"Mix It Up At Lunch"

In an effort to encourage tolerance, Mrs. Tara Dickie has initiated several school activities where students build relationships.

Her most recent endeavor was called "Mix It Up at Lunch".  She, Mrs. Angela Hightower, Mrs. Leila Higginbottom and members of our Middle School Key Club organized activities for our students to do while sitting with students they might not necessarily sit with on a regular basis.  Our science teachers (Mrs. Misty Martin, Mrs. Chas Neal, Mrs. Tammie Caldwell and Mrs. Paula Jones) also aided in the project by allotting some of their class time for students to work on the project.

Mrs. Dickie asked the Mrs. Patricia Hinds and the High School Key Club to come over to our campus and help with the activities.

On October 29th our 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students demonstrated "extreme tolerance" while stepping out of their comfort zones and participating in the "Mix It Up at Lunch" activities. The results were remarkable.  Some comments I heard......."I had no idea people felt that way"......."I can't believe I'm not the only person who..."........."It's sad that people in our community go home hungry"......  I could list countless others.  What's so great is that those comments were not only from students, but any adults who witnessed the activities taking place.

Here is a picture of the wall the students created during the course of their lunch periods.

Mr. Carey Byers allowed one of his television students, Lucas Barber to capture footage of the activity. He tells me it will air on Caveman Radio Thursday, November 7th at 7 pm.  He is also sending a copy to the middle school which I plan on posting on our middle school website.

For more information about "Mix It Up Day" see the link below.

http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-44-summer-2013/feature/how-will-you-mix-it-2013

If you see any of the people listed above, give them a word of encouragement for all they did to make this day possible.  I think it was a very successful event.

The Building of a Mantra, the Building of a Family

The Middle School Teachers felt that having a Mantra would build a sense of community and act as a deterrent from bullying. We all wanted the students to "get along" and we all wanted them to feel like this is a safe place. Before school began, the Middle School Teachers contributed ideas for the creation of the Middle School Mantra. The teacher contributions were combined to create the following Mantra:

The me I SEE is the me I will BE.

I am: a LEARNER, 

a HELPER, 

a ROLE MODEL, 

a DIFFERENCE MAKER

I am: COMPASSIONATE, 

TOLERANT, 

and KIND.

I am a MEMBER of the Cave City Middle School Family

Every school day the whole Middle School, led by two of our 8th graders, says The Pledge of Allegiance, The Middle School Mantra and pause for a moment of silence.

What an impactful start to a day! I have heard teachers discussing that the time we set aside for these things, sets the tone for the whole day. Students have stated that they feel like we are all "one big family". And I will have to say, I feel a sense of camaraderie with the teachers and the students as we all bind together for a moment and remember what we are trying to accomplish.

Thanks Middle School Teachers
Thanks Middle School Students
Thanks Middle School Family

Lori Laman, Assistant Principal
Cave City Middle School