At Sonntag Elementary School, a group of older students is helping build connections both inside and outside the school.

As student ambassadors, over 20 fourth and fifth graders with exceptional leadership skills are setting an example and serving their community with compassion and spirit.

“We want our kids to be connected to our school community and the community outside the walls of Sonntag,” Sonntag counselor Ana Travis said. “We want to build that connection among the students, and for them to know what student leadership is.”

Ambassadors guide prekindergarten students through the campus at drop-off, welcome new students, lead tours for students and families, volunteer at a local assisted living facility, and help with Good Morning Sonntag, leading a cheer line and handing out awards. This month, they also started academic mentorship with kindergarteners and first graders.

They can also plan other events to spread cheer. For instance, Travis said, ambassadors saw that teachers needed to be lifted up a little more, and decided that in January, they would provide staff with warm gifts like cocoa and blankets.

On tours with new students, ambassadors show them the ropes beyond their homeroom, including walking them through the lunch line.

Winnie, a fifth grader who’s been an ambassador for two years, says her favorite part of the role is walking pre-K students into the school each day.

“It’s really fun because they’re so little and cute,” she said.

Students also helped out at a special registration night for new families last year, principal Sara Bagby said. The evening was planned to help new and returning families who wanted to learn more about Sonntag — and with Student Ambassadors involved, it gave those families insight into the positive culture being fostered at the school.

“Ambassadors really act as a voice for the school and for their fellow students,” Travis said.

As part of their commitment to service outside the school, Sonntag student ambassadors also take part in community nights at nearby Stonefield Assisted Living and Memory Care in McKinney. They participate in art and game nights, and last October held reverse trick-or-treating, where students dressed up and went from room to room, collecting candy — one of the activities residents had said they missed in assisted living.

Fifth grader Austyn said she loves to visit Stonefield. “I really like helping people — that’s the reason I signed up for student ambassadors,” she said.

Ambassadors are creating a positive culture at Sonntag just by being responsible older students, a model for their younger peers.

“It’s aspirational,” Travis said. “Our third graders that get to see our fourth and fifth graders doing that, they ask, ‘How do I get to do that?’ And we get to talk about those tenets of leadership early, so it builds those skills from a younger age.”

Taking part in student ambassadors is fostering love for the campus and in going to school. The only problem with Sonntag? That it only goes up to fifth grade, Austyn said.

“I wish I could go here next year, too,” she said. “I love Sonntag.”