JAG-K students volunteered for the Reading Buddies program on March 4-5, where they commuted to either Theodore Roosevelt or Lee Elementary to be introduced to their new, little best friends. This started a tradition that will go until the end of the school year and hopefully introduce lessons that will follow the students afterwards.
Excited to meet their new buddies, students were assigned either an individual student, ranging anywhere for kindergarten to second grade, who may need some extra help, or anywhere from three students who just need someone to chat with.
“Getting to be placed with a buddy is super beneficial,” junior Haley Hughes said. “You get to learn so much from older people, and I’m really excited to mentor her and help with any challenges she might have.”
The students helped with various subjects such as math, music, physical education and reading. But studying was not the most enjoyable activity of the day — recess was.
“I sent all the kids after Haley to essentially tackle her,” senior Sedale Fox-Clayton said.
Even though students were placed with few students, some also bonded strongly with the entire class, especially during times where they all got a chance to talk to each other.
“I actually got to have conversations with her [buddy],” junior Braylee Fink said. “[It is] like a new little friend, and they all really look up to you.”
Many of the high school students participating plan on working in fields that involve children, so having an opportunity like this helps them gain experience for what those careers may entail.
“I want to be in kids ministry,” Hughes said. “Getting to do this is a really good opportunity to get some experience with the kids.”
As this program continues through the rest of the school year, students will go back to their respective schools on their assigned days every week and continue to nurture a friendship with their buddies.
“I definitely expect my buddy and I to create a wonderful connection each time I come to visit,” senior Hayden Decker said. “I’m so excited to keep digging further into the program and meeting new kids and helping out where I’m needed.
Giving kids a safe space to express themselves in what the JAG-K buddies programs is all about, and the students who sacrificed their time want to be that space for children to be themselves.
“It is beneficial for the kids to have someone to look up to and feel safe enough to talk to,” senior Jakobee Fitzgerald said.
Each visit, new connections will be made, and each student will learn something about each other they never would have guessed.
“There were some things that they told me about themselves that I would not have envisioned,” Fox-Clayton said. “It taught me that they don’t always seem like they do on the outside.”
