THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603290196
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 22 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
WHILE FRIDAYS have traditionally represented the end of a school week for children and the close of a workweek for moms and dads, they are days of new beginnings for Sandy Tye and her third-grade class.
Tye, a teacher at Creeds Elementary School, recently started ``Friendship Fridays,'' a weekly social activity that gives her 20 students the chance to get to know each other.
Every Friday from 7 to 9 p.m., Tye opens her Great Neck home to four children in her class - two girls and two boys - who usually do not socialize with each other.
``I'm trying to get them to mix a little better and form some bonds,'' she said, adding that children tend to stick with who they have been in classes with over the years.
``It's hard to get them to mingle sometimes,'' Tye said. ``Some of them are already set in their ways. They're like little old people.
``They start to get catty in third grade, too. I'm trying to alleviate some of that.''
While the teacher chooses who to group together, what happens during the two hours is up to the students. They meet ahead of time to decide ``what they're going to do and who's going to bring what,'' Tye said. ``I give them ideas and they go from there. I want them to be a part of this because it's their night.''
Some want to bake cookies, others want to watch TV, while still others just want to play with Tye's 80-pound boxer, Nick.
On a recent Friendship Friday, the youngsters kept it simple. ``We all named stuff, like who had the best movies,'' said Laura Tomlin, 9. ``I have tons.''
``The Flintstones,'' ``Field of Dreams'' and ``The Mighty Ducks'' were some of the video titles she carried to Tye's house.
Laura and the others - Kala Woolard, Cecil Ricks and Shawn Spillers - munched out on pepperoni pizza, cookies and brownies, while doodling with markers and crayons and playing with Tye's rubber stamp collection.
``They're the rage at Creeds,'' the teacher said.
Gathered around the coffee table, the foursome sipped Sprite, made postcards for their classmates and chatted about the important things in life.
Dogs and favorite restaurants were among the topics addressed, but the discussion didn't go without recognition of the evening's host.
``Mrs. Tye is nice,'' Shawn said.
``She is definitely nice,'' added Cecil, looking over at his teacher, who was dressed casually in a black Creeds sweatshirt and black corduroys. ``You are nice to let us come here.''
Although they all thought it was a little ``weird'' being at their teacher's house at first, they agreed it was ``awesome'' by the end of the night. They thanked Tye with plenty of artwork to decorate her refrigerator.
So far, the gatherings have gone according to plan: No one has complained about who is in the groups, and the children have taken the first steps to get to know each other outside of class.
Tye hasn't seen any major differences in her students' behavior, but that's because the program is so new, she said. She's confident that because of Friendship Fridays, they will be more comfortable with her and ``see each other in a different light.''
``One of the students already asked to come back twice,'' Tye added. ``I guess that means I'm doing something right.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by HOLLY WESTER
Sandy Tye, a third-grade teacher at Creeds Elementary School, lets
her students listen to phone messages about their school during
their Friendship Friday's visit to Tye's home. The students pictured
are, from left, Kala Woolard, 8, Laura Tomlin, 9, and Cecil Ricks.
Clockwise from top: Third-graders Laura Tomlin, Shawn Spillers and
Cecil Ricks play with rubber stamps during their two-hour visit to
teacher Sandy Tye's home. The students are given their choice of
activities.
by CNB