So excited to have my wonderful intern here to talk about our Switch It Up day!
Hi! My name is Archana Sabesan and I am Rebecca’s counseling intern for this school year. I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone by! In thinking back to all the experiences I’ve had at Cameron Park, I definitely feel prepared and excited to start this new journey of becoming a school counselor.
Recently, we held a “Switch It Up” day (May 30) here at the school. When I was given the task to plan this school wide event, my first thoughts were, “Where do I even begin? I’ve never done something like this before; I have NO idea what to do!”
My first course of action was to go on Google and research more about this day. Its original name is “Mix It Up Day” and it’s actually a nationwide event, launched by the campaign Teaching Tolerance. During lunch, students are to get out of their comfort zones a bit and sit with someone they don’t already know. We all know that kids tend to flock towards people they are comfortable with and avoid making friends. However, studies have shown that interactions between different groups can help to reduce prejudice and misconceptions, and in turn, promote acceptance. This day usually takes place sometime in the month of October, but schools are encouraged to plan it for any day, any time of the year.
Rebecca and I had many brainstorming sessions, in which we talked about what exactly this day would look like, what the different steps are in planning it, what to call this day, etc. We decided that this would be something fun to do during recess, instead of lunch, and that the name, “Switch It Up,” had a nice little ring to it. Because there was literally no way we could fit any more lessons into our schedule, we really needed all the support we could get from the teachers! I provided all the teachers with a brief lesson plan (about 30 minutes or so) and asked them to share it with their students whenever it was most convenient for them.
For kindergarten through 2nd grade, the lesson was mostly discussion starters about how someone gets to know others, what types of questions to ask each other, how to decide what to play during recess, etc. For 3rd through 5th grade, the students got to watch a video on YouTube called “Take a Seat – Make a Friend." It was about strangers who sit in a ball pit and talk about life’s big questions! The teachers, then, lead open discussion about the video and how it relates to our “Switch It Up” day. (The students & teachers loved this video!)
I, also, found really neat partner-picking cards online and requested each teacher to let me know if they would want to use them. Rebecca and I tried to make our way around to the different classrooms during the lessons, 1) to help partner up the students with the cards and 2) to get the kids excited for this day!
A few days before our “Switch It Up” day, I spoke with the gym teacher at my school and asked if I could borrow some equipment to keep out on the playground. I was able to gather up some hula-hoops, jump ropes, batons & sacks for relay races, basketballs, and rope for Tug Of War. I, also, set up a Photo Booth station where kids could take pictures with a colorful poster I made, with “Switch It Up” written on it.
Finally…May 30th arrived!! I made a quick announcement in the morning, reminding everyone that today was the day! I had so many kids come up to me in the hallway, talking about how excited they were. It was awesome! Rebecca and I had a few classes to teach that morning, but other than that, we had cleared our day so we could be out and about during all the recess times. We each had a camera, as we had to divide and conquer between the lower and upper playgrounds. It was about 11:45 when the first group of students started rolling out. I was immediately busy, running around taking pictures and seeing what the kids were doing. There were so many pairs that were holding hands, laughing, and just having a great time. It made me so happy to see this! The weather forecast was predicting rain for the day, but nothing happened other than a few drops around noon. It actually ended up being perfect weather, as it wasn’t too hot or humid!
When Rebecca and I finally made it to her office at the end of the day, we just plopped down in our chairs and were so happy to give our legs a break. Though it took a whole lot of work, the day ended up being very successful! One teacher even emailed us saying two students who were paired up in her class decided that they were going to play together again on Monday. I was very pleased with how everything turned out, but definitely could not have done it without Rebecca and all the support I received from the staff at Cameron Park!
Thanks Archana for a great switch it up day! I'll close with one of my favorite pics from that day. This pair held hands for the entire recess :)
Hi! My name is Archana Sabesan and I am Rebecca’s counseling intern for this school year. I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone by! In thinking back to all the experiences I’ve had at Cameron Park, I definitely feel prepared and excited to start this new journey of becoming a school counselor.
Recently, we held a “Switch It Up” day (May 30) here at the school. When I was given the task to plan this school wide event, my first thoughts were, “Where do I even begin? I’ve never done something like this before; I have NO idea what to do!”
My first course of action was to go on Google and research more about this day. Its original name is “Mix It Up Day” and it’s actually a nationwide event, launched by the campaign Teaching Tolerance. During lunch, students are to get out of their comfort zones a bit and sit with someone they don’t already know. We all know that kids tend to flock towards people they are comfortable with and avoid making friends. However, studies have shown that interactions between different groups can help to reduce prejudice and misconceptions, and in turn, promote acceptance. This day usually takes place sometime in the month of October, but schools are encouraged to plan it for any day, any time of the year.
Rebecca and I had many brainstorming sessions, in which we talked about what exactly this day would look like, what the different steps are in planning it, what to call this day, etc. We decided that this would be something fun to do during recess, instead of lunch, and that the name, “Switch It Up,” had a nice little ring to it. Because there was literally no way we could fit any more lessons into our schedule, we really needed all the support we could get from the teachers! I provided all the teachers with a brief lesson plan (about 30 minutes or so) and asked them to share it with their students whenever it was most convenient for them.
For kindergarten through 2nd grade, the lesson was mostly discussion starters about how someone gets to know others, what types of questions to ask each other, how to decide what to play during recess, etc. For 3rd through 5th grade, the students got to watch a video on YouTube called “Take a Seat – Make a Friend." It was about strangers who sit in a ball pit and talk about life’s big questions! The teachers, then, lead open discussion about the video and how it relates to our “Switch It Up” day. (The students & teachers loved this video!)
I, also, found really neat partner-picking cards online and requested each teacher to let me know if they would want to use them. Rebecca and I tried to make our way around to the different classrooms during the lessons, 1) to help partner up the students with the cards and 2) to get the kids excited for this day!
A few days before our “Switch It Up” day, I spoke with the gym teacher at my school and asked if I could borrow some equipment to keep out on the playground. I was able to gather up some hula-hoops, jump ropes, batons & sacks for relay races, basketballs, and rope for Tug Of War. I, also, set up a Photo Booth station where kids could take pictures with a colorful poster I made, with “Switch It Up” written on it.
Finally…May 30th arrived!! I made a quick announcement in the morning, reminding everyone that today was the day! I had so many kids come up to me in the hallway, talking about how excited they were. It was awesome! Rebecca and I had a few classes to teach that morning, but other than that, we had cleared our day so we could be out and about during all the recess times. We each had a camera, as we had to divide and conquer between the lower and upper playgrounds. It was about 11:45 when the first group of students started rolling out. I was immediately busy, running around taking pictures and seeing what the kids were doing. There were so many pairs that were holding hands, laughing, and just having a great time. It made me so happy to see this! The weather forecast was predicting rain for the day, but nothing happened other than a few drops around noon. It actually ended up being perfect weather, as it wasn’t too hot or humid!
When Rebecca and I finally made it to her office at the end of the day, we just plopped down in our chairs and were so happy to give our legs a break. Though it took a whole lot of work, the day ended up being very successful! One teacher even emailed us saying two students who were paired up in her class decided that they were going to play together again on Monday. I was very pleased with how everything turned out, but definitely could not have done it without Rebecca and all the support I received from the staff at Cameron Park!
Thanks Archana for a great switch it up day! I'll close with one of my favorite pics from that day. This pair held hands for the entire recess :)