When the last bell rang on Friday, Sept. 25, most students at Milton M. Somers Middle School in La Plata headed for the buses, their parents’ cars or the walk home. About 70 stayed behind for something new.
Principal Gary Lesko, Somers staff and the school’s Parent-Teacher-Student Organization hosted the school’s first after-school game day. It was open to any student who signed up. The cafeteria was set up with Uno decks, chess boards, Jenga towers and other games, plus pizza and snacks, and the Kona Ice truck parked outside.
Lesko said the idea came to him at a school dance, when he saw most of the students on their phones.
“I wanted to do something where kids can just be kids,” Lesko said.
Chelsea Williams, a PTSO member, said middle schoolers no longer have recess or any set time during the day to connect with friends. The Friday event gave them unstructured time with friends they already have and a chance to make new ones.
“It’s just a chance to hang out,” Williams said.
Students paid $5 to help cover the food. The PTSO raffled off a pair of AirPods, Chick-fil-A gift cards and other prizes.
Sixth grader C.J. Mason was candid about why he came. “I wanted to get out of the house,” he said. “It sounded cool and I could be away from my siblings for a while.” Fellow sixth grader Aiden Sharpe said he stopped by to see what was going on.
The phones didn’t vanish entirely. Some students practiced TikTok dances, and others showed Assistant Principal Shaneha Sotomayor the funny posts they’d found. Staff members drifted in, got dealt into Uno hands, and held their breath as Jenga towers wobbled.
Administrators and the PTSO hope to make it a monthly tradition on the last Friday of each month. Lesko is still settling on a name, with Fun Fridays, Final Friday and Fridays with Friends among the options. Ideas for future themes include video game tournaments, free throw contests, fashion shows and dances. There’s also talk of inviting parents for an afternoon of kickball or dodgeball, parents against kids.
“We want to do what the kids want to do,” Lesko said.
Somers, on Willow Lane in La Plata, opened in 1964 and is named for Milton M. Somers, who was principal of La Plata High School from 1927 to 1964. According to the school, he was the first person in Charles County to have a school named for him while he was still living.
