When I was growing up the neighborhood was full of kids, and after school each day we changed our clothes so we could go outside to play.  We spanned over ten years between the youngest and oldest of us, but somehow we always found something to play together.  We looked up to those older kids, followed their lead, and aspired to be as cool as they were some day.  Times have changed; families have become smaller, children more scheduled and older children much more sophisticated than we were.

All of those differences dissolve at our Pairing Assemblies.  The older students get right down on the ground and are soon engaged in a vairety of games with the younger students.  Some of the groups go outside and simply play together.  It is just delightful to see the seniors with gloop up to their elbows just like their Pre-K  buddies.

One mother shared this story with me.  "I was waiting in line to pick up my Kindergarten son and I noticed children playing happily outside.  Then I heard my son's name called and realized that he was playing games with sixth graders.  When he got in the car, that is all he could talk about.  He loved meeting the sixth graders, and he had a wonderful time with them. It is all these little things that make such a difference at MPA."  

After our first Pairing Assembly of the year, it is so much fun to walk down the hall and hear our Lower School children greeting the older students by name.  It is a rewarding time for all the students involved and helps build that wonderful community that we are so proud of at MPA.