At Grass Valley Elementary, fifth graders are stepping into leadership roles by partnering with kindergarten and Transitional Kindergarten students as buddies. Guided by PE teacher Traci Crowston, the groups recently kicked off their collaboration in the gym with activities focused on friendship, kindness, and belonging.
Students practiced greetings, compliments, and even offered invitations to play—using visual cues and sentence stems for support. Fifth graders wrapped up their time by joining their new buddies back in the K/Tk classrooms, laying the foundation for ongoing connections that build social skills, empathy, and a strong sense of community at GVE.