Laguna's New Middle School Swoop Group Program is a Hit!

Swoop Groups are weekly electives that are offered to Middle School students on Fridays during community time. The program gives fifth through eighth graders the opportunity to further connect with each other and to develop new and exciting skills outside of the classroom.

MS Advisory Coordinator Anna Alldredge says, "The students have loved having voice and choice within the program. It’s powerful for them as learners to suggest certain Swoop Group ideas, and then rank their preferences. The faculty have also enjoyed getting to offer extracurricular topics, subjects, and activities that aren’t typical curriculum. The learning happening in Swoop Group feels fun, exploratory, and restorative – just what everyone needs on a Friday!"

Students have no shortage of topics to dive into and can choose from offerings that are outside, inside, intellectual, artistic, musical, athletic, literary, or historical. The hardest part of the program is deciding which activity to choose!

Sofia Anderson '22 and Paloma McKean '22 both say they've really enjoyed Swoop Groups and always look forward to sign-ups throughout the year. They particularly enjoy having free time to explore activities they normally wouldn't be able to cover during school time. Sofia has loved the art classes and has worked with collages, cigar box dioramas, and is currently enrolled in environmental art with Mr. Uyesaka. Paloma joined Kim Valentine's meditation class, knitting, and is currently enrolled in the Walk & Talk offering. She says, "It is so nice to be able to take a moment to breathe during the school day."

Anna adds, "We as Middle School faculty enjoy providing our students with purposeful, engaging, student-directed learning. You hear lots of laughter on the quad during Swoop Group. It’s a time when students and faculty come together and explore topics of interest as a team."

Everyone looks forward to year two of this fun, new program!