The Buddy Program at Charlton PS pairs younger students with older ones to build a sense of school community and strengthen connections between students.
Funded through an experiential learning grant, the program pairs “Little Buddies” in Kindergarten to Grade 3 with “Big Buddies” in Grades 4 to 8. Once a month, students engage with their buddies in monthly activities focused on kindness and positivity.
“We wanted to create a project that fosters community within the school,” said Julie Bortnick, Multilingual Learner Teacher, Charlton PS. “The school has only 350 students, so we wanted to do a project where students interact with each other more on a personal basis.”
The program started with activities that helped buddies get to know each other better. Most recently, students worked with their buddies to paint rocks with messages of kindness for a school rock garden. In the future, they’re planning to make a schoolwide mural, engage in STEM activities and have a buddy picnic.
“It’s a really great opportunity to get to know the people in our school more,” said Jini, a Grade 7 student and “Big Buddy.”
“We do activities and laugh and have fun,” said Jesse, a Grade 1 student and “Little Buddy.”
Watch the video to learn more.