Pond Road students travel to Lawrence Middle School
By: Kristy Klaus
Sweltering 90-degree temperatures didn’t seem to bother the students from Pond Road Middle School or Lawrence Middle School as they played flag football, tennis and soccer at the schools’ Unity Day Friday.
The event was designed to let students from Lawrence’s sending district, Washington Township, and those from Lawrence meet each other before they all start Lawrence High School in the fall. They met at LMS for a day of activities and a picnic lunch.
“The kids get to know each other before they walk in the door as ninth-graders and say, ‘Who are you?’” said Rich Nolan, LMS assistant principal.
Two-hundred eighty students from LMS and 92 from Pond Road were divided into teams of about 10, each team with students from both schools.
“It’s good for the kids, especially our kids,” said Ed Holub, an eighth-grade teacher at Pond Road. “They get a preview of what’s coming.”
Each team of students moved among 12 stations, each with a different activity. Besides flag football, tennis and soccer, other activities included volleyball, softball, an obstacle course and relay races.
“It allows them to cheer each other on,” said Barbara Chase, an eighth-grade teacher at LMS.
Stephen Marencki, an LMS eighth-grader, said the day is a “good exercise to meet people for next year.
“After a while you pick up names and get friendly,” said Stephen.
Nicole Tindall, a Pond Road eighth-grader, said a positive attitude and working as a team enabled her to meet other people.
“You can’t just stand there,” said Nicole’s classmate Torey Edgcomb. “You have to talk.”
Unity Day started as an end-of-the year event for the Children’s Home Society’s LMS program KIKS, Kids Intervention with Kids in Schools. Eventually it grew to include Washington Township, said Michael Pemberton, a KIKS counselor.
Mr. Pemberton said KIKS is a life-coping skills program that teaches LMS students such things as how to deal with peer pressure and anger management.