Evening at school teaches social skills
BRUIN — The scene could read like something from the society pages. Thirty young ladies attired in dresses suitable for Easter Sunday, many with their hair upswept in curls, munched on petit fours and triangle sandwiches as they sipped tea.
It was the first tea party for third grade student Rebecca Pennington and most of her Bruin Elementary School classmates who gathered Thursday night in the school's library.
Guidance counselor Melissa Hogan organized the evening for some tea and a book discussion. Sugarcreek Elementary School, another of the schools in Karns City School District, first had a book discussion/tea party five years ago. This is the first year Bruin and Chicora adopted the practice.
Hogan chose the book "Chrissa," the book of the year in the American Girl Next Generation series. The book follows the protagonist as she changes schools, is bullied by other girls, and finally makes friends.
All the girls in the room, which included third to sixth grade students, said the book taught a good lesson about bullying.
But, what they seemed most excited about was the pink dresses and heels.
Karah Claypoole, a third grade student, pointed to her necklace and bracelet with a smile on her face.
"My mom let me borrow her pearls," Karah said. She was escorted for the night by a stuffed bear named Rose. The bear, who wore one of Karah's old dresses, also was bedazzled for the night with a necklace Karah had repaired for the tea party.
After choosing raspberry from a buffet of gourmet tea bags and filling her pink flowered plate with sweets, Karah was ready to get down to business. She brought a Disney Princess 35 mm camera with her and wanted photographs of every girl in attendance.
"I'm going to take a picture of everybody and put it in my photo album," Karah said.
Seated next to Karah, Rebecca and her escort, a Samantha doll from the American Girl series, was drinking wildberry tea from an elegant china cup with mulberry accents. It was her great-grandmother's, Rebecca said.
Hogan tried to make the party as authentic as possible. Some of the male teachers and other volunteers escorted each girl and her doll into the library to polite applause as she was announced and walked through an archway.
Inside the library, a professional photographer sat each of the girls for a portrait. At each table, an African violet made a centerpiece and there were construction paper flowers on which each girl could write her entry for a door prize.
Each girl was asked to bring in a tea cup from home. Hogan provided cream, sugar and honey on the tea tray, and a variety of munchies were available.
After some time for socializing, Hogan broke the girls up into groups of four, one from each grade level. The girls rotated through three activities and the book discussion.
Sixth grade student Natalia Berkley summarized the book by saying, "It's about being yourself."
Her classmate, Kaylin Johns, said the book taught the importance of including everyone and reaching out to new friends.
In one corner, school librarian Amber Barnett asked the first group of girls if any had ever moved to a new school, ways Chrissa could have stopped the bullying, and about the parents reactions to the situation.
Barnett left the girls with a bit of advice from the book's character, Nana.
"If you want a friend, be a friend," she said.
