Shaping Graduates Through School Traditions

By Helen Huang

When I came to VCS 13 years ago, I started the school year the way everyone new does: at the Opening Assembly. Hearing children singing familiar songs of welcome, the 8th Graders introducing themselves and new students and staff, and the cheers for the ringing of the bell, I realized this school was unlike any I had been in before. I remember thinking, “Wow. Everyone is all in at this place.”

What impressed me so much at that assembly was how personal it felt, like everyone was comfortable sharing themselves with the whole school. And as I continued through that first year and beyond, I learned that sense of openness was a constant. It was brought out inside the classrooms, but it was also created through traditions like the Opening and Closing Assemblies, the Upper School Overnight, and Big Buddies/Little Buddies. Each of these activities creates a sense of belonging and comfort, while also encouraging students to consider their own identity in the context of the communities to which they belong— the class, the grade, and the school.

As the Upper School Student Life Coordinator, I am able to see how VCS students evolve in the years leading up to Graduation, and I’ve come to believe these traditions aren’t just memorable, but transformative. They are a large part of what makes a VCS education unique, helping our students feel truly at home. And feeling comfortable isn’t just a bonus in education: it’s the foundation from which meaningful learning happens: social-emotionally and academically.

BIG BUDDIES/LITTLE BUDDIES

When an 8th Grader becomes a Big Buddy, most of them aren’t sure what to expect. Even those who were once Little Buddies themselves recognize the experience will be totally different for them this time; now they are the students who once seemed so much older and more mature. Big Buddies are exciting company for Little Buddies just by virtue of their age and their position as school leaders, and 8th Graders tend to be happily surprised by the speed and ease with which their partnered Kindergartener or Kindergarteners develop affection for them: wanting hugs and high fives, joyfully showing them their classroom and their work, presenting them with cards and crafts. These unexpected gestures not only help 8th Graders appreciate their special position in the school and their responsibility to the community but also feel more closely tethered to the community after Graduation. Our Big Buddies head off to high school knowing they are remembered and missed by many at VCS—including their Little Buddy.

OPENING & CLOSING ASSEMBLIES

Assemblies are often seen as a purely practical part of school life, but VCS’s Opening and Closing Assemblies are not a time to make announcements or hear from a speaker, but to share in the spirit of community with songs, greetings, and cheers. However old you are when you attend your first Opening Assembly, it teaches you that your life at school is inseparable from its community and traditions, including the seating of 8th Graders on the stage. This tradition recognizes our oldest students’ place as the student leaders of the school, but it also suggests what types of leaders they are expected to be: welcoming and kind. They begin the year by introducing themselves, incoming Kindergarteners, and all new to the VCS community, and close the year by leading the audience in an invented cheer, including all assembled in the joy of their achievement. By participating in these and other school traditions, students develop a finely tuned sense of right and wrong and the ability to act as leaders when appropriate, as well as an understanding of when to let others exercise leadership. They become more comfortable exploring and sharing their authentic identity, making mistakes, and engaging in complex conversations. All these qualities drive the natural pursuit of learning that is so central to our school’s Mission; they are, in fact, the essential qualities of a VCS graduate.

UPPER SCHOOL OVERNIGHT

In taking students away from the school building, the Upper School Overnight allows 6th, 7th, and 8th Graders to loosen any ideas they may have about how they fit into the social structure of the school. They are not only mixing with fellow Upper Schoolers in new mixed-grade configurations, but also in new contexts— completing obstacle courses through the forest, collaborating on improvisational skits, preparing meals together. This creates a sense of familiarity and trust that students will carry with them into the year ahead and beyond. I’ve been on 13 Upper School Overnights—including one on Zoom—and every time I have seen the Upper School leave the experience differently than they entered it: more curious about and compassionate towards their fellow students, closer with their teachers, and less intimidated by unfamiliar activities. The sense of ease we establish with one another out in the woods is brought back into the school building with us when we return.