My Buddy, My Friend

Every year, the P1 Orientation programme is held during the first few days of school. During this time, Primary 4 students in Teck Whye Primary School get the opportunity to be a buddy to their new Primary 1 schoolmates. They are tasked with orienting their younger buddies to the school environment and teaching them recess procedures, such as how to queue up to buy food. The week-long buddy experience is a meaningful and enriching experience for both Primary 1s and 4s alike. To thank the Primary 4 students for their help, the Primary 1 students give handmade ‘Thank You’ cards to their Primary 4 buddies at the end of the P1 Orientation programme, during the P1 Initiation Ceremony.

Tay Ci Xue (Primary 4) shares with us her thoughts on being a buddy to two younger students from Primary 1. Her buddies, Julieangel Sylvia Angelito and Lian Xinying (both in Primary 1), are also eager to share about what they have learnt during the buddy experience.

What were your thoughts when you first met your buddy?

A P4 Student’s Perspective: Ci Xue (Primary 4)	P1 Students’ Perspectives: Julieangel (J) and Xinying (XY)
How did you feel on the first day of school? Why?
I felt excited on the first day of school because I wanted to meet my Primary One buddies!		XY: I was excited to meet new friends, but I was a little bit nervous too!   J: Me too!
When I first met them, I found them both very cute. Julieangel was quiet initially but she started to talk more and more as we grew to become more familiar with one another. On the other hand, Xinying was really brave and chatty!		J: We thought that she seemed very nice!   XY: I would say that she was very kind.
What were some learning highlights from this experience?
I’ve learnt about the importance of helping others and being patient. It was challenging for me when my buddies walked away because I had to try my best to ensure that they were not out of my sight.		J: When XY and I went to the canteen, our buddy showed us how to buy food!  She also showed us around the school and introduced the library and basketball court to us.   XY: I also got a chance to present our thank you cards to the Primary 4s on stage during the P1 Initiation ceremony. I felt shy because the entire school seemed to be looking at me. Primary school is a bit scary as there are so many students, unlike in kindergarten!
What did you like most about the buddy experience?
I really liked how friendly they were and how they could make friends so easily! I still remember them up till today.		J: Our buddy smiled a lot at us    XY: She helped us to return the plates back to the correct stalls after we had finished eating.
Tell us one nice thing your buddy did for you!
My buddies made me a Thank You card and I really appreciated it. Even though it was just a simple card, it still felt good to receive it as I knew that it reflected their gratitude.		XY: She was very patient, she showed us where the bathrooms were and she even waited outside the bathroom for both of us.   J: She showed us the bookshop and library!
How did you feel at the end of the P1-4 Buddy Experience?
I felt a bit sad too because I missed my buddies. The buddy experience allowed me a great opportunity to feel what it is like to be an elder sister.		XY: I felt kind of sad because we had to be on our own. And now, because of the current COVID-19 situation, there is a split recess arrangement. That means we have to go for recess at different times. So it’s even sadder now that we can’t see her at all...
What would be one activity you would like to do with your buddy?
It would be great if we could have recess together as I would like to play “Freeze” with both of my buddies! All of us love eating burgers so we could get burgers from the school canteen to eat together.		XY: If we could have recess together, I would love to go to the library with her and also play with Legos to create things at the iCreate corner. We actually came up with a map of the school, from the canteen to the library and iCreate and other areas!   J: I would play with her in the basketball court and ask her about her classes.
What is one thing you would like to say to your buddy?
I miss you! Hope that you are taking good care of yourselves. My advice to you both would be that you should continue to be kind and make more friends!		XY and J: We miss you a lot. Hope that we can play together and even pretend that we’re buddies again!