Happy New Year!! I am excited for many upcoming fun events to support our School of F.I.S.H. theme here at DOES and help us start 2019 off strong. One exciting event that started right before Winter Break and will continue monthly is our Cross-Age Buddies program. This program is connected to the county-wide Caring School Community initiative which is most present in our building through community circles.

The Cross-Age Buddies program supports the research that students learn best when they feel connected to a warm and caring school environment and have a sense of community throughout the school. During the first meet-up, homeroom classes paired up with a different grade and formed individual student buddies. These buddies will remain the same for the remainder of the year. Through guided activities, discussions, and reading together our hope is that students gain an additional connection while having fun at school. Be sure to ask your child who their Cross-Age buddy is! You can also encourage them to write letters or draw pictures for their buddy to strengthen the connection outside of the scheduled meet-ups.

Please feel free to contact me (Stephanie_Dix@hcpss.org) if you would like any additional ideas for forming or strengthening connections within and outside of school!