Due to different schedules and locations, middle school students rarely have the opportunity to interact with high school students. However, more high school clubs have recently begun to cooperate with middle school students, providing middle school students with opportunities to learn about various high school activities, as well as increasing overall productivity for high school initiatives.
Middle school students reap multiple benefits from working with high school clubs, as they can familiarize themselves with high school courses and extracurricular activities. For instance, Middle School Journalism, a Quill and Scroll afterschool program, involves high school students teaching middle school students the basics of article writing. By giving them a chance to participate in the publishing process themselves, middle school students are able to explore their interests and thus, make more informed choices about the classes they want to take in high school.
Moreover, middle school students are able to learn the specifics of fundraising from such collaboration. Recently, a group of middle school students sought help from UNICEF to raise money for Ebola victims. According to Tamara Atanskovic, this opportunity allowed the middle school students to brainstorm new and more efficient methods of spreading awareness.
High school students also benefit from such collaboration as middle school students increase the productivity and efficiency of initiatives. For example, the Global Issues Network worked with its middle school branch for the past two years in order to organize the Halloween Carnival. With younger students helping out with the smaller tasks of selling tickets, decorating and maintaining the booths, the carnival was organized more efficiently.
As large-scale events encourage school spirit and have proven to serve as good opportunities for the unification of the student body, such collaborative efforts should be continued for the benefits of both middle and high school students.