WEB, Where Everyone Belongs, is a program that has been occurring for many years at Medea Creek. Eighth graders are chosen to help sixth graders settle into a new chapter of their life, middle school. These WEB leaders ensure that all sixth graders feel safe and included like they belong.

Every year, WEB hosts Camp Medea, where WEB leaders play icebreaker games with the sixth graders before the school year begins to help them feel safe and ready for the new year ahead. This gives the opportunity for sixth graders to make new friends, while students are given a tour of the entire school so that they are familiarized with the campus. 

A fellow sixth grader who attended Camp Medea, Shubham Bhattacharya, wrote, “Camp Medea was beneficial to me because I got to see the school and meet new people. I definitely think that future sixth graders should go.”

Camp Medea is not the only thing that WEB hosts to aid students. While WEB assists sixth graders when adjusting to the middle school atmosphere, it also assists eighth graders in understanding the value of helping others in their community and school. This supports breaking the common stereotypes associated with “intimidating” eighth graders. 

Yuri Kim, a current WEB leader at Medea Creek shared her reason for becoming a WEB leader. 

“I chose to become a WEB leader because in sixth grade, I felt really lost,” Kim said. “But the WEB leaders were really nice to me and I felt like I really belonged.

Numerous WEB leaders have gained a lot from this experience. Even those who have joined recently have learned a lot about lending others a hand and giving back to the community.

Active WEB leader Lorena Tan has acquired tons of knowledge from the activities she has participated in through WEB. 

“This experience might be beneficial in the future because in schools you have a lot of community service activities and helping out in the community and it’s just really good to do activities like this to have practice and help out the students and other people in the communities,” Tan said.

Though student WEB leaders are constantly planning activities for sixth graders, behind the scenes the three WEB coordinators, Suzanne Shea, Dianne Large and Kim Conelly, put extra effort into making sure every activity runs smoothly. 

Also a sixth-grade humanities teacher, Shea explained how WEB enables all students to recognize the devastating impact bullying can have. 

“Once you get all those bad words, it weighs you down,” Shea said. “We’re trying to lift up and be positive and not let people put you down.”

WEB isn’t just about involving all sixth graders and making them feel like they matter, it’s about making sure that they are also inclusive of eighth graders as well. They play an equally important role as the sixth graders do. Everybody has the same chance and potential to be a great leader.

“For incoming WEB leaders, we don’t just pick the smartest of the smart and the best of the best,” Shea said. “Even if a kid isn’t doing so great in school, he or she can still be a WEB leader. Because we want everybody to be represented. All colors, all races, all religions, [all] academic levels.”