Boys' Zone builds friendships, character concepts

Sixth grade students taking part in the Boys' Zone activities at the Nevada Middle School on Wednesday, Dec. 16 are pictured front row, left to right: Kandon Selby, Joey Caballero, Trey Knapp, Preston Schuler, Spencer OBryan, and James Stevens Jr; back row: Caden Leer, Chase Wilburn, Jessie Prather, Logan Brewer, Ben McWherter, Steven Pettibon and Jordan Sheehy.

Jessie Prather said, "This is a fun place, I always come here. And Logan Brewer commented that, "You can stay with your friends, have fun and learn stuff like teamwork."

Jessie and Logan are two of more than a dozen sixth grade boys, the middle school counselor, some members of the Nevada Rotary Club and volunteers met in the Nevada Middle School cafeteria after school Wednesday, Dec. 16, to participate in the regular monthly Boys' Zone meeting, where fun and learning about life skills and concepts meet.

Boys' Zone was started at the middle school about 10 years ago by the Rotary Club as a way to "provide them a structured learning environment," according to Rotarian Jerry Janes. The group has been providing the funding for the program and has been the "cornerstone of support," said Janes.

The meetings are open to any sixth grade boy and take place in the cafeteria once a month except during the months of April and May. The meeting is conducted by middle school counselor Alisha Brown. Brown has been working with the boys for 8 years, "and she runs a really good show, and the kids respect her," said Janes.

During the meeting, which lasts just over an hour, the boys are separated into small groups. Each group has a task or learning experience to get through before they are moved to the next. During this past meeting, one group went directly to the ice cream treat provided by the Rotary Club, another went to an exercise illustrating that life isn't really fair and the third and final group took part in an exercise which illustrated the importance of helping each other meet goals.

As each group finished their activity, they rotated to the next until all had performed both activities and enjoyed the ice cream. The tasks are designed to be fun yet educational and "teach team building and cooperation skills and show that students need to learn to adjust to be successful," said Brown. When finished, Brown and the boys briefly discussed the importance of things learned to bring the purpose of the meeting full circle. After the discussion, door prizes like games, T-shirts and candy were given to randomly chosen winners.