By Tyler Dahlgren

The flags were hoisted and waving on a sunny day in the Sandhills. Meticulously decorated in colorful splashes of prideful detail, each bore its own distinct crest.

Under the flags, middle school students huddled excitedly in groups. They wore t-shirts that matched the rest of their pack and came to a collective hush when principal Jeff Sayer climbed atop a picnic table and delivered instructions.

It was “Challenge Day” at Valentine Middle School, and for the Badger Pause Advisory families, there was fun to be had. There almost always is.

“Challenge Days are super fun to do,” said sixth-grader Claire Arganbright. “It’s a nice breather from the classroom. We like to get outside, be around our Badger Pause families and get our bodies moving.”

Badger Pause Advisory is a big piece of VMS’s culture, which was on full display for the next 20 minutes. This particular challenge, which called for the students to balance a cone on their backs while competing in a relay race around stationary cones, came with big laughs and the usual dosage of friendly competition.

“Badger Pause was created for students to have a caring adult and a support system,” Sayer said. “They’re in a Badger Pause family for their entire four years here. They stay with the same teacher from fifth through eighth, and there’s about a dozen kids in each group.”

The families meet for 20 minutes each day. Their time together looks different on a Challenge Wednesday than it does on an Advisory Friday, but it’s always intentional and worthwhile. If you want evidence, just walk through the hallways and watch the students interact with each other.

“Not a lot of other schools do something like this,” said eighth-grader Amelia Wonnenberg. “It positively impacts the school culture, because it makes us all come together more closely.”

It’s mutually beneficial, too. For the youngsters, it’s nice to have an “older” kid they’re familiar with. For the seventh and eighth-graders, it’s an opportunity to set an example. 

“It’s just fun to spend time and do stuff with them,” eighth-grader Banks Beebout said of the fifth and sixth-graders in his Badger Pause family. “We get to show them what to do, and how to do it. As a school, it’s brought us closer together.”

It may sound simple, and 20 minutes a day isn’t a huge chunk of time, but the impact is tremendous. It builds and builds, day by day. The challenges, normally held on Wednesdays, were implemented this year. They’ve been a big hit.

“It’s been a good addition because they’re cheering for each other and supporting each other in a different way than they have before,” said counselor Candi Crowe. “Those fifth-graders really look up to the seventh and eighth-graders, and I think those older kids have done a good job of taking them under their wing and letting them know ‘Hey, you can do this.’”

Each Badger Pause family completes a community service project during the school year. They celebrate birthdays together and everyone looks forward to the end-of-the-year Fun Day.

“They have a good time that day,” Crowe said with a chuckle. 

VMS teachers are the leaders of the pack. Badger Pause gives them an opportunity to build relationships that they might not have otherwise had. And on Challenge Day they’re front and center, usually the ones cheering the loudest.

“What we’re trying to do is build a sense of family,” said Sayer. “We’re also focusing on character education and building empathy. It’s been a positive thing here for years.”

In fact, Sayer once had his own Badger Pause family during his time as a teacher at VMS.

“I’ll still go to the grocery store and somebody will say, ‘Hey, Badger Pause dad,’” he laughed. “It’s something that students move on and remember.”

It’s reflected in moments like these. Under waving flags on a perfect fall day.

“We’re all here for one another,” said Arganbright. “We’re always for each other.”