By David Karas | Correspondent

Many elementary schools have programs that pair younger and older students to enhance community and provide youngsters with peer mentoring and support.

But in at least two diocesan schools, those relationships take on a much deeper meaning.

Students in Our Lady of Good Counsel School, Moorestown, and St. Denis School, Manasquan, are organized into “prayer partner” groups, as older and younger boys and girls are paired to provide mentoring, guidance and friendship based in prayer and faith.

“The older students become the role models for the younger ones,” says Karen Gulla, a seventh and eighth grade teacher in Our Lady of Good Counsel School. “They look for their prayer partners at lunch, playground and at Mass.”

The program there has been in place for more than two decades, she said, and matches students in grades one and eight; two and five; three and six, and four and seven. The groups meet roughly once per month, sharing in holidays and a number of other activities, including craft making.

Gulla shared that the younger students develop lasting bonds in the program. “The reactions are priceless when a younger student sees their older grade prayer partner,” she described. “The smiles are from ear to ear!”

She also said that the admiration goes both ways.

“The students get to share in all the special occasions that happen during the year, such as First Holy Communion or graduation,” she said. “An eighth grader still remembers and talks about their prayer partner when they were in first grade, (and) the eighth  graders feel special as they are looked upon as leaders and ‘big kids’ of the school.”

Gulla, who works with the pairs in the fourth and seventh grades, facilitates a project that has the children create bookmarks with Biblical quotes for their prayer partners.

“The students use the bookmarks all year and are reminded to say a prayer for each other every time they use their book mark,” she said.

Linda Wynd, advancement director for St. Denis School, said that the prayer partners program there was launched for the benefit of the younger students, in the hopes that they would receive mentoring and make friends in the wider school community. And while that has been a success, she said the older students benefit a great deal as well.

“It is really kind of a faith mentoring program,” she said. “They really enjoy each other’s company, and they really enjoy the other kids.”