Caption: Senior Ligia Penteado finds the preK playground is a fun spot to meet with her Kinder Buddy, Chiara Brant. [by Michelle Chang]
by Nathanael Agcaoili
September 3 brought the PACA Senior Buddies and Kinder Buddies together, for the first time in the 2025-2026 school year, to start their program with a strong relationship building activity.
In this program, it is traditional for each student from the senior class to be paired up with one or two kindergarteners. The goal is for them to meet together once a month to create strong relationships with each other. So far, they have already met three times.
Lucas Freitas was the Bible teacher last year who helped to build the program along with the kindergarten teacher from last year, Gabi Freitas.
Mr. Freitas said, “The idea of the program is to put the students who are coming into their academic life in touch with the students that are almost done with it to help them mingle and connect and maybe have a new perspective on their stage of life.”
But the two important roles of the 12th grade Bible teacher and the Kindergarten teachers have now been given to new teachers. Lucas Ham Swisher is the new teacher for Grade 12 Bible and Keily Elizondo and Mercy Mugi, who are the new kindergarten teachers.
Mr. Ham said, “It is really cool to see the seniors meet with their Kinder Buddies.”
According to Mr. Freitas and Mr. Ham, it is very important for the older students to connect with the younger students because older people tend to see hope in the younger generation’s future and the younger generation needs to have people that they look up to.
The Senior Buddy / Kinder Buddy program creates a time and space for this relationship to occur between the older and younger students.
Both seniors and kindergarteners love having this time to build relationships. Gwynael Agcaoili is one of the seniors who had just met their Kinder Buddies.
“I enjoy having a Kinder Buddy,” said Agcaoili, “I get to revisit inner child memories, I get to see the child’s innocence and purity, and it is also really fun to see them happy even in the smallest things.”
It is a great joy for the seniors to have Kinder Buddies. And the kindergarteners feel the same way for their Senior Buddies. Mrs. Freitas, the elementary and preK coordinator, who is invested in the program, spoke on behalf of how the kindergarteners feel about their Senior Buddies.
“The kindergarteners love their seniors and get attached very easily to them.” said Mrs. Freitas, “They look forward to every meeting and interaction, even if it is just getting a glimpse of the seniors walking out of the chapel.”
The program allows each kindergartener to have somebody to look up to, causing them to want to spend time with their Senior Buddies. It is unique for them because there is a large age gap but they are able to build friendships and achieve close relationships.
Both the senior class and the kinder class are looking forward to spending time with each other. By the end of the school year, many strong friendships will be formed because of this program.
Recently, the Senior and Kinder buddies met again for a special time of prayer at the “See You at the Pole event” that is part of the International Student Day of Prayer which took place on a global level on Wednesday, September 24.
