The Peninsula Bridge Summer Program opened it doors to twenty-eight energetic and eager to learn fifth and sixth graders at St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School in San Mateo. The twenty-eight students not knowing what to expect from the program confessed that it has exceeded their expectation. As one of the math TAs I have noticed that the students are engaged in the material that is taught during class. They are mostly fascinated by the teaching style of Mr. Gummerson, who highly promotes the importance of mathematics, but is also aware of the enthusiasm and curiosity that the students have at this age. The students demonstrate strong friendships among each other, as well as respect for each other. This week St. Matthew's was fortunate to have Jonathan Katherine from "Future Leaders for Peace" as a guest speaker. Regardless of their young age, the students were able to analytically participate in the discussions and activities that Jonathan had prepared for them. As a leader of the discussions, it was surprising to listen to their responses when discussing values and obstacles that they have faced. The students are well aware of their values and the importance of the relationships they have with friends and family. Although the program is on its first week, it has been enough time to create strong bonds with the students as well as to discover qualities in myself that I was not aware I had; for example leading a group discussion. The mutual learning experience is one of the main reasons why Peninsula Bridge was the right summer job for me. The picture shows one of the group discussions. In this particular group discussion the students were sharing their thoughts on what they thought a determined person does and is.