The top ten greetings students give City Year

At City Year, we AmeriCorps members love greeting our students with “good mornings,” and a round of Power Greeting. When we Power Greet students, we’re starting their school day off with positive affirmations, enthusiastic high fives, and sometimes even cheer and dance to fill the morning with joy and positivity. Encouraging our students first thing in the morning is a great way to help our students feel welcome in school. By showing investment in our students through school spirit, we become more than just AmeriCorps members within the school, we are our students’ City Year and with that comes a special relationship beyond being the friendly face at the school.

With the first semester of service behind, we’ve had a lot of morning greetings with our students, so here at Rhodes Middle School, we thought we’d sum up the top ten greetings students give their City Year!

10. The Super Chill Head Nod

The most energy efficient greeting.

9. The Side-Five to Fist Bump

It could be a low hanging high-five. It could be that awkward fist bump and high-five combination. This student greeting has a few steps, but see it coming, and you’ll be set to execute it to perfection.

8. The Peripheral Side-Eye

You know they saw you from the corner of their eye, but it’s clear they are not awake enough for a morning greeting. Over time, this greeting may evolve into the super chill head nod or maybe even…

7. The “I Heard You, But My Friends Think I’m Too Cool for City Year” Low Hand Wave

Acknowledgement is acknowledgement! They’ll get to the full hand wave soon enough, give it time.

6. The “They Saw You, But You Didn’t See Them” Callout

You know someone greeted you, but either there’s too many students passing by or they were really quick because you definitely didn’t see them. Still, it’s nice to know that they took the time to greet you in the morning, no matter how sneaky.

5. The Limp Noodle High-Five

An attempt was made to respond to the high-five, so you know what? We’ll take it.

4. The Single Finger Touch High-Five

Definitely unexpected, but ultimately memorable. If you can keep in mind the students who greet like this regularly, you can catch them off guard if you do it back to them.

3. The Fake Out High-Five

Whether it’s a pull away at the last second, a full-blown rejection, or swooping dab – you got bamboozled, it’s alright. Sometimes, they’ll come back for real high-fives.

2. The “Hitting a Homerun” High-Five

Like hitting a homerun, they wound that high five up and gave you all they got. You’ll never know what you did to deserve this greeting, but the enthusiasm is certainly present in the hot stinging in your fingers.

1.The Satisfying High Five

The perfect point of contact, just the right amount of force, and a smile to top it all off. This is the kind of high-five City Year AmeriCorps members strive for.

Our students continue to surprise us with more unique and expressive ways to greet each City Year, but no matter how we’re greeted in the morning, our students will always be the highlight of our day!

Mia Altman is from Santa Barbara, CA and serves as a first year AmeriCorps member at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, Texas.