Students bring Halloween cheer to seniors
Kindergartners visit Bellevue residents to share Halloween spirit
Saman Dara
Shortreed’s Senior Buddies program continues to build bridges between classroom and community.
(Saman Dara/Aldergrove Star)
The entrance of Bellevue Park Senior Living was filled with laughter and excitement this week as kindergartners from Shortreed Elementary paid a special Halloween visit on Friday, Oct. 31.
Costumes, candy buckets, and kids dressed as superheroes, princesses, and animals paraded through the common area.
Seniors were well prepared with treats ready at hand for the trick-or-treaters residents – Some even handing out colouring sheets.
Afterward, the young visitors gathered to sing “Five Little Pumpkins,” their voices filling the room.
“The seniors love intergenerational programs,” said Jennifer White, Bellevue’s life enrichment coordinator. “Just to see the kids, to see them smile. It brings out such bright personalities. They’re happy, they’re engaged. You can see it in their faces.”
White helped organize the visit, continuing a partnership that began last year between Bellevue and Shortreed Elementary.
Bellevue’s seniors were thrilled to welcome young trick-or-treaters. (Saman Dara/Aldergrove Star)
The Senior Buddies program, as kindergarten teacher Cooper Bowers called it, brings her class to Bellevue once a month.
“We usually read stories for a bit, then we do a craft together and have a little snack. The very last one in the summer, we go outside and have a little picnic party with bubbles.
The Halloween visit, she said, is one of the most anticipated events of the year.
It not only gives the students a chance to show off their costumes, but generally the visits also help them understand empathy, community, and connection beyond the classroom.
“It takes them a few visits before they catch on to what we’re doing, said Bowers. “But eventually they really look forward to it on the calendar. Some of them even see their grandparents here, which is really special.”
White, who has a background in therapeutic recreation, said these kinds of visits align perfectly with Bellevue’s focus on whole-person wellness.
“We look at all the domains of living — cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual”, she explained. “Programs like this touch on all of those. It’s meaningful for both the children and the seniors.”
White said that bringing in the surrounding community, especially children, adds vibrancy.
“It doesn’t take a lot of planning, she said. “We coordinate with the school really well together, and it just goes off pretty seamlessly. The joy it brings is worth every bit of effort.”
For Bowers, the visits have become more than a school field trip – they’re a lesson in kindness.
“They’re so welcoming. Everyone feels included, whether it’s seniors with memory challenges or our kids with different learning needs. It’s such a good example of what inclusivity can look like.”