CABOT — There are some new seating options on some of the Cabot Public Schools’ playgrounds, but the benches are for more than taking a seat during recess.
On Aug. 30, The Home Depot in Cabot delivered benches to Cabot Middle School South and Central Elementary School to serve as Buddy Benches.
A Buddy Bench is a place for children to sit on the playground when they are looking for a friend to play with. This signals to other students that someone needs a buddy, and classmates are encouraged to involve the student in their playtime activities.
The Buddy Bench concept is a nationwide initiative aimed at eliminating loneliness and fostering friendship on the playground. The initiative started with a boy in Pennsylvania named Christian. In the spring of 2013, his family was considering a move to Germany.
When they looked at websites of schools overseas, Christian saw a special bench for kids in need of playmates. The family ended up staying where they were, and Christian started the process to implement the Buddy Bench concept at his school, Roundtown Elementary School in York.
For more information about Buddy Benches, visit www.buddybench.org.
Before the delivery last month, Central Elementary School already had two such benches. Students — including third-graders Keira Tabor and Joslyn Wooten — have become friends because of the Buddy Benches.
“We really like them,” Joslyn said. “[The Home Depot] knew that we liked them, and they thought it would be nice to give us more. I think it was really nice of them.”
Central Elementary Principal Bethany Hill said she first heard about Buddy Benches from a teacher.
“She brought me an article and said, ‘We need this here,’” Hill said. “So I started asking around. … The first Buddy Benches here were actually built by the high school’s shop.”
Third-grader Aidan Diaz is new to Central Elementary this year, and he said he thinks the benches are a good idea.
“Making friends just means it’s more fun,” he said. “And also there are new games to play. There’s always at least three friends that I play with. We always play tag. Sometimes there are even more people to play with, and we even play freeze tag.”
Cabot Middle School South got its first Buddy Benches this year. Sixth-graders Chase Holloway and Logan Williams were on the Student Council last year and brought the idea for Buddy Benches to the school administration.
“We were elected so we could bring ideas up to the Student Council board,” Chase said. “We wanted input from our students, so we put idea cans out. One of the ideas was a Buddy Bench, so we just followed that out.”
Chase and Logan did some research and decided the Buddy Benches would be a great thing for the CMSS playground.
“In fifth grade, it’s kids from a whole bunch of different [elementary] schools coming together to middle school,” Logan said. “You meet a lot of new friends. The Buddy Bench can help you make new friends if you’re in a class with no one you know. You can sit on the Buddy Bench and be friends.”
Right now, the new benches are simple bare wood. In the past, Buddy Benches have been decorated by Parent Teacher Organizations, students and other groups. Hill and CMSS Principal Casey Hanna both said they have not decided how the new benches will be decorated, but the process may involve student contests.