It’s back to school for sixth-graders at Moore, ‘Where Everybody Belongs’

Incoming sixth grade students at Moore Middle School, take part in the straw challenge during the schools first-ever Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) rally, in Redlands, Ca., Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017. The rally looks to welcome incoming sixth graders to campus through various activities and connect them with an upper grader who will serve as their mentor throughout the year. (Photo by John Valenzuela/Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)
Incoming sixth grade student Jackson Taylor, looks to pop a balloon on the chair during Moore Middle School''s first-ever Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) rally, in Redlands, Ca., Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017. The rally welcomed incoming sixth graders to campus through various activities and games, connecting them with an upper grader who will serve as their mentor throughout the year. (Photo by John Valenzuela/Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)
Incoming sixth grade students at Moore Middle School, follow the lead of teacher Jon Martin, during the schools first-ever Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) rally, in Redlands, Ca., Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2017. The rally looks to welcome incoming sixth graders to campus through various activities and connect them with an upper grader who will serve as their mentor throughout the year. (Photo by John Valenzuela/Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)

PUBLISHED: August 8, 2017 at 6:56 p.m. | UPDATED: August 21, 2017 at 3:10 p.m.

REDLANDS >> “Good morning, sixth-graders!”

The boisterous voice of Jon Martin greeted hundreds of incoming students Tuesday at Moore Middle School’s first “Where Everybody Belongs” orientation.

Martin, a Moore educator, was appointed to lead WEB after the school became the latest in the Redlands Unified School District to adopt the program, which offers sixth-graders a chance to get acquainted with their new “home away from home” and help them meet a new friend or two in the process.

“We wanted to bring this to Moore so we’d be able to meet them and help our kids become more comfortable,” said Maisie McCue, Moore’s principal.

Participating students were paired with WEB leaders — seventh- and eighth-graders — who volunteered to help their buddies successfully navigate their way through their first year of middle school.

On Tuesday, a soundtrack of the latest and past hits played over loudspeakers before Martin took the microphone.

From there, laughter was heard throughout the area as personal introductions were made during an exercise using straws and other materials.

“The biggest reason we do this on the middle school level is it helps make the transition from elementary school” easier, Martin said. “We’re trying to give them a sense of belonging here.”

WEB reaches out to students from various social backgrounds. To successfully do so, Martin said he selected WEB leaders from all social groups at Moore, from introverts to athletes. This helps build a “commonality with our WEB leaders,” he said.

The school has high hopes for its WEB program and hopes it continues to be as successful as its counterparts at other Redlands Unified middle schools.

Martin’s hope is that WEB becomes an elective at Moore so his leaders can spend extra time with students while on campus instead of after the bell rings.

Orientation typically takes place before the start of the new school year, which is Wednesday. WEB leaders at Moore will wear program T-shirts to make it easier for new students to identify them and reach out with their questions.