Volume 82, Issue 9 Web Edition
SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935
Tornados defeat
#1 Wingate in SAC
tournament quarterfinal
see page 10
November 2, 2016
Building a bond
Brevard Middle School comes to BC
By Jessica Wiegandt
Arts & Life Editor
The 8th grade from Brevard Middle School
came to campus on Friday, Oct. 28, as a games
and initiatives day. Students from the WLEE and
Education departments led the groups.
Brevard Middle School has been sending the
8th grade to BC for the past three years as a way
for the 8th grade to bond and learn about team
work. This opportunity allows education majors
to interact with a potential age group they will
be working with in the future and allows WEEE
majors to practice facilitation skills.
“We really like this partnership we have with
the middle school,” WLEE professor and event
organizer Jenny Kafsky said at the facilitation
meeting, “The kids really enjoy coming and
playing games with you all and it gives you col
lege students the opportunity to work with kids.”
There were 11 groups of facilitators, with two
BC students in each group. All 11 groups had ap
proximately 16 middle school students. Kafsky
and several faculty members from Beam Admin
came to float around the large group. In total,
there were 26 BC students, faculty and staff and
180 middle school students.
Kafsky gathered half of the facilitators on the
Wednesday before the event to practice and learn
the games. Pizza was provided for the students
and everyone had a chance to introduce a new
game to the group.
“It’s pretty awesome that we can all get to
gether and play games for our major,” senior
McDara Folan said, “Being in WLEE isn’t all
about going in the woods but also about mak
ing connections and facilitating groups. This is
great practice.”
While the group was primarily WLEE majors,
the Education Department was well represented
with six students. Many of the student facilita
tion groups were intermingled between majors,
creating a dynamic environment for the middle
school students.
“Every person brings a little bit of something
different to the group, so being able to work
alongside with someone from a different ma
jor... I have a lot to learn from them,” sopho
more Erin Humphries said.
When the middle school students arrived on
Friday, they were broken into groups according
to homeroom and met the facilitators of their
group. The groups then played name games to
break the ice and get to know each other and then
moved on to games which made the students
work together as a group.
“It’s really cool to see it all happen within an
hour and a half. We don’t have long to make
a difference with them but I could honestly
see them start to learn more about each other
and work together as we played these games,”
sophomore Gabe Neckolaishen said.
The groups all went through a variety of
games and initiatives as they all filled the hour
and a half with fun, teambuilding activities.
The middle school comes every semester and
typically only sends the 8th grade. However,
according to Kafsky, both the 6th and 7th grades
have expressed interest in coming and playing
similar games.
“WLEE does it because we have wonderful
WLEE students who have enthusiasm, talent
and a desire to develop professionally,” Kafsky
said. “We think it is valuable to create a way for
our students to contribute to our community in
a positive way. We also believe that this is such
an important developmental period of life, and
are happy to have the chance to provide a way
for these eighth graders to connect with our BC
students.”
Brevard Middle School students work together in an initiative led by BC students.