By Evelyn Smith ’28
As the fall semester continues and changes, some things at SOCES always stay the same. One of these traditions is a buddy party. A yearly introduction to SOCES to help new fourth graders make new friends and feel comfortable in a new and intimidating environment.
Every year, ASB takes on the demanding task of organizing and running a buddy party. In an interview with ASB representative Blake, in charge of new students, “We’ve been doing a buddy party for a few years now. And it’s just for like the new 4th graders to get to know each other and for them to like to talk to each other and make new friends,” said Blake.
Buddy parties include a variety of activities over the course of two days so that each new fourth grade class can participate; these activities include “ water balloon toss. We’re doing a scavenger hunt. Red light, green light, and then towards the end, they get a free play. And right before they leave, we give them Otter Pops,” said Blake.
But can events like this really help introduce these new students into a new environment? In an interview with one of these new fourth graders, we learned that she and her friends very much enjoyed a buddy party and that it definitely helped her meet new people. “At the beginning of the school year? I really felt like I wasn’t gonna belong here. Okay yeah. But now I feel like I’m settling in,” stated Sienna. It’s safe to say that through the efforts of the campus and ASB and activities like buddy parties, fourth graders are able to feel more comfortable within their school.
