Students 'loved' planning Olympic-themed event at Lynch in Amsterdam

“I really loved planning this giant Olympics day,” sixth grader Sam Cetnar said Thursday. “It’s kind of the highlight of my whole year.”

Cheers erupted around the school as teams of students answered trivia questions, guessed the words drawn by their teammates and competed in Minute to Win It games.

In the gym, kids scooted across the floor on towels in the Magic Carpet Ride relay race. Later, they pitched hula hoops over the heads of their classmates in the Human Ring Toss.

Sixth graders Kamora Robinson and Cayden Moran won a round of Separation Anxiety when they sorted the most Skittles by color within the allotted time.

Robinson piled a single color into her hand while her partner focused on sorting the candies one at a time. They stayed cool under pressure and their differing strategies enabled them to come out on top.

“I was actually shocked we won,” Robinson said.

In the cafeteria, Cetnar’s team correctly guessed the three words on his pictionary card after he drew the middle school building, the district’s ram mascot and Principal Bryan Wood.

“It was fast paced,” Cetnar said. “It felt pretty good to actually do that.”

Points were awarded for each mini-contest with the overall winning teams within each grade level taking home bragging rights.

The rotating activities were organized by students drawing on the character building and life skills they’ve learned through the Leader In Me program.

“The kids really rose to the occasion,” said Kelsey Heck, a family and consumer science teacher at Lynch, who helped coordinate the event along with physical education teacher Colleen McHeard and other staff. “The students really created this. This is what they wanted and they deserve the recognition.”

Kids have been completing weekly lessons on leadership, cooperation, communication and mutual respect throughout the school year.

Those lessons were put to practical use by members of the Student Lighthouse Team empowered to help shape the vision of leadership in the building alongside a corresponding staff team.

The team of middle schoolers developed the plans for the school-wide event with support from teachers. Being part of the student-led process was an exciting new experience for Cetnar.

“There were a lot of kids and a lot of adults and we all got to have a say in things. No one had to wait to get their opinion across,” Cetnar said.

Likewise, Robinson enjoyed serving on the school leadership team and helping to organize the activity with students and teachers.

“I enjoy planning,” Robinson said. “I just do.”

Naylah Dominguez, another sixth grader on the Student Lighthouse Team, said kids worked well together to develop the event.

“We had a lot of great ideas, a lot of good people, a lot of respectful people,” Dominguez said. “I really liked the Lighthouse Team.”

Even students who weren’t directly involved in planning the event helped shape the activities by sharing their feedback through a circulated Google Form.

Adrianne Cisek, an eighth grade English teacher on the Staff Lighthouse Team, said it was a good thing that sixth graders were heavily represented on the team.

“They’re going to be here the longest,” Cisek said. “It’s awesome that we have a group of caring, younger students that really want to shape the building in a positive way.”

Students and staff were thrilled with the boisterous response to the special activity bringing the school together.

“It’s all about teamwork, friendly competition, participating in group events, cheering each other on, having fun,” Cisek said.

Heck is hopeful the student-led event will become an annual tradition.

“I’m happy to see all the excitement they’re having,” Heck said. “They’re all working together. They’re cheering each other on.”