Monday, April 21, 2025
Sixth-grade students in North Merrick have been mentoring their peers in third-grade throughout the school year, assisting them with academic, social and emotional challenges, and fostering a supportive environment for all students. The initiative, called Project HELP, is being piloted this school year at Old Mill Road School, where 16 students are providing support, guidance and friendship to their younger classmates.
Jackie Sekunda, the district’s guidance counselor, told the Herald that some of North Merrick’s staff members met with a consultant over the summer, who has helped them roll out some positive programs in the district. The district decided to implement Project HELP, a program in which sixth-grade students could volunteer to make a positive impact on younger students through engaging activities.
“Its main focus is on building relationships and trust,” she said. “When you have that, then academically, they’re going to take risks. They’re going to raise their hands, they’re going to try something that’s hard. They’re not teaching academics — teachers do that — but they’re teaching them to build up their self-confidence, to complement themselves and each other, and have self-control.”
Old Mill Road chose to focus on third-grade students, as it’s a bit of a transition year, Sekunda explained.
“Third-grade is a tough year,” she said. “They start to really form actual friendships and they become a little self-conscious. I think, with the sixth-graders, they really look up to them.”
In an activity on April 3, sixth-grade students led the younger students in a growth mindset activity during a period of the school day. The older students shared challenges throughout the year, and with engaging activities, encouraged the third-grade students to not be afraid to conquer a challenge. Picking activities out of the box, the students were challenged to say their name backwards, tear a piece of paper into a perfect circle without using scissors and balance a pencil on their finger for 10 seconds without dropping it, among others.
Sekunda said Project HELP has chosen activities based on suggestions from third-grade teachers. Some activities have targeted the act of giving and receiving a compliment, as well as art projects that have taught the power of collaboration.
The sixth-graders participating volunteered in the beginning of the school year, and have led five different activities since September. Sekunda said they meet after school to plan out activities, and added that the sixth-grade teachers have been flexible and supportive of their students taking on a leadership role.
Overall, she said, the sixth-grade participants have done a tremendous job piloting the programming.
“I teach them a lesson, but then they’re responsible to look at it at home and be comfortable sitting and working with the (third-grade students),” she said. “I try to explain to them that this is for them too — the leadership skills that they’re gaining, they’re going to be able to use for the rest of their life.”
