drive for the local Ronald McDonald House right before Thanksgiving.  We also use the event as a community-building opportunity for the seventh grade.

Our motto for the two-week collection period is “Fill the Forum”.  (The seventh grade forum is the area where seventh grade students have lockers and a common seating area.)  The seventh grade chooses a goal for total number of items collected.  Each advisory then selects a representative who counts the number of items from his or her advisory each day.  We record the total number of food items collected each day on a “Food-o-Meter” so we can keep the track of how close the class is to reaching its goal.

The forum serves as a constant visual reminder for students.  It is exciting to see the forum area fill up.  Again, the goal is attainable and visual, and each student’s contribution is integral to the project’s success.

Spreading Warmth

A third project is simple but very powerful and combines three concurrent service activities during an extended assembly time at school.

Prior to the winter holidays, the seventh grade class asks students, teachers, and parents in the entire school to collect unmatched socks and mittens (the ones who mate is lost in the dryer) and toiletries from hotels. Students fill the forum with these items as they come in.

At the beginning of February, students match socks and mittens for the local Salvation Army Family Shelter and create toiletry gift baskets for a local homeless shelter. Students also create Valentine’s Day cards for cancer patients at local hospitals.

All of the activities are set up in the same area of the school, which allows students, teachers, and parents the flexibility to focus on one project or move from project to project.

Community service provides students with a sense of purpose and identity. Students feel good about themselves and each other, and are proud of their shared responsibility, hard work, and accomplishments. By serving the community, students form a special bond regardless of their interests, developmental stages, or cognitive, emotional, or social skills. Also, teachers and students work toward a common good away from the classroom, allowing them to appreciate each other as people rather than as teachers or students.

Grade-Level Meetings

If we are willing to go beyond announcements and other “nuts and bolts” activities, grade-level meetings afford regular time for developing bonds. Once or twice a week the entire seventh grade meets. We use the time for a variety of activities, including having informal guest speakers from local agencies—particularly those who will be recipients of community service efforts—reading thank-you letters from these organizations, and celebrating our service efforts.

Our local newspaper prints a “good for you” section to which we submit class service work. We share these reports, along with other student accomplishments, in the “In the News” portion of grade-level meetings. Other celebrations include student achievements in Forensics, Math Club, Science Olympiad, choral and instrumental performances, local and in-school writing competitions, and sports.

We always look for time to play games or engage in general healthy foolishness—all valuable vehicles that nurture strong ties and create a climate of “we.”

Creating a “we” culture through grade-level meetings and community service builds a trusting environment that promotes more serious discussions. Students need to be taught about and reminded of their responsibilities, such as keeping their lockers organized and the seventh grade area clean.

More important, discussions surrounding such topics as trust, common courtesy, and personal and academic integrity can help students develop positively as individuals who take care of themselves and their classmates. Our school has lockless lockers, which means that trust and respect are essential. Grade-level meetings, if used thoughtfully and creatively, can help create and reinforce strong bonds in a variety of overt and subtle ways.

A Special Artifact

Creating a truly memorable artifact that captures all of the highlights of the year is fairly easy. Throughout the year we snap digital pictures of activities in which the entire class participates, download them into a computer program, add some fun music, and then burn them onto a DVD for each student. During our final grade-level meeting, we enjoy the DVD as a class.

No year is perfect; but creating a DVD of the best of times ensures that all of the “feel good” moments become memories and can continually be celebrated by students and families. This final capstone also fosters a continued sense of community among students who can relive the moments that created the bonds that brought the entire class together and that will help to cement the community for years to come.

Beyond the “I”

Middle level students can develop strong bonds that characterize their class as one that truly cares about and takes care of one another. We can foster this strong community sense through service projects and a multitude of activities during weekly grade-level meetings within an overall caring and nurturing environment. Documenting class activities in a “feel good” DVD furthers these bonds by allowing students to continually celebrate all of the positive moments that supported this class.

Ann Novak is seventh grade team leader and science teacher at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Email anovak@greenhillsschool.org

Jay Mahoney is head of the middle school at Greenhills School.

Jim Blow has taught middle school history at Greenhills School for 34 years and also serves as a seventh grade team leader.

They thank Peter Fayroian and Joseph Krajcik for their insight.