Buddies Program

It was a happy coincidence that the first day of our popular Buddy Program this year was on Halloween – one of our favorite days of the year! Like so many other activities, the project was on hold for a few years, but returned last year and is now going strong once again.

The Buddy Program creates connections between our older students and younger students, fostering mutual learning and creating fun-filled experiences for both. The buddies meet at least once every other month and sometimes they are inspired to meet more often. When the two groups come together, they work on projects designed to provide academic support, social growth, fun engagement, and emotional development. Through this program, our older buddies serve as role models as they inspire each other to continue working to foster a school culture that embraces differences. 

Some highlights from the classroom:

At the first buddies gathering on Halloween, our Third Grade Pelicans were thrilled to be introduced to their seventh-grade buddies. The teachers enjoyed it as well, because it gave them the chance to reconnect with some of their former students. Since this was Halloween, the buddies came together to play Halloween bingo, work on coloring pages, and read together. We heard many kids yell out “See you soon!” and “We can’t wait to see you next time!”, so we know the Pelicans are definitely looking forward to more buddy time in the near future. 

It was heartwarming to hear an eighth grader share his thoughts on the rekindling of the buddy program: “This was such a rewarding experience for me. I loved coming back to the 333 campus and I was so surprised by how curious and enthusiastic my buddy was. I left feeling so accomplished like I had just made someone else’s day a little better. The truth is, she was the one who made my day better.”