Keeping the Tradition Alive: Big Sis Lil Sis
Source: Christy Franques
On Friday, August 9, the girls of the senior and eighth-grade class gathered to carry on the tradition of Big Sis Lil Sis. Big Sis Lil Sis is put on by the senior girls, in which each senior has one “lil sis” that they are assigned to. The senior girls met one day over the summer to plan the event and how they would reveal themselves to their littles. This year, they decided that they would create a poster that would have two halves, one with the big sis’s name and the other with the little sis’s name. They would give the little sisters the half with their name on it, and they would have to hunt for the other half, where they would find their big sis hiding.
After school on Friday, Coach Jill Braun bussed all 28 eighth grade girls to 8th grader Jeanne Claire and senior Anna Grace Franques’ house where the reveal took place. By the time the girls got there, the big sisters had all of the posters with the little sis’s names spread out around the living room. Once the big sisters were ready and hiding, the littles were instructed to find their name. They then went outside and scrambled to figure out who their big sis was, finding the other half to their poster. Once the reveal was over, the girls headed to the Franques’ grandma’s house for some Chic-Fil-A and swimming. They played an ice breaker game to get to know their sisters better.
As the girls spent time eating, swimming, laughing, and talking, they began to form strong bonds with each other. Eighth-grader Mamie Mendell talks about having two big sisters: “It was fun to share two big sisses because I was able to create a bond with two seniors, not just one! ” The purpose of something like Big Sis Lil Sis is to create friendships between the oldest and youngest on campus; such friendships would not happen without it. Senior Piper Blancher agrees that Big Sis Lil Sis is “a great opportunity to grow closer to the eighth graders that we already knew, but also to create new bonds with the girls that we didn’t already know.” It may seem small, but even just having one familiar face when you are starting at a new campus can be such a relieving and comforting thing.
