CHARLOTTE — For students, no time in life is so hoped for, while also so dreaded, as taking that great leap from middle to high school. To ease those worries, Charlotte Catholic High School has launched a new program, “Cougar Pals,” to assist students preparing for young adulthood.
During Catholic Schools Week, Feb. 1, Our Lady of the Assumption School eighth-graders had the opportunity to hop on a bus and take a field trip to Charlotte Catholic High School to meet their “Cougar Pals.”
This initiative is a buddy program suggested by Olivia Roberson, a senior at Charlotte Catholic. Its intent is to foster a Big Brother/Big Sister dynamic between members of the Charlotte Catholic Caritas Club and students at Our Lady of the Assumption School as they prepare to move on to high school.
More than 50 Charlotte Catholic students served as hosts to 22 eighth-graders for an afternoon that included lunch, “Olympics of Minute-2-Win-It” games and a living rosary. The day concluded with a surprise mini-pep rally on the steps of the school with the Charlotte Catholic High School drumline and Cougar mascots.
“I really liked how everything was set up – the games, the rosary, the lunch, and a little surprise at the end,” said eighth-grader Karol Rodriguez.
“My favorite part was probably just seeing the school,” said eighth-grader Isabella Sanchez Nunez. “I liked how big it was, and they offered sports like swimming, dance class and golf.”
Classmate Shae Lay was stunned at the expansive size of being in a high school. “It was exciting to see a place I’ve never been, and I thought it was small until we went to the back, and it was huge! The people there were nice and treated us kindly,” he said.
Rachel Wilken, a Charlotte Catholic alumnus who now teaches art at Our Lady of Assumption School, accompanied her students to meet their mentors. She enjoyed sharing some of her own experiences and memories with her students throughout their visit.
“This experience not only got our students excited to attend high school, but also allowed them to meet peers and teachers in a more fun and casual setting,” Wilken said. “The students and teachers involved were helpful, enthusiastic, and provided our eighth-graders with a phenomenal day. I cannot wait to do this with future OLA eighth-grade classes!”
All of the OLA students received Charlotte Catholic T-shirts and a bag full of Cougar swag to take home.
“The care and responsibility those high schoolers took with our eighth-grade students was so moving,” said Aziza O’Halloran, eighth-grade homeroom teacher. “I could tell they’d been taught how to be welcoming and compassionate leaders. The second my kids got on the bus (to leave), they erupted, ‘I wanna go here Mrs. O!’”
The event was successful, said Charlotte Catholic teacher Jeremy Kuhn, thanks to the “involvement of Charlotte Catholic students from every grade level dedicated to sharing the lessons of their high school experiences with the up-and-coming Class of 2026.”
The adviser of Charlotte Catholic’s Caritas Club, Kuhn says “the club intends to nurture these new friendships through future social and service opportunities grounded in our missions as Catholic schools.”
Our Lady of the Assumption’s Principal Tyler Kulp is pleased with the new partnership. “The enthusiasm of their mentors, high school students who are passionate about their faith and school, really resonated with our students,” he said. “I am very appreciative of Jeremy and his team at CCHS for starting this partnership and providing this opportunity for our students.”
— SueAnn Howell. Photos by Troy Hull.
