MISSION VIEJO : At School, Happiness Is a Buddy

Unlike other children, sixth-grader Becky Fogarty is not looking forward to summer and the end of school.

Not only does Becky have to leave Carl H. Hankey Elementary School behind for junior high, she has to say goodby to her little friend, Angela Yee, a third-grader.

“I feel like I’ve learned a lot from her and she’s learned a lot from me,” Becky said. “She’s nice to talk to and nice to be with.”

At many schools, third-graders don’t associate with sixth-graders out of fear of being teased, and sixth-graders don’t associate with third-graders out of fear of being labeled uncool. But at Carl H. Hankey Elementary School, a “buddy system” has resulted in a patchwork of friendships that stretch beyond grade levels.

By sharing homework, walking to school and doing art projects together, students from different grades have learned to respect each other. The little ones find they don’t have to be afraid of their “mentors,” while the older children realize that it’s not uncool to talk to a “squirt” and teach him or her the ropes.

“She’s my friend,” said 9-year-old Angela Yee of Becky, 12, who is going on to junior high in Utah. “I’m not going to see her again, and I’ll miss her.”

Since spring, the third- and sixth-graders have been making colorful “friendship quilts” to celebrate their new relationships and to show how close they’ve gotten during the school year. To ring in the last days of school, the students gathered Monday and presented the quilt to a group of senior citizens from the Villa del Sol retirement home. The visitors were invited to share in the school’s extended buddy system. Next year, the school hopes to link sixth-graders with residents from the home.

Dolly Walker, 89, loves the idea of having another “family” at the school. She met with more than 30 students, many of whom introduced themselves in pairs for nearly half an hour Monday.

“It’s like becoming a grandmother all over again,” Walker said. “They are darling children, so full of love.”

The buddy system was created for children to learn how to take care of one another, Principal Shirley Martin said.

“I think the little guys didn’t know what to make of it when we told them they had buddies in the upper grades,” Martin said. “Now when they see their older friends, they get all excited because they have friends who are bigger and who can show them everything.”

The buddy system also gives the smaller children someone closer to their age to turn to when they are troubled or confused. One day, Martin spotted a first-grader who burst into tears when she couldn’t remember what bus she had to board. Before Martin had a chance to help, she watched an older student console the girl, take her by the hand, and walk her to the bus she needed to take.

“I was amazed,” Martin said. “They really do look after each other.”