Juniors have last Eagle Buddies event of the year

Apoorva Rangan

Fourth grade and eleventh grade Eagle Buddies met during lunch at the Bucknall campus at the last school-planned bonding event of the year. During the period of unstructured time, many students opted to play sports such as soccer or football.

The juniors met their Eagle Buddies at the Bucknall campus today for their fourth and final session of the 2013-14 school year.

While previous Eagle Buddies sessions revolved around themes, today’s meeting featured unstructured play. Following a lunch with burgers and cookies, buddies could do arts and crafts, or play sports.

“I think free play provides a better experience,” said Austin Lai (11), who participated today in the Eagle Buddies segment of the Office of Communication’s Annual Giving video. “You get to know your buddy better when you’re doing what they want to do.”

With four sessions a year, some students felt a time crunch to bond with their buddies. Others, like Sahana Rangarajan (11), thought the pacing of the events effectively balanced community and the classroom.

“I definitely think it’s fun,” Sahana said. “But having Eagle Buddies much more often would mean disrupting our schedule more often.”

Students will meet their buddies again in September, when they are seniors and their buddies fifth graders. The first Eagle Buddies event for seniors and fifth graders is traditionally held at the Upper School.

“We won’t be able to see them for half a year,” Sahiti Avula (11) said. “But next year, when we’re both the oldest people on our campus, it’ll be cool to look back.”

For many, separation was much harder to stomach than the chocolate-chip cookies.

“I wish the [Eagle Buddies] didn’t go to college,” said Arianna Weaver (4). “That way we could be with them during middle school.”

At the end of the event, Lower School teachers reminded students that they are free to meet each other independently of school-sponsored Eagle Buddies events. Many pairs shared email addresses at the end of the event.