richer for friendships that cross the lines of grades and age. Sussex students learn countless things at school, and
among the most important lessons is that each student is a valued member of our community and an irreplaceable friend to a Big or Little.
BIGS AND LITTLES
It is good to know you have someone to look up to. My Bigs always crack jokes to cheer me up when I'm sad. When we do stations like carving pumpkins, they make sure I'm done before they go. SOREN TEMPLE, grade 3My Big and I meet each other every morning. When we have snowball fights he protects me and stays on my team. KAI STEIN, grade 2
I like how my Big helps me do stuff like carving pumpkins because she helps me pull out the pumpkin seeds. My Big also tells me scary stories. I like that best. My Big's name is Aurora. KATHRYN KENDALL, grade 2
Heather is a very nice Big. At Halloween she helped me carve my pumpkin. I think I have the best Big. She gave me a stuffed horse at Halloween. GRACE NOYD, grade 2
I like my Big because, when I fell down and scraped my knee, she got a teacher and a Band-Aid. Me and my Big get to carve pumpkins. It's fun because we get to enjoy special times together. My Big gives me happiness when I'm feeling sad and gives me lots of hugs and is excited to see me at Samling. MADELINE KURZ, grade 2
Someone to talk to and read with and play. Someone to meet with each and every day. When I scrape my knee or get bitten by a bee, my Big is always there for me! INGA CONYNGHAM, grade 3
Having a Little is like having a sister or brother. When I was in kindergarten, I remember looking up to my Big. I can remember who everybody's Big was in kindergarten. I think we have Littles so we can be with people younger than ourselves. When I was a Little, I couldn't wait until I was a Big and now I am! I love doing activities with my Littles and I am really going to miss this when I graduate from Sussex. MOLLY STARK-RAGSDALE, grade 6
Having a Little is knowing a friend that would let you play and joke with them. It's like knowing another member of your family of friends. I have two Littles and they're really nice and funny. I love spending time with my Littles and I will miss being a Big for a Little when I leave. I'm in the sixth grade and I'm only here for a year from Mexico and I love the way Bigs and Littles work! VALE VALIENTE-ARIZMENDI, grade 6
Paige. As I see the small blond haired head of my Little, my heart starts to race, I look from side to side, yet I can't find any escape. Soon she grabs my hand and we race off to the kindergartners' fort. FOREST CHAPUT, grade 8
Noah and I play at Camp Paxson as we make Dreamboats together and I watch him do the science show. Trading candy on Halloween, sitting reading together on Mondays, watching the sun go down 'till another day. WESLEY DOUGLAS, grade 4
Cora is my Big for the year. We meet in the gym every morning. If I'm just a little late Cora always saves me a seat and has a place on her lap for me. Sometimes I run around with Cora at lunch. She's always with her friends but always welcomes me to join them. Cora is kind and very nice. I'm glad Cora is my Big. SOPHIE SLOTNICK, grade 4
Alice and I - just the two of us. Making Dreamboats at Camp Paxson, playing together, reading together. GRETCHEN BUCHER, grade 4
Grace is very nice and every morning when I come to school I look forward to seeing her in Samling. I wait and watch for her. When I see her I call her name. She comes and sits on my lap and we greet each other warmly. When Samling is over we say goodbye. One thing that I really hope is that I'm as good at being a Big as she is a Little. HEATHER PHILP, grade 5
Skylar is the best Little I have ever had and kinder than all the people in the world. Yesterday or last week he did b-ball with me and I was happy when I was chosen to be with Skylar. Every day we play. Skylar rocks. PAUL HUTTO, grade 5
In Camp Paxson we made a boat and we got in the water to get a flower. It was fun, the boat had a flower, some leaves, a stick and a rock, and then we waited in line to put the boat in the water. CORO VALIENTE-ARIZMENDI, grade 4
ROWAN
The first day of school. I sit in the circle with all the other eighth-graders, waiting. Mary calls my name, then Rowan's. Shyly she walks over to me and sits down. She is so quiet. I wonder if she is scared about her first day of school. I want to somehow make it less awkward and more comfortable for her. We talk a little about everything. She tells me she likes candy. She tells me about her family. I tell her about mine. I ask her if she likes school so far. She slowly opens up and becomes less shy. She tells me she can run fast. Like her favorite animal the cheetah. I ask if I can see her run, but she tells me she is too tired. Now every day at Samling, Rowan comes and sits in my lap. Or she and her friends will shout to me across the courtyard. Rowan may be shy, but she is the best Little I have had. KAYA JUDA-NELSON, grade 8REMEMBERING
This year at Camp Paxson, the eighth-graders spent time with their new Littles. Each of them got to know their Littles by talking to them and sharing some of the same interests. They each went on a scavenger hunt to find things in nature. I followed Leah, my Little, from behind. We had been stalking this chipmunk for some timenow, and I wondered when she would lose interest in the small, fast, scurrying creature. We were near the lodge, a little to the side of it in the trees and tall grass. I kept thinking back to when I was Leah's age: I had been shy, so very shy that I didn't really engage with my classmates for some time. I don't really remember kindergarten, it's kind of a blur, filled with vague memories of learning and finding myself among my loud and enthusiastic class. Leah had leveled out with me now, and as we walked, hand-in-hand, I thought how special this moment was. Although I hadn't really kept any of the memories of my Big and me, I hoped that Leah would remember that moment like I have. IZZY VANCE-KAYE, grade 8
POETRY
LITTLE REILLYThe beaten sled rests askew
on the frozen field
covered with ice
pocked with mud holes -
A spacecraft in the vast midst of
the cosmos before our own eyes;
a world and life that we create,
Little Reilly and myself;
A world where
our adventures are to galaxies,
our only worries are the Rebel Force
when our spaceship skids across
straw, mud and gravel.
Our minds are stars away.
It's back to life now,
when we sit together and hold hands,
just Little Reilly and myself.
JAY BARLOW, grade 8
TURTLE, NOAH ...NOAH, TURTLE
Turtle, two years old,
Trying to climb a rope net.
“Need help, Noah, I asked.
I'm Turtle and yes I could use help.”
Four years later Turtle,
With his first-grade friends
Building something newly born
From a first-grader's imagination
“Need help, Noah?” I asked.
“I'm Turtle and yes I could use help.”
One year later, now, I'm his big;
We've always been somewhat
Attached but never as much.
I see him trying to knock a
Bag of peanuts out of a tree,
Silly, but, oh well.
“Need help, Noah?” I asked.
“I'm Turtle and yes I could use help.”
Finally I understand: Turtle not
Noah, you don't have to grow up on
the inside to grow up on the outside.
At my eighth-grade graduation
I see Turtle trying to open a Juice Squeeze.
“Need help, Turtle?” I asked.
I'm Noah and yes I could use help.”
BENJAMIN L. KLEMPAY, grade 5
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