Hundreds Program Creates Connections

The Hundreds program is rooted in McDonogh’s early history when each new boy who entered the School was given a number and assigned to the student 100 numbers above him. For example, student 143, who was mentored by student 43, was assigned to look after student 243. The older student would help the younger by supporting many parts of his life as a McDonogh cadet. During World War II, current students and alumni were encouraged to write to those in their hundredth group who were serving in the armed forces as a way to cheer them up. As the School grew in numbers, it became impossible to maintain the tradition which went away in the early 1950s. In 2015, the Hundreds was reinvented as a way to develop positive relationships among freshmen and seniors. Today, rising freshmen are matched with rising seniors who serve informally as big brothers or big sisters.