Kindergarten teacher Monica Evangelista and student Saniyah Noel consider a question.
Cub Corner, a Carteret Elementary School initiative in its third year, is an after-school program where third-graders on Tuesday, and fourth-graders on Wednesday, receive academic and emotional support from sixth-graders who are in the Wingman Program.
Under the direction of kindergarten teacher Monica Evangelista and guidance counselor Marissa Acosta, the Cub Corner meets twice a week. Last Wednesday, 15 kids came together and the team effort was apparent. Cub Corner builds on the established Wingman Program which is a district-wide initiative now in its sixth year.
“Wingmen are sixth-graders who monitor fourth-graders in homework, show them how a student prepares in the upper-grades and how to behave.” Acosta said. “It gives the younger students a perspective of what’s expected of them. Two years ago, for Cub Corner, we partnered with Bloomfield High School peer leaders. Each week, we’d have two high school students come in and monitor our fourth- and fifth-graders and provide a Q and A session.”
She said Cub Corner has evolved and is part of an effort to build a culture on how students should develop and progress in school. Last week, one of the activities, in keeping with the holiday spirit, was “My Cup of Cheer.” It was an opportunity for kids to work with paper and crayons, cutting out candy canes and marshmallows, coloring them and writing on each marshmallow a blessing, for which they were grateful.
“Things like this help them to reflect on what they do have,” Acosta said.
Evangelista said the students work on homework with her and with Acosta concentrate on social/emotional development.
“She speaks to them about how to understand themselves and each other,” Evangelista said. “They learn about healthy friendships and who they go to if they’re feeling bad. Basically, who they are, where they want to go in life and how we, as adults, can help them.”
The Wingman Program, at its inception, involved Carteret fifth- and sixth-graders. But now the school is focusing now on only having sixth-graders in the program which does involve an application process and a reference other than a family member. To become a Wingman is an in-depth process, according to Acosta.
“It doesn’t have to be a straight-A student who is chosen to become a Wingman, or a top athlete,” she said. “Sometimes students who are struggling thrive in a Wingman capacity,”
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