Raven circles, circling back

Raven circles are back for freshmen during the 2022-23 school year

BY SARINA SANGHVI & LUCIA KITCHING Staff Reporters

With the purpose of building community and new friendships, Sequoia created Raven Circles, small cohorts of freshmen that meet every other week.

Established last year, these small groups continued into the 2022-23 school year for incoming freshmen, along with sophomore leaders- students from last year’s groups who were nominated by teachers for their exceptional work in the discussions.

At the very start of the year, meetings were held weekly, to ease the beginning of the transition to high school and start community building early on. After about 8 weeks as people settled in more, Raven Circles started meeting less frequently, about every 2 weeks.

This Year’s Raven Circles

One reason why Raven Circles were created was because Sequoia noticed how difficult the transition to high school was for many students, especially after Covid coming from feeder schools such as Central Middle School and Kennedy Middle School, cliques between students are naturally carried out from middle school, as well as new ones formed at the beginning of the school year.

In order to help make the transition to high school easier for students, Sequoia decided to incorporate Raven Circles into student lives. Raven Circles expose students to different types of people, including those not from the same middle school or background. This is to encourage students to break out of their

Getting to know people that they’ve never previously talked to may feel daunting to students, but it can be a learning experience, and a fun one too. Making new friends with people who they may not have come across in classes or activities can be a positive experience for many.

“I think [Raven Circles] are pretty nice. I think they’re a good way to get to know other freshmen and sort of get adjusted to school,” freshman Lilliana King said.

As incoming freshmen, some might feel overwhelmed or nervous for the new school year. Raven Circles aim to lessen those feelings by attempting to build community with their peers. Some freshmen feel like Raven Circles are doing just that, and share some of their positive experiences.

“I met a friend in my Raven Circle, and that was really nice,” freshman Caitlin Christman said.

Promoting student well-being and community were important to make Sequoia a better place for students.

“All schools across the country are looking at how to better integrate social emotional learning opportunities,” Jack West, physics teacher and coordinator of Raven Circles, said. “And we saw with the change to the flex schedule a chance to do just that [with Raven Circles.”

Affinity Groups

At the beginning of the school year, students filled out a Google form indicating their preferences for the people in their group. Options were between female or male presenting groups, as well as one specifically for an LGBTQ+ affinity group.This was an attempt to make raven circles more comfortable andw supportive for members.

However, some group dynamics were created based on the ethnicity of the members to create groups of predominantly one ethnicity. These affinity groups were not an option for freshmen to decide on the google form, but were instead created by faculty.

“Many teaching groups are doing this around the country for addressing issues of systemic racism and anti racist practices,” West said. “We understand and have experienced that it can be more helpful for those discussions to happen in ethnic affinities.”

Creating these groups with primarily one ethnicity, including African American, Polynesian, Latinx, etc., were created with the idea that sharing a portion of their identities could make students feel more comfortable and connected with one another.

This is important when it comes to having meaningful, and sometimes more difficult conversations, as well as building strong and lasting communities.

“There is a comfort level that I don’t think would have been there if it was just a random grouping,” said Alidi Skillin, geometry teacher, and the advisor for a predominantly Black and Polynesian affinity Raven Circle. “

Being in groups with the same ethnic background can elicit discussions and empathy that might not otherwise happen in groups with people who do not face the same struggles or experiences.

“Not only are they talking about this stuff, but they’re also seeing people like them, especially since there are not a lot of African American or Polynesian teachers and advisors.” Skillin said

It’s important for students to see representation, and be around people similar to them to give students a sense of belonging and trust. Affinity raven circles bring together a community to give students opportunities to feel this connection.

Also, seeing authority figures who look like them can make students feel more confident and comfortable with who they are.

Last Year’s Raven Circles

Last year’s raven circles consisted of meetings with a group of randomly selected freshmen, and a teacher leader/organizer. The 50 minute sessions, while other grades had flex study halls, took place once a month. The meetings included icebreakers, community building activities and games, and time as well as provide input at their own weekly meetings.

“It’s a nice leadership role, we get to provide ideas of what we want to happen in Raven Circles because last year they weren’t very popular,” said sophomore raven circle captain, Lydia-Rose Cannon.

Teacher facilitators recognized the overwhelmingly negative opinions on Raven Circles last year, and so in order to improve the groups, student opinions were necessary.

Raven Circle captains have been a positive addition to raven circles for both the leaders and in improving the student experience.

Improvements

While over the course of the past year, Raven Circles have immensely improved, there is always room for more.

“Some of the activities should be things revolving interests and help people get to know each other a bit better,” Christman said. Having similar interests and passions can create more meaningful and lasting connections.

“One on one or smaller groups would be good because then you get to know the person. I guess in a more intimate sense, you year, it may difficult to get to know the people in groups.

As students had already been more than halfway through the school year when raven circles were introduced, many felt like the new addition felt forced and sudden.

“Before Raven Circles we already had a community,” Natalie Ewing, sophomore, said. “The point of Raven Circles was to help us meet new people, but we couldn’t even make real connections.”

As months of school had been completed, students had made community and connections in classes, clubs, and sports. Many felt that for that period in time, Raven Circles were unnecessary.

Sophomore Raven Circle Captains

A new aspect of Raven Circles this year is having sophomore captains assisting the groups. At the end of last school year, raven circle facilitator teachers recommended students in their classes to be a captain. Captains co-lead and attend Raven Circles,