Last week, I had the great pleasure of helping our After School team during their campus-wide gratitude scavenger hunt. With my group of ten students, ranging from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade, we followed clues that led us through a variety of activities, including finding scary spiders in a “web”, writing what we’re grateful for on colorful autumn leaves, kicking soccer goals, and counting acorns to find the room location of our next clue. Our After School teachers are masters at planning creative and thoughtful adventures, and we had a blast, enjoying all the activities and our time together. Beyond the immediate joys of the scavenger hunt, what stayed with me from the experience was more profound–the power of our cross-graded connections and the responsibility and caring that it builds in our students in a very genuine way.
Over and over during the scavenger hunt, the two oldest students in my group made sure that their youngest friends were included and were safely on their way to each part of the activity. While I was grateful for the added support in chaperoning a group around the school, I was more in awe of the natural leadership that occurs during these intentional cross–graded activities.
I also see these moments of learning and development on display during our Early Birds program, which I help staff several days a week. Monday through Friday, we offer Early Birds as a joyful pre-school-day time when students from pre-k through eighth grade can play in the Barn gym. From fifth graders guiding kindergartners during a game of football to the pre-kindergartners and third graders sharing their imaginations while building with LEGOS, our community is one of collaboration, sharing, and kindness.
What is possibly less visible are the interactions that happen during the school day, when an eighth grader will high-five their pre-k cross-graded partner, when the most joyous cheers and laughs at a play will be from their older friends, or when a kindergartner runs to hug and greet their sixth-grade partner in the hall. These interstitial moments of connection are woven into the fabric of a Belmont Day School. This role-modeling by our older students is a core aspect of a BDS education, and it contributes significantly to the overall sense of community and belonging.
There is a saying that goes “children learn more from who you are than what you teach,” and that could not be more apparent than when our older students are role modelling leadership, care, acknowledgement, and support for their peers.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
