Sweat dripping down your brow, pulling on a rope with your team, fighting to bring the rope to your side and overtake the opposing team. Many sixth graders from across the district experienced a fun-filled day full of activities such as tug-of-war last Tuesday. The Interpersonal Skills Class at Manhattan High hosts the fit 6 for all the sixth graders in the district, which promotes good health and an active lifestyle.

“We did various fitness exercises with sixth graders to allow them to get to know their future classmates at Anthony and Eisenhower,” senior Ian Trapp said. “We also promoted healthy lifestyles. There were stations of frisbee, relays, long jump and plenty of others.”

The sixth graders were split up at the beginning of the day based on the middle school they would go to. They had an experience in which they were able to create new friends, easing the stress of entering middle school.

“Watching the sixth graders bond with their future classmates was fun to witness,” senior Luke Saville said. “I am glad they got the experience because this activity did not happen when I was in elementary school.”

The IPS class has been running the fit six program for three years, hoping to impact the lifestyles of the children attending. The high school students did their best to make each station fun and involved, hoping to give the kids memories they could cherish.

“We tried to make it challenging but still fun,” senior Cade Roberts said. “Every once in awhile, if they needed extra people, Nate [Clark], Yosuf [Ciftci], and I would race with them. The cups looked like buckets, it’s just the bigger version of the speed stacking cups.”

The fun activities of the day help the kids relieve the stress of the school day and lower the tensions between them, making the transfer into middle school easier.

“Most sixth graders get worried about going to a bigger school and seeing kids from different elementary schools,” Saville said. “So them meeting and bonding early helped them a lot.”

Another opportunity the program gives the sixth grade students is the chance to learn and gain knowledge on students with special needs. All the students in the IPS class helped run the events of the day, each person assigned to a station and a job. This allowed for the students to interact with the sixth graders on a more personal level.

“I hope it provided the kids some knowledge about students with special needs,” Roberts said.
“If it didn’t I hope that it at least made them feel more comfortable for the future.”