Medford Middle Schoolers Attend First Model UN Event

MEDFORD, MA - Medford middle-schoolers attended their first conference this year on March 4 as part of the United Nations Club for Middle School.

The Model UN was previously organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies at the high school level and this year was introduced at the middle school level. The club, advised by Michael DiClemente, sixth grade history teacher at the Andrews, and Brett Tiberi, eighth grade teacher at the McGlynn, included 10 students from both the Andrews and the McGlynn Schools who were divided into five committees.

The student participants were: Maria Carmona, Ian Agudelo, Michael Corso, Braeden McCabe, Joshua Jean­Rene, Timothy Connolly, Victoria Macaluso, Isadora Roques, Brianna Lewis, and Satya Vaught. The purpose of the Model UN is to allow students to take the perspective of a country on a particular issue and work in their respective committees to create resolutions. It requires students to conduct research, write arguments, collaborate, and negotiate to come to agreements, according to a release.

“Model UN was new to me but I knew it would be a powerful experience for the students. I figured this year would just be a learning experience but the students really stepped up and even finished with a Best Position Paper Award and Best Delegate Award. The best part was that the students really enjoyed the experience and felt they got a lot out of it. I look forward to growing the UN Model Club next year," said DiClemente.

This project was also coordinated by Nicole Chiesa, Director, English Language Arts & Social Studies, according to a release.