News

Mentors, Buddies, and Cat-Rat Pairings Promote Leadership and Friendship at GPS

Long-standing traditions ensure no one feels isolated at school—even new teachers.
As the new school year begins, students arrive at Girls Preparatory School excited for what the year will bring. Different classes, new friends, and familiar teachers remind returning students of this year’s upcoming adventures. But for incoming sixth graders and new students, the beginning of school may be tinged with feelings of uncertainty or anxiety.

Selected mentors and rising seniors help temper those fears even before the first day of school. Through GPS’s long-standing Cat-Rat tradition, incoming sixth grade Rats are greeted with cheers and warm welcomes on the DeFoor Patio as they meet their senior Cat buddies. Later they have lunch together, where the Rats draw numbers for their Cats to determine the order of future Chapel Talks for the senior class.

Similarly, new students are paired with peer buddies during orientations to guide them through the first few weeks of school, as they adjust to campus life. And, because even adults can find starting a new job to be challenging, new faculty and staff at GPS are paired with seasoned employees to show them around campus, teach them to operate the copier, and, most importantly, help them navigate the dining hall.

The school’s camaraderie peaks with the Cat-Rat Parade, where the Grand Old Seniors direct their Sixth Grade Babies to dress up and parade in front of the school in the Frierson Theatre. This year’s theme—Red Carpet Decades—featured waves of ’60s icons, the Ghostbusters cast, The Spice Girls 2.0, and other celebs and icons.  

This spirited initiation serves as just one fun touchpoint throughout the year for senior Cats and sixth-grade Rats. After the music and dancing settle down, the younger students have a lifeline, friend, and mentor to look up to.

“The Cat-Rat relationship is a great introduction to some of our most time-honored traditions,” says Debbie Glasscock, Middle School dean of students. “Rats experience events such as Chapel Talks and May Day through the eyes of their special senior Cats. For the Cats, it’s a chance to come full circle. The older girls relish the opportunity to mentor the younger girls, as they were mentored by their Cats. The little ones look up to the ‘big girls,’ dreaming of their future time in the spotlight. It will arrive sooner than they realize.

For more fun photos of Cat-Rat Reveal and Parade, see our SmugMug account, where images can be shared and downloaded.
 
Back