Although a large part of the school day is often spent inside on computers, from 10:30-11 a.m. every Friday, middle schoolers take a break from screens to play with their friends on the backfield.
From competitions between mentorships to relay races to hula hoop games, Fun Fridays are a way for middle school students to get to know each other and unwind during the school day. Fun Fridays started at the beginning of this year, and according to Middle School President Asha Parry (’28) and Sydney Lem (’28), the events encourage inter-grade connectivity.
The most recent Fun Friday event took place Friday, Jan. 12, where games such as pickleball, mini volleyball, soccer and basketball were set up for students to enjoy.
Parry, along with her fellow eighth grade representatives Lem and Sophie Salehi, plan Fun Fridays. Eighth grade Dean of Culture, Community and Belonging Hannah O’Connor also helps plan the festivities.
Lem said she thinks Fun Fridays are enjoyable because all middle schoolers are together, especially because during lunch, students are often separated.
“I know a lot of people would just like to talk and just hang out, and it’s nice to get some vitamin D especially,” Lem said. “Unlike lunches — when we just go to our own groups and we’re all spread out across the school — when we have fun Fridays, we’re all on the backfield, and we all play games together.”
Eighth grader Dara Alitoro said she enjoys Fun Friday because she gets to spend time with her friends and play games outside. She emphasized one memory playing volleyball that stood out to her.
“A lot of my friends were there, and it didn’t really matter if you did good or not because we were just having fun,” Alitoro said.
Parry said Fun Fridays are tailored to upcoming middle school events. For example, before the eighth graders went on Arrow Week, there was an event where they decorated and added beads to their hiking boots.
Lem said one of her favorite parts of Fun Friday is meeting students from other grades and continuing that connection through the hallways. She explained her personal experience of talking to the younger grades and wished she had an opportunity to meet older kids when she was their age.
“I remember when I was in sixth grade, I looked up to eighth graders a lot,” Lem said. “If I had more opportunities to get closer to them and talk to them, I think that help would have helped.”
One of the reasons Parry said she loves Fun Fridays is because for the 30 minutes during the Mentorship and Meetings block, she gets to come to the backfield, forget the stress of school and spend time with her friends.
“Getting to work closely with my dean and my fellow reps has been awesome,” Parry said. “I’ve gotten to meet so many people, and I get to take everyone else’s opinions and what they want and bring it to this one thing that everyone gets to enjoy.”
