Sidwell Friends seventh and eighth graders spent a recent afternoon outside playing games. But what looked like an extended recess had an underlying goal: Middle School teachers and administrators wanted the students to become closer and learn how to better work as a team.

The bonding and team-building activities—such as following a classmate while blindfolded and passing a marble from student to student without dropping it—were a new precursor to the annual overnight camping trip. Click on the photo gallery at right to see the students in action.