THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF CREATING FUN

THE CLASS OF 2025’S LEADERS CONNECT WITH LOWER SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR A GOOD CAUSE.

By David Weeks

GLOBAL EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICE DIRECTOR

Eager to have fun with Lower School students and share their creative ideas on a service project, members of the sophomore leadership team demonstrated their talents in an “Under the Sea” event at Glenelg Country in November 2022. Adapting their theme to the Disney classic, The Little Mermaid, the tenth-grade students dressed in creative character costumes and played games with their elementary school partners. Activities extended from the Lower School gym to the Lower School library, where young Dragons were treated to delicious refreshments while appreciating the beautiful voice of Mia Sandhu ’25 as Ariel. More Little Mermaid music from the film was in store for all the participants as they viewed excerpts while waiting to be picked up by their parents.

Planning for this event was months in the making. Created to fund a future spring fair event to support the Cedar Lane special needs children, Lower School students paid a registration fee to participate, raising over $850.00.

Each Upper School student assumed specific roles and responsibilities to help make “Under the Sea” successful. In addition to Sandhu, Layaan Abbasi ’25, Arjun Bajaj ’25, Sid Bajaj ’25, Camille Cole ’25, Isaiah Cooper ’25, Elizabeth Etuaful ’25, Avery Fox ’25, Yash Gunisetty, Nancy Guo ’25, Meera Khosla ’25, Eva Ntiege’25, Alexandra Oseghale ’25, Victoria Richardson ’25, Cecelia Solomon ’25, Chase Traff ’25, Brinley Tebit ’25, and Zayna Tujjar ’25 round out the class team.

In the early spring, sophomores and ninth-grade leaders will visit Cedar Lane School to better understand the developmental needs of cognitively and physically challenged children. The 10th grade class’s leadership team will then lead the development of the fun multi-sensory play stations for Cedar Lane students at the Spring Fair in May. Sophomores will also mentor ninth-grade leaders as they prepare for their own future sophomore service adventures.