Facebook page connects Baker seniors with 5th-graders

By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

Throughout Baldwinsville, there are lawn signs and banners lauding the Baker High School Class of 2020. But one of the members of the graduating class, Paige Rocker, realized that the seniors aren’t the only graduating Bees missing out on the typical celebrations this year: fifth-graders in the Baldwinsville Central School District are deprived of their Moving Up Day celebrating their transition to Ray Middle School.

“It really broke my heart that they were missing out on such a huge milestone just like we were,” said Rocker, whose family moved to Baldwinsville from the Poughkeepsie area when she was in elementary school. “McNamara made such a big deal out of Moving Up Day and we did the summer Olympics too. I felt bad that they were missing out on all that because of something out of our control.”

So, with the help of a group of her classmates and one of the “dance moms” in her circle, Rocker created the Baldwinsville Grad to Grad 2020 Facebook page to connect graduating 12th- and fifth-graders.

Rocker said she was inspired in part by Kasi Killian and Shelley Hoffman’s Honor Our Senior Students Facebook page, which allows families to “adopt” a graduating senior.

“I definitely saw that page and was kind of inspired by it to do something for the little ones,” she said. “It’s such a great thing that the community is coming together and trying to make us feel special at a time when we definitely need it the most.”

Rocker, who plans to study dance education at Hofstra University in Long Island this fall, said the Grad to Grad project has given her a needed distraction from the stresses of the pandemic.

“I’ve just been trying to stay positive throughout the whole thing. I didn’t get my senior competition in. I didn’t get my senior recital. I can’t just sit here and dwell on the negative things,” she said. “There are so many people who are losing so much. There are so many essential workers putting their lives on the line. [This is] something to unite us. It’s been beneficial to my mental health.”

Using two massive spreadsheets of students, Rocker and her team of eight “senior reps” match students with similar interests so they can exchange cards and gifts and bond over sports, art and other activities.

“It’s been really cute,” Rocker said. “One boy dropped flowers off at his match’s house — they were her favorite color.”

While the paired students are enjoying showering each other with cards and gifts, Rocker is hoping the seniors can ease their younger counterparts’ anxiety about starting middle school. This year’s fifth-graders missed out on touring Ray and other activities meant to prepare them for the transition.

“I knew how nervous I was to be in a new environment. In elementary school, you’re in the same class with the same people all day,” Rocker said. “There’s already a lot of anxiety moving to Ray in general for a normal fifth-grader and for them to not have that experience, we wanted to [ease the transition]. It’s definitely nerve-wracking.”

Rocker set up an email account, created an Instagram and reached out to school counselors and others in the school community to widen her reach.

“I figured … Facebook would be the best way to reach out to the parents of the fifth-graders and Instagram would be the best way to reach out to the seniors,” she said. “Not everybody has social media … but we wanted to share this with as many people as we can.”

At press time, Rocker and her team had matched more than 220 students.

If you are the parent of a 12th- or fifth-grader in Baldwinsville and would like to make a match, visit facebook.com/BaldwinsvilleGradtoGrad2020, email [email protected] or follow @bvillegradtograd on Instagram.