Christine and many other newcomers to Redwood are part of the Where Everyone Belongs program, where eighth-graders, with some assistance from their teachers, will be helping them out as they take their first steps in middle school.

Christine and a few hundred new students were welcomed by some eighth-graders--also known as WEB leaders--at a special orientation on Aug. 19. On that day, an army of youngsters clad in light blue T-shirts swarmed all over Redwood Middle School as they introduced themselves to the new students and tried to make them feel at home. Once this was done, the new students were divided into sub-groups of seven or eight and assigned to individual classrooms where the leaders were ready to give their teams more individualized attention.

The bonding exercise then began in earnest.

Shawna Shirazi, an eighth-grader, urged her team to speak out. "Don't be shy in middle school," she said. She told them about the sense of independence that they would all feel at Redwood. "Take a lot of notes in class," Shawna added. Jennifer Nelson, another leader, urged the younger students to do their homework without getting stressed out. All of them then played a team-building game.

Jason Robertson, the dean of students at Redwood, said the WEB program is all about influencing the younger students to do the right thing. "Nearly 250 of the new students showed up. There is a lot of interest in the program," he said.

Robertson, who along with Spanish teacher Paul Navarro directs the WEB effort, also addressed the students on the day of the orientation. "It's easy to pull somebody down but it's much more difficult to pull somebody up," he told the gathering in a style reminiscent of a motivational speaker. Robertson illustrated what he was saying by asking a student to pull him down as he stood on a chair. The student easily managed that but when the same person was asked to pull Robertson up on the chair he failed to do so.

As part of the orientation, the sixth-graders were also given a campus tour. Shriya Nagpal, who is moving to Redwood from Argonaut Elementary School, said she was excited about having an individual locker. "I'm also going to play a lot of basketball," she said in a tentative voice.

Like Shriya, many of the current WEB leaders were a little unsure of themselves when they first moved to Redwood as sixth-graders. "I was really nervous. Everyone looked so tall. I was intimidated," Natalie Tkalcevic said. She said that spending time with her WEB leader had helped her adjust and feel comfortable at the school.

As part of the program, the leaders will be available to the sixth-graders throughout the school year. Social events at the school will help them stay connected.