Is it the secret hand signal? Is it the chance to be a leader as an older student or the chance for a younger student to make friends with a ‘big kid’? Or is it a break in routine and the chance to work with an adult they wouldn’t otherwise know?

The answer is probably all of the above. And one thing is certain: when it’s Pack Day, students are excited, said Social Worker Melina Liontas.

Westmoor is in its second year of implementing a ‘pack’ program. Modeled after a program adopted a couple years ago by Greenbriar School, students meet in groups of 7 to 10. A Bulldog Pack has students from each grade and is led by one or two adults. Virtually every staff member is involved, from the principal to the head custodian.

Each pack has a crest and secret hand signal they use to say hello to each other in the hallways.

Pack meetings are held once a month for about 30 minutes. This month they made pack ‘crests’ and agreed on their secret hand signal. Next month they’re going to tie-dye.

The core of the pack stays the same as students advance through the grades; kindergarteners, new students and new staff are welcomed in as the 5th-graders graduate to Northbrook Junior High. The structure provides an opportunity to establish lasting relationships.

 "Greenbriar had such an amazing response to it and we wanted our students and our staff to feel that sense of belonging and community,” Ms. Liontas said.  “This is a great way for every student and every staff member to become connected with people they may not necessarily come into contact with throughout the day. We started it last year and students are so excited to see each other again. Even our 5^th-grade boys get really excited -- and it’s hard to get them excited.”

The packs help develop a sense of belonging and promote emotional wellness for everyone in an organization, a pillar in the district’s strategic plan portrait of a learner and portrait of a staff member. It also helps build confidence and draws on the district’s values of trust and respect, empathy, communication and collaboration.

“We build community in our classrooms every morning through our morning meeting, and this is a way to build community across our school,” Principal Maria Eck said.