Transitioning from middle school to high school was a difficult experience for almost all of us. Imagine moving to Bob Jones from a different state. You don’t know anyone. You don’t know your way around the school. You suffer in solitude at the lunch table. Everyone is staring at the kid with no friends. You wish you were invisible, but you are not so you pray for the lunch bell to ring. It is lonely and scary.
Dustin Guidry, who is new at Bob Jones this year, talked about his experience at lunch on the first day of school. “I had to sit alone at lunch the first day of school because I didn’t know anyone.” Later, he found people from his other classes to sit with. The students who decided to befriend Dustin are heroes.
Mrs. Krell, an English teacher at Bob Jones, initiated a project this year that aims to help new students. She asked each of her students to write down a random act of kindness on an index card on the first day of school. Each day she randomly draws one of those cards, writes the random act of kindness on the board, and urges her students to perform that act of kindness sometime during the day ahead.
If you see students sitting alone in the lunchroom, sit down and talk to them. Try to show them that Bob Jones is not only one of the best academic schools in the nation, but also home to the kindest students in the nation.
If you are new to Bob Jones and want to meet other people who are also new, the Peer Helpers are hosting a luncheon this Friday during third block. You will receive an invitation soon with more information.
