BETHEL — Here at Telstar Middle School, we use the term “RAP” for our homerooms. RAP is an acronym for Respect, Accept, and Persevere. We think it is very important to focus on these three pillars to create a better learning environment for all students and staff. The R in the acronym RAP stands for respect for yourself, others, and your environment. The A in RAP stands for accepting all people, opportunities, and the purpose of school. And the P stands for persevering through any challenges and using them to learn and grow.

In RAP, students get all of the information about everything they need to know. There is a RAP period 3 times throughout the day where students will go in the morning to prepare for classes and have an optional breakfast. They also gather mid-day for various activities such as 7 Peaks, extra help, team building, executive function skills, and fun! They also meet before dismissal to get any more announcements from the day.

The purpose of our RAP groups is to provide a home base for students. The RAP teachers serve as point person for communication with parents and they work together to plan grade-level activities. A fun activity we do in our RAP groups is what we call “RAP challenges”.

Recently, the 6th graders had a RAP challenge and they did the spaghetti-marshmallow tower building challenge. Students were given a set amount of spaghetti and marshmallows and their team had to work together to build the tallest tower. After the challenge was over, they talked about what their role was in the team and how they communicated together as a team.

Mrs. Doyle’s RAP group: Idella Cooley, Sabrina Tripp, Natalie Charette, Annabelle Rand, Baylee Dunham, Cody-Ann Scanlon, Wyatt Carter, Graig Groves, and Bentley Merrill.

In the eighth grade, previously in the year, they did a homemade bobsled challenge inspired by Frank Del Duca. This challenged us to work together and work as a team through the building steps. This challenge showed how if you all work together and communicate well, your sled can be much more successful and you can have lots of fun.

Overall, RAP is a very important part of what makes the TMS experience complete. We do lots of fun challenges and activities while learning to be better students and community members.

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