Under the shade of a sprawling tree in Pequenakonck Elementary School's courtyard, kindergarteners and fifth graders sat side by side, exchanging colorful handmade gifts. Kindergarteners clutched soft, whimsical felt monsters brought to life from their imaginative drawings. Their older buddies beamed with pride, having spent days carefully sewing these unique stuffed animals by hand. In return, the younger students presented handmade magnets destined to adorn middle school lockers in the fall.
This scene marked the culmination of the elementary school's first Capstone Project, a year-long mentorship program pairing fifth graders with kindergarteners. Throughout the year, students met monthly for activities directly related to North Salem's Profile of a Fifth Grader characteristics: communicator, collaborator, citizen, critical and creative thinker, and continuously improving learner.
The older students created websites documenting their learning with photos, quotes, and writings of their interactions with their younger buddies. This innovative initiative, designed by the fifth-grade team, aims to foster a strong school community while helping students understand and embody the characteristics.
"It incorporated everything from the Profile," said fifth-grade teacher Karen O'Brien about the significance of this final gift exchange. "It was a collaboration between them; it required communication and critical and creative thinking to transform the drawings into stuffed animals. Citizenship is evident in their growing friendships, and it challenged them as continuously improving learners – some had never picked up a needle before. It encapsulated every single characteristic we've been working on all year."
Fifth graders have embraced their roles as mentors, helping with reading, craft projects, and presentations. "My buddy James didn't even talk the first day, and I was nervous, too. Now he's confident and reads to me," said fifth-grader Richie.
"I'm learning how to be better with kids, what to say to them, and I'm thinking about the choices I make to be a role model for them," said fifth-grader Olivia, reflecting on her personal growth. "I thought of the profile characteristics as words before, but now I understand them."
The program has already had results. "The fifth graders are all in on it and the relationships are phenomenal," said fifth-grade teacher Chris Brandt. "Now they go in there and every single kid hugs each other, they talk for 40 minutes non-stop. Even passing in the hallways, they are high-fiving each other. The connection that they've made is everlasting."
Brandt envisions a future where the Capstone Project expands beyond the immediate success of the year, aiming for the kindergarten-to-fifth-grade relationship to grow with the students into a K-to-fifth-to-eleventh-grade connection. "In five years, high school juniors will come to fifth graders to implement the Profile of a North Salem Graduate, and then the fifth graders will show the kindergarteners the PQ lifestyle."
As the program continues to evolve, it promises to create lasting connections across grades with a deeper understanding of North Salem's educational values. "We hope the fifth graders take memories from this experience," said Brandt. "They'll be able to reflect back as juniors in high school and be able to come back to PQ to enhance the community that they helped build."
