With the addition of the advisory games to the Barstow community, students and teachers can bond and enjoy a fun end to the week. 

Every Friday, advisories go head to head on a series of fun but challenging games. All advisories get paired with each other to compete in a game the home team chooses. The games can range from card games, trivia, and Nuekum as long as the teachers send a detailed set of rules to the opposing team and it is deemed to be  school appropriate. Porter Phillips (‘28) explained, “We have played connect four, you have to put four in a row to win. In black jack, you get three or two cards and you have to ask them if you want another card and you have to get as close to 21 as possible.”

Barstow is emphasizing a better connection between teachers and peers while having a friendly competition. Shreeya Iyer (‘28) stated, “We already have had a pretty good bond, but this made it stronger. Basketball was really fun, even though we did not win.”

Each team has different strengths and weaknesses which either hold them back or propel them forward. Shreeya Iyer (28’) said her advisory typically chooses to play, “Nothing with a lot of people, because our advisory is small. We could be good at soccer, or something, nothing that needs tall people.”

We have been playing these games for three weeks now and some advisories have had an impressive number of wins while others haven’t had such good luck. Porter Phillips (‘28) said, “Mrs Blankenship has a 0-3 score so far.” Let us hope that their advisory can gain a win in the near future. Lilly Simpson (‘28) stated that, “Mrs. Harper’s stats are 2-3.” 

Advisory games help generate a healthy amount of competitiveness. Every team has its own opinions on which of the others is the weakest and strongest team. Lilly Simpson (‘28) said, “Mr Jones’ is the strongest because they have good strategies.”

With good cooperation and strategy, the size or strength of the team is irrelevant to whether they win or lose. A team needs to have full faith in each other and the right amount of confidence. 

In addition to the games, the middle school also has Mandatory Fun. Mandatory Fun is set up by Mr. Muhammad. These games also revolve around teamwork and cooperation. Some really enjoy Mandatory Fun, while others do not. Lilly Simpson (‘28) said, “Personally I like the advisory games and I think we should have a break on Friday because it is the end of the week.”  

These games have improved the community’s school spirit and have promoted stronger relationships between students. I hope you are in a more competitive mood and look forward to the games that occur every Friday.