A fun, festive St. Patrick’s Day party served as the final Eagle Buddies gathering of the school year for upper school juniors and their grade 4 pals.

Capping off a successful program for this Eagle Buddies pairing, the party was held on the lower school’s Rincon Field on a sunny afternoon in mid-March, with plenty of food, fun and games on hand.

The juniors traveled to the Bucknall campus by bus and were greeted by their younger buddies shortly after their noon arrival. Both the older and younger students were clad in their special Eagle Buddies polo shirts.

The bittersweet event consisted of lunch, free play, making friendship bracelets, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and promising to stay in touch. It also served as a reminder that Harker’s Eagle Buddies program continues to be a success, fostering lasting friendships between upper and lower school students.

“Juniors enjoy the chance to have unstructured fun time during which they can be ‘kids’ again when they get together with their younger friends,” observed Carol Zink, who coordinates the Eagle Buddies program.

“The students at Bucknall have really benefited from the Eagle Buddies program and had a great time getting acquainted with each other this school year,” added Ken Allen, lower school dean of students.