Cherubs crammed into the Great Room in Jones Residential College to take part in games, such as Name That Tune, Identify the Famous Person and Random Instructor Facts.

Activities after check-in during the journalism program at the National High School Institute, frequently involved competitions between instructor groups. But cherubs learned to work together and felt a sense of responsibility for other team members.

“It made us a real team for those few minutes, especially during the first game because no one knew each other yet,” Daphne Hsu, of Cincinnati, said.

Hsu said she enjoyed Name That Tune the most and was surprised by Alex Jones’ ability to quickly name songs.

“I think it showed what my real interests are,” Jones, of Kansas City, Mo., said. “Music is just a big part of my life and it was one of the first times I got to show that to people.”

Katie Wells, of Arlington Heights, Ill., preferred Instructor Jeopardy.

“You got to learn about the interesting things the instructors have done in their lives,” Wells said.

But she’s not allowed to repeat their secrets.Wells also learned about other cherubs. She said it took teamwork to decide on the correct answer and work through the questions. Wells said she noticed her team bringing their individual skills together.

Leah Sheesley, of San Antonio, put her celebrity knowledge to use during Name that Actress or Actor. She said she reads People magazine regularly as well as celebrity blogs.

“I think my team appreciated me more after my pop culture obsession paid off,” Sheesley said.

Ellery Kauvar, of Scarsdale, N.Y., tried to help his team even if he did not know any answers.

“I felt like I had to participate and be there even if I didn’t get an answer right,” Kauvar said.

Community associates April Daley and MoMo Zhou planned the mandatory fun activities. Daley said the activities were supposed to be a chance for cherubs to take a break from journalism and just have fun together.The ideas for the games came from a combination of past cherub summers and suggestions by other instructors.

“I think it worked out well,” Daley said. “Even though they won’t admit it, I think the cherubs had fun.”