Heated discussions vying for possession of colored pencils and markers crowded the air of many classrooms during a special Oct. 20 hour-long advisory period. During this time, the sophomore class took their first steps in a cherished Harker tradition—the Eagle Buddy program. After receiving two assigned third-grade buddies, the sophomores wrote letters to the younger students on cards emblazoned with a stylized cartoon of a smiling eagle. 

After decorating the cards with smiley-face doodles and stickers of their student portraits, the sophomores used the much-contested art supplies to color bright images, like beaches and gardens, onto blank puzzles that they broke into pieces and placed in manila envelopes for their buddies to reconstruct. 

The letters they received back took the form of notes in lopsided, eight-year-old handwriting or of QR codes to short Flipgrid videos, which the juniors and seniors have also been using to interact with their buddies virtually during quarantine. 

The Eagle Buddy system has been in effect for over 10 years and was introduced by Butch and Jane Keller, respectively the head of the upper school and an upper school math teacher, who adapted the idea from a private school they previously taught at. The program’s process for matching upper and lower school students was arbitrary until two years ago, when upper school students developed a computer program that made matches by prioritizing shared interests. 

At the beginning of the school year, students filled out a form asking a single question: how would you spend one hour of free time? Options included reading, playing sports and arts and crafts. The algorithm could then use these answers to create groups of three to four high schoolers and two to three younger students.

“For the current fifth grade, [the matching process] was a little bit different,” Mary Holaday, the lower school Dean of Students, said. “It was more of a random grouping; we tried to do more boys with boys and girls with girls, but [for current third and fourth graders] we knew that it was important that we have a good mixture and a good balance of people together.”

Sophomores customarily meet their buddies in person for the first time in October, but for the past two years, COVID-19 social distancing protocols, along with concerns about vaccination rates among the younger buddies, have prevented in-person interaction. 

Instead, sophomores received a more mellow work session to create notes and puzzles for their buddies. Jasmine Ishikawa (10) drew scenes from her favorite childhood movie growing up, ‘Spirited Away,’ on the puzzles for her buddies. In exchanging letters with her buddies, she was able to find common interests from her childhood. 

“I was glad to see that they’re reading some of the books that I read as a kid, like ‘Harry Potter,’” Jasmine said. “I thought this was a really good opportunity to meet with other kids and see what younger kids are doing, which I’m glad about because I don’t have any younger siblings.” 

Saahil Kajarekar (10) put care into writing thoughtful and helpful letters to his buddies. 

“The process has made me a little more reflective of myself and how I can guide them and myself throughout the future,” Saahil said. In tandem, he did try to inject some humor by adding in his favorite quotes: “Famous people can speak better than I can.”

Holaday described her observations in past years of the lower school side of the program’s excitement over gifts and visits from their older buddies. 

“You can see the smiles on the kids’ faces, you can see the smile on the homeroom teacher’s faces,” Holaday said. “The kids love the puzzles from the upper school kids; they have taken them out at recess time and tried to put them all together. I like that feeling of bringing everybody together and seeing everybody so happy.”

LIFE, Eagle Buddy events build healthy lifestyle, community for students

Jonathan Rim, who used to work at the lower school and now serves as interim head of the Eagle Buddy program at the upper school during Ms. Keller’s leave, has similar fond memories watching third-graders receive their first Eagle Buddy messages.

“It’s really cute to me that they get super excited,” Rim said. “Part of the reason why I stepped up [as upper school head for Eagle Buddies] is seeing that connection between the lower school students and upper school students. For the lower school, they’re having some sort of mentor, and for the older student, [being] a role model is a good experience as well.”

In their sophomore year, current seniors visited the lower school campus to play sports and eat lunch with their buddies, making them the last grade to experience the program’s in-person activities. According to senior Justin Fung, his relationship with his buddy has grown from that of a formal, and initially awkward, mentoring situation into an organic friendship.

“I did try to be a mentor, show him around and take care of him, but I found that the more you hang out with them, you can bond a lot,” Justin said. “The mentees at some point just become someone that you’re hanging out with.”