April 20, 2016
“Buddy Morning is my favorite day because I love seeing my buddy!” -Kyleigh, 5th grade student
Exceptional education. Bold expectations. Community Transformation. These are the words that our school lives by, but what exactly do they mean? On April 15, 2016, more than 100 individuals from the community attended Buddy Morning to find out! Community partners and leaders in St. Louis visited the school to spend one-on-one time with a City Academy student to discover what makes our school unique. This great opportunity allows community members and corporations in St. Louis to learn more about how they can support high quality education that is transforming children, families, and St. Louis every day.
106 individuals from the greater St. Louis area generously gave their time to visit City Academy and participate in a learning activity with one of our 180 scholars. These individuals – or “buddies” – were paired one-on-one with a student to experience the exceptional education we offer and the bold expectations our teachers have for their students.
So how exactly did our teachers showcase the amazing educational programs we offer to these buddies in less than an hour? By having buddies play negative number board games in math, create MakerSpace projects in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math), perform hands-on activities in science to learn more about omnivores, herbivores and carnivores, and learn more about books that sixth graders are currently reading including Around the World in 80 Days. And buddies in our early childhood classrooms made fun arts and crafts projects with students, as well as great MakerSpace projects such as towers, airplanes, and board games.
Many companies attend Buddy Morning to not only learn about our high quality academics but to learn how they can become more involved in transforming the St. Louis community through education. The Optimist Club of St. Louis, Datotel, Buckingham Asset Management, Enterprise, 2e Creative, and Wells Fargo are just a few companies who attend Buddy Morning and support our students. Jane Busiek of Wells Fargo has attend Buddy Morning and is a Super Buddy (someone who has attended Buddy Morning five times or more). When asked what she enjoys most about Buddy Morning, she exclaimed,
“Everything! I enjoy the beginning intro. I love the song the kids sang this year. I love my buddy and all of the kids I meet in the process of the morning. The teachers are great, and I think the school is exceptional. I wish all children had the opportunity to attend a school like City Academy!” – Jane Busiek, Wells Fargo
First time attendee, Sha’ Mason, agrees and plans on returning to Buddy Morning. Sha’ was paired with a third grade student in art class, and the two of them were able to design and create cards for one another. When asked about Buddy Morning, she excitedly said,
“I enjoyed everything! The school and the students are absolutely amazing! It warmed my heart to spend time with young people that look you in the eye, speak clearly and fearlessly, I might add, and more than anything love their school. My buddy was well-spoken and had no problem communicating what she was learning and what she had learned. She was an absolute joy. All of the children and staff were an absolute joy. Thank you so much for the experience of a lifetime!” -Sha’ Mason
Thanks to all of our buddies for attending this life-changing event and for supporting our students!
Written by Lindsey Willard, Communications Coordinator