People not familiar with Colorado Academy might be surprised to know that our Upper Schoolers were really excited to get and watch the Lower School costume parade on Halloween. But such is the life at a PK-12 school. Indeed, one of the best parts of being an Upper School student in a PK-12 school is you get to see and interact with younger students on a regular basis. Most Upper Schoolers really enjoy those interactions, whether in an organzied format or a more informal basis. Some of the best examples are noted below.

Clubs
Both on and beyond the campus, we have student clubs dedicated to working with younger children. The First Grade Reading Club, for instance, led by senior Ruthie Angevine and teacher Margit Patterson, has 31 members. Ruthie writes that during "Our first meeting we trained all the members on what they will be doing with the first grade students. Each student then was given their own schedule and they go down to the first grade once a cycle for half an hour and read with the first graders. Each high school student either reads with the same first grader each time or they might work with a group or work with a new kid each time they come. The first grade teachers have different activities that the students can work on based on what they need to practice but the majority of the time first graders are practicing their reading skills with high school students." What a great opportunity for older students and younger students alike. 

Other clubs also help our students connect to younger kids. Our Horizons Club is an off-shoot of CA's longtime Horizons summer program and that group works with younger students at Knapp Elementary during the school year and even more so in the summer. Siimlarly, Students HOPE, Children's Hospital Club and Project CARE all give our students opportunities to help kids in elementary grades.

All-school events
Assemblies are great places for all grades to get together, and they happen multiple times throughout the school year. The younger students especially love the Homecoming Assembly, when a group of Upper School students lead the cheers, perform a skit, and deliver candy. (Not to mention that one of them gets to dress up in the Gus the Mustang costume.) It's a festive way to kick off the Homecoming weekend at which all ages enjoy bike rides, carnival activties, and sporting events.

Other assemblies feature performances by different age groups--as do our wonderful music recitals. The aspect of performing together helps strengthen the bond between older and younger students, even as the Lower Schoolers see what they can aspire to as performers. Giant Relay Day also contains a mixture of activties, some age-specific and some designed for cross-divisional interaction.

Senior-K Buddies
Finally, I must mention one of the signature programs at our school: the Senior-Kindergarten Buddy Program. Every year we match up two or three seniors with a student in the kindergarten class. These groupings spend the year doing activities together, going to assemblies, and ultimately taking a trip to the Denver Zoo together in May. Both sides benefit from the bond, and it is wonderful to see the relationships develop over the year.

I hope to see even more connections made over this year, whether spontaneously occuring around campus, or specially programmed activities.