Every Body Needs A Buddy

Benefits to the school:

· A community builder

· Sends the message that relationships with friends are important

· Creates an exciting atmosphere of sharing and caring

· Sends the message that we are all learners and learning can be fun

· Builds relationships without sacrificing valuable academic time

· Promotes a joint outreach service project that reinforces the school's commitment to the community

Benefits to the teacher:

· Provides a time to enjoy companionship with another adult

· Share ideas

· Learn from each other

· Build on individual strengths

· A built-in and already scheduled time for students to have the opportunity to rehearse or share curriculum, skills, etc.

Benefits for older buddies:

· Experience themselves as responsible

· Experience themselves as caring

· See themselves as valuable helpers who contribute toward the welfare of others

· Feel important and appreciated in someone else's life

· Draw on their own life experiences in guiding others

· Make social connections and "fit in" in ways they might not with peers

· Experience themselves as active learners

· Gain insight into the challenges of being a "teacher"

· Have fun!

Benefits for younger buddies:

· Receive one-on-one attention

· Feel more comfortable around older children

· Learn from a role model who is only a few years older

· Experience themselves as active learners

· Participate in challenging activities with the help of an older friend

· Have fun!

Teacher Partnerships:

· Individual choice -choosing a colleague who shares similar philosophies

· Random selection -opportunity to work with someone new and to stretch beyond what is already familiar

Grade Matching:

· .Ideally buddy classes function best when the age difference between them is as great as possible (examples: K with 3rd, 1 st with 4th, 2nd with 5th)

Student Buddy Partnerships:

· Pair students deliberately -meeting each child's needs and interests

· Random matching -benefit from learning to work with all kinds of people, not just their good friends

· Buddy partnerships remain the same for the entire school year -a deep bond is only established if buddies work together for an extended amount of time

· If a problem occurs between buddies, it is an opportunity for them to learn to work together and to solve difficulties

Establishing a Buddy Time:

· Consistent and regular meeting times -ideally once a week for 30 minutes

· Children look forward to their buddy times

Establishing a Buddy Meeting Place:

· Pick a spot that is convenient and available

Communication with Parents:

· Initially to inform parents about the upcoming year's buddy program

· A list of buddy partnerships

· Ongoing updates included in the classrooms' newsletters

Buddy Journals:

· A blank booklet or journal for each student to write about given topics throughout the year (see sample booklet)

· Writing is done during regular classroom time as another piece of language arts curriculum

· Journals are shared on a regular basis during buddy times

· Journals are taken home at the end of the year as a record and keepsake

Service Learning Project:

· Establish and organize the year's joint service learning project

· Contact any school personnel or parents that would help with ideas for a project and to help implement it

September:

· Buddies visit each others' classrooms; find differences and similarities of rooms; draw names to discover buddy for the year; talk with buddy and find out 2 things about buddy to share with group

· Hand out individual journal buddy books for joint coloring of book covers; take camera picture of buddy pairs for later use in classroom displays, slide shows, etc.

· Share buddy books; a piece of writing (Quick Write) already done in book before buddy time; topic: "All About Me"; and share a silent reading book that they are reading and read an excerpt to each other

· Lunch Together; order sack lunches from cafeteria; ideally eat outside (see sample letter that has been sent home to parents announcing our luncheon picnic)

October:

· Share buddy books; topic: "Summer Activities and Vacations"; fifth graders bring a treat to surprise their buddies (a pencil decorated with an Olympic Flag )

· Share buddy books; topic - " My Halloween Costume"; mount onto tag board, color and cut out a Halloween jigsaw puzzle (see sample); put pieces into envelope; envelopes to be exchanged with buddy

· Wetlands Walk; allow one hour (see sample letter home); children need to be dressed appropriately; emphasize feeling, observing, listening and smelling and later discussing our walk; walk led by parents

· Begin writing "Popcorn Stories" with buddies; topic: “Welcome To Popcorn Village” (see sample)

· Bring 4 bags of packaged popcorn for children to enjoy while they write (Food is fun!); sign up for lab computers ahead of time; fifth graders teach buddies how to save a word document

November:

· Finish writing popcorn stories and print out two copies; begin an individual picture to go along with story; finish pictures back in regular classrooms, if needed; display stories and pictures with enough of an explanation so that others can enjoy

· Explain Outreach Project to buddies ( collecting hotel samples for Greenhouse, a day teen shelter in downtown Portland); notice put in Wednesday Express for families to start saving and bringing samples to school; make posters with buddies for display around school explaining project

· Decorate boxes for use around the school to collect hotel giveaways; buddies walk around school and distribute boxes at key locations

· Buddy Assembly; sit with buddies in gym; sing songs and play cooperative games led by PE teachers

December:

· Giving Chapel; buddies sit together in chapel; filled giving bags are brought from home; prior to chapel, one buddy partnership (chosen by teachers) help sort items for outreach delivery

· Buddies are sent around school to start collecting hotel giveaways; items are put into shopping bags for storage

· Present handmade gifts to each other (laminated bookmarks); watch a Christmas video together ("Snowman"); share a special snack (Food is fun!) .St. Nick's Chapel in gym; sit with buddies

January:

· Share buddy books; topic: "Holiday Break Adventures"

· Reader's Theatre; LS Librarian introduce scripts for a reading; notify Librarian ahead of time; divide buddies into small groups to rehearse; present to whole group

· Upper School math teacher presents a joint “math together” lesson; Math teacher decides on lesson ahead of time; buddies are actively involved in the activity; invitation is extended to our classes to come visit an Upper School math class in action

· Thank you notes written and delivered by buddies to teacher/class

· School photographer is invited to come and photograph a buddy time for future publication in "OES In Action" (see sample)

February:

· Share buddy books; topic of individual teacher's choice; share a silent reading book and read excerpts to each other

· Call cafeteria ahead of time and alert them that buddies are eating lunch together; visit Upper School math class in action for about 5 minutes and then recess together

· An invited veteran will speak to buddies about experiences in WWII as a glider pilot; recognize "National Salute to Veteran's Day" which is Valentine's Day

· Write thank you notes to speaker; Sit with buddies in chapel; attend Lego Display together; sign up in advance

· Make Valentines for Vets together; use special supplies like stickers, doilies, etc.; send letter home to parents explaining project (see sample)

· Four buddy pairs are chosen to deliver valentines to veteran's hospital; order sack lunches ahead of time

· Joint Valentine's Party; room parents from both classes supply simple treats and supplies to make joint valentines for each other

· Sit together in chapel

March:

· Students make birthday cards for buddy teacher

· Type messages for hotel giveaway bags; sign up for computer lab ahead of time; fifth graders teach buddies how to copy and paste a word document; print out messages

· Second grade buddies teach buddies a paper folding snowflake art project (see sample)

· Color and cut Greenhouse messages for later use

· Fifth graders share their state treasure box with their buddies and second graders try to guess the state based on the given clues

April:

· LS Counselor leads the buddies in Kelso's Choices skits; Counselor had the fifth graders make paper bag puppets of Kelso ahead of time as a gift to their buddies; fifth graders practiced the skits ahead of time in their counseling time period; second graders give a problem for fifth graders to help them solve with an appropriate Kelso solution

· Second graders present hero reports in the library to parents; buddies sit together and fifth graders help their buddy with props when needed

· Stuffed Friend Day: bring a stuffed friend from home; in regular classroom write about your stuffed friend, share stories during buddy time and eat animal cookies (Food is Fun!)

· Teddy Bear bookmarks—second graders make a bookmark out of a teddy bear pattern and craft stick to share with buddies

· Invite Technology Resource Specialist to teach a joint computer skill during buddy time

· Ask Technology Resource Specialist to help create a public web page for outside professionals to read and respond to us with their buddy ideas via e-mail

· Invite Spanish teachers to join classes for a buddy time to promote Spanish activities

· Consult with other campus specialists for joint buddy activities and ideas

· Consult with outside specialists for buddy ideas (example: Dr. Richard Gilkey, Librarian Specialist, Portland Public Schools, reading and telling children’s stories to buddies)

· A buddy time to draw their buddy’s portrait outdoors around the bell tower

· Invite Head of School, to read a story to the buddies

· Invite Head of Lower School to plan a buddy activity of her choice

· Photocopy each buddy book so that each buddy gets to keep a copy of their buddy’s journal from the year (a special keepsake)