J.E.J. Moore Middle School Junior Beta Members Put Leadership into Practice at Annual Summit

J.E.J. Moore Middle School’s Junior Beta Club members put their creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills into action during the annual Junior Beta Leadership Summit at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg during the week of October 26.

Through five activities, students explored how effective leaders communicate ideas, respond to challenges, make thoughtful decisions, and serve others. Each experience encouraged members to contribute their strengths while working toward a shared goal.

In Beta Blitz, students took on a fast-paced marketing and creative challenge tied to the event’s annual theme. Teams worked under tight time constraints to brainstorm, design, and pitch a marketable item or creative concept. The activity challenged students to turn ideas into a clear presentation while balancing creativity with collaboration.

Storytelling took center stage in All the World Is a Stage, which asked participants to adapt a scene from a classic children’s book or nursery rhyme. By incorporating Beta’s pillars into their performances, students used familiar stories to share meaningful lessons about leadership and character.

The Collaboration Connection activity challenged teams to think quickly and draw on one another’s abilities. Students faced onsite performance-based and task-based problems that tested abstract reasoning, memory, and problem-solving. With a limited amount of time to complete each challenge, team members needed to connect ideas, adjust their strategies, and keep one another focused.

Service was the focus of Project Proposal, which asked students to identify a need in their school, community, or state and develop a new service project to address it. Preparation included creating a project name and branding, establishing a timeline, and identifying necessary supplies and funding. Students presented their proposals to judges in an expo format, practicing how to explain both an idea and the steps needed to make it happen.

In Being Better Betas, students examined an ethical dilemma using Clemson University’s STAR Decision-Making Model: Stop, Test, Act, and Reflect. Teams developed a solution and shared their reasoning through a two-minute presentation and visual display. The activity encouraged students to consider their choices carefully and explain how they reached a decision.

Together, the summit’s activities gave J.E.J. Moore’s Junior Beta members opportunities to practice leadership in different settings, from performing and presenting to solving problems and planning service projects. These experiences reinforced skills students can carry into their classrooms, club activities, and future efforts to support their school and community.