North Atlanta IB students are taking it back to the good old days and participating in the Jackson Elementary Mentorship, a program in which they can mentor Jackson elementary school students. The mentors will be helping fifth graders with a project that they will work on for the rest of their fifth grade year.

Every Thursday for the next two months, 25 North Atlanta students will visit Jackson Elementary School and spend time with a small group of students helping them develop their Primary Years Program exhibition. The PYP is a project every fifth grader completes, much like the MYP project of sophomore year, but the work at this level is done in groups. The high schoolers — PYP and MYP veterans by now — will be tasked with helping the students complete their project.

This interchange between North and Jackson students is now in its third year. The poignant scene repeats itself weekly a time when shy 9 or 10 year olds getting to know winning high school juniors and seniors, North students nearly ready to embrace adulthood but still quite willing to reach back — and reach out — to lend a helping hand.

These older students provide a role model for the younger students and are able to connect with them creating a fun bond for both groups. The juniors and seniors are excited to get to know their younger students and are hopeful they will get along well with each other. “I’m nervous my group won’t like me but I’m sure it will be fine,” said junior Hannah Hume, who attended Jackson when she was in elementary school. “And what a kick it will be for me to go back to my old stomping grounds.”

The juniors and seniors will help the fifth graders complete research and and complete tasks surrounding their topic. The older students will also be instrumental in making sure the students are staying on topic and completing everything on time. They will also help guide the younger students to appropriate research sites and aide them in presenting their findings. Most of the mentors are excited to work with the kids and are looking forward to bonding with their students. “I really like working with kids at that age and thought it would be a great opportunity to help,” said junior Logan Dansby.

In the coming months these juniors and seniors will help fifth graders conquer the PYP project. While the project may seem like a huge task for fifth graders these upperclassmen have plenty of years of experience to help get them through it.