Extending Rachel's Challenge: Mix It Up at Lunch Day

For newly-arrived sixth-graders, the step up to middle school can be daunting.

Accustomed to seeing the same faces everyday in one of Port Chester's four small elementary schools, coming to Port Chester Middle School involves a lot of change -- a comparatively huge school building, long hallways packed with unfamiliar faces, intimidating class schedules and hundreds of new classmates.

With more than 900 children, Port Chester Middle School is home to more students than many high schools in other towns.

That's why is so important: With a sheet of ice-breakers in hand and spots at randomly assigned lunch tables, kids get a chance to meet their new classmates in a low-pressure setting.

Mix It Up at Lunch Day was held Tuesday, serving "to kind of break down the walls of social boundaries and have kids get outside of their comfort zones," said Louise Piccolino, a guidance counselor.

"Kids tend to stick with who they're most comfortable with," Piccolino said, "and in the meantime they could be missing the opportunity to meet a great friend who's sitting just a table away, someone who they have something in common with and they didn't even know it."

This year, it's not just for the new students.

Seeing an opportunity to "piggyback" off of the that's become an annual staple at the middle school, faculty bumped up the date this year so it would follow soon after the anti-bullying program.

"Last year I thought, 'Why aren't we doing this with everyone?' said Principal Patrick Swift. "We talk about Rachel's Challenge and being nice to each other and breaking down the boundaries, cliques, and getting the kids together, so I said 'Let's broaden this to seventh and eighth grade.'"

New tables and a fresh way to look at the traditional school cafeteria also play into the effort to encourage more social interaction. The school recently replaced its old-school cafeteria benches with octagonal tables more conducive to conversation. There's also a simple linguistic innovation Swift hopes will make the kids more comfortable: Instead of a cafeteria, the two adjoining lunch areas are referred to as dining rooms.

With fresh in the minds of the kids, conversation flowed easily Tuesday afternoon.

"Two weeks ago, they've had put into their head, 'Be a good person.'" Swift said. "And if you look at this now, the conversation is so much more dynamic."

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