Moving to a new school can be intimidating, but the Andalusia Middle School Peer Helpers want to make the experience the opposite for newcomers to their school.

On Thursday, a small group of Peer Helpers, which includes seventh and eighth graders, welcomed sixth graders who were new to the school system with a luncheon.

Candy Parker, the organization’s sponsor, said the Peer Helpers are a “brand new group” at AMS.

“We had 45 applicants during the spring and we chose 20,” she said. “They do things like peer tutoring and meeting with kids who are struggling.”

Parker said the group met earlier this year to outline goals and one of the goals was to get to know new students better.

“I suggested that they have the luncheon,” she said. “But they took care of the rest. They organized it and paid for it.”

Parker called the group a fantastic group.

“They helped with our grandparents day program, and helped sixth graders transition through helping them get their lockers open and more.”

Next week, the remaining Peer Helpers will hold a similar luncheon to welcome new seventh and eighth graders to the school.