Wildcat Connection has been present at the school since we returned from pandemic-era virtual learning. At first, it was meant to be a safe place where students could have consistency and build connections with people they might not normally talk to. This school year, it feels like it has become more focused on lessons than actual conversations. While the lessons themselves are important and useful to students, having them every week takes away the potential for Wildcat Connection to actually connect.
The lessons are beneficial for students because they cover topics such as future planning, mental health, communication, and presentation skills. These aspects matter, but Wildcat Connection shouldn’t feel like an additional class where students sit quietly and go through slides or videos. If students are going to be in the same Wildcat Connection for four years, there should be more opportunities to actually get to know each other, rather than just listening to presentations and completing surveys.
Especially for freshmen and other new faces, students sit in Wildcat Connection for months and barely know anything about the people around them, maybe not even their names. That defeats the purpose of Wildcat Connection. It should be a place where students feel comfortable enough to actually hold a conversation and be considered friends, not just a 25-30 minute block that feels like an extra lesson added to the day.
Some ideas to make Wildcat connections more personalized could be doing an activity or playing a game. Deep Run used to have an activity called empathy circles, where students would sit together and answer the question of the day. These questions could be something simple, like favorite hobbies, music, or something deeper, depending on what the group is more comfortable with. Another activity to incorporate the lessons could be playing a fun off-screen game, not just Blooket or Wayground, that Wildcat Connections can play for 30 minutes, not only making the lesson educational but also getting students to interact with each other.
Another idea could be having fewer lessons and more activities focused on interaction. Things like board games, small group discussions, or even simple team activities could make a big difference. Even something as simple as decorating a classroom door to represent each Wildcat Connection could help students feel they belong to a community.
Wildcat Connection has the potential to serve as a home base during the school day, a place where students can reset and feel supported. At the beginning of the year, especially for incoming freshmen and new students, it makes sense that people might not want to talk because everyone is a stranger. If there isn’t enough opportunity given to talk, relationships struggle to ever develop. Therefore, Wildcat Connection feels like another class. In the future, even a little time each week for casual conversation could help make Wildcat Connection feel more like a community.
