Club Allows Upper School, Lower School Students to Form Special Bond

50 Upper School students are getting the chance to engage with Lower School students through the Connecting with Kids Club.

The club allows our older Saints to plan activities to share with some of the youngest kids on campus. Upper School students visit with their Lower School friends to take part in these activities during dedicated community time.

Karen Mugaisi '24 is the president of the club this year and Dr. Travis Hardy is the sponsor.

"I was reminded of the importance of this club when I was a member last year," said Karen. "We realized that because of the pandemic, the then-third graders never physically interacted with the Connecting with Kids Club, so we made sure we went to see them. I will never forget the look of pure joy and excitement on the third grade students' faces during that first club meeting. Many of them ran up to a club member they recognized from their virtual year and hugged them. This moment highlighted the impact we make on younger children and helped me realize what a difference we make in their lives."

The Connecting with Kids Club will meet with Lower School students throughout the year. Some meetings will be as simple as Upper School students joining Lower School students on the playground. Karen also has several activities planned for special occasions, like creating paper hand turkeys for Thanksgiving and building gingerbread houses around the holidays.

"I believe that creating these inter-grade bonds between Upper School students and Lower School students is important, because the Upper School students can be role models who the younger students can look up to," said Karen. "All of the Upper School students were once in Lower School, and they know how important it is to enjoy your childhood and make each moment a precious one. By creating these bonds, we are allowing ourselves to become inspirations to the future generation while also getting to relive fun moments from our own childhoods."