Dear St. Elizabeth's School Community,
One of the most powerful and distinctive qualities of our school community is the way students of different ages learn and work together. When younger and older students collaborate side by side, every student benefits from an enriching and transformative experience
All of us have seen a child's eyes light up in the presence of an older child that they look up to. Having older peers as role models encourages younger students to stretch beyond what they thought possible, and encourages older students to lean into leadership skills and navigate communication with a younger child who experiences the world from a different perspective.
Students in mixed age groups working together on the same project promotes patience, kindness, and leadership in ways that traditional classroom settings can’t always provide. This working together builds strong relationships and mirrors real life collaboration.
Throughout the year, students have opportunities to engage with peers both younger and older than themselves. These interactions occur during monthly morning assemblies and chapels, in extended-day programs, in extracurricular clubs, and through our kindergarten–eighth grade buddies program.
One of the beloved traditions of St. E’s is Color Day. This is a day once a month where students and teachers come together across grade levels to celebrate teamwork and our school’s core values: courage, compassion, curiosity and connection. At the start of each year, all students in the school are placed on a color team (red,blue,yellow, orange) along with teacher facilitators – and those same teams gather every month for a fun, community-building activity. The bonds formed on the first Color Day of the year are nurtured to last all year and culminate in the grand finale of Field Day in June. On field day color teams tie dye shirts, create a team cheer together to recite to the other students and cheer each other on in spirited competition that lasts the majority of the day. Our first Color Day took place on September 12th, officially launching the students into fun-filled and life transforming activities.
