Ask any former St. Mary School student and odds are good that they will be able to name at least one of their prayer partners from years past. The tradition has been around as long as the school has and, generations later, participants look back fondly on the bond created through the program.
At St. Mary School, the long-standing tradition of Prayer Partners helps create this feeling of acceptance for all students. Each upper grade student is assigned a lower grade student to mentor through the school year. When students reach fourth grade, they begin to take on the mentorship responsibilities. Prayer partners attend weekly Mass together, create special projects, and form a bond that endures past the school year’s end.
Upper grade students anxiously wait to see who they are paired with for the year, and lower grade students look forward to every visit they have together.
This year, the third and sixth grade prayer partners are exchanging journals throughout the year to keep in touch and get to know one another better. Third grade student Luke Mosely said he and his prayer partner ask each other questions. Mosely explained, “He asks about my favorite holidays and what I like to do.”
Third grade teacher Teri Merkle uses this journaling opportunity to help her students practice proper letter writing formats. At the end of the year, the third grade students will be able to take their journals home as a memory of their year together.
