DAPHNE — The Easter bunny got a little early help — in the egg-hiding department — from his “buddies” at Christ the King Catholic Church.

On Thursday, older students not only hid eggs for their younger peers, they also helped them locate the hidden treasures.

While the annual activity was fun for all, it was also an opportunity to provide the older students with an important message, said school media liaison Ruth Rutkowski.

Buddies aren’t only for Easter, she said.

“Recently, we had a reader’s theater, where you read a book and act it out,” Rutkowski said. “In that case, the fourth-graders did it for their first-grade buddies.

“All year long we look for things where the older and younger students can get together,” she said.

Fifth grade students in Toni Henry’s class braved chilly morning temperatures to find the perfect hiding place for dozens of colorful eggs.

Their kindergarten buddies soon joined them, eager to get in on the egg hunting.

Finding just the right spot was important to Emory Hickey, 11, who said a nearby tree was her favorite hiding area.

“It’s good there because there are lots of plants around it,” she said.

Andrew Mahoney, 11, had his own ideas about the best hiding spot.

“It’s around the school over there in the little small bushes, ‘cause no one looks over there. It’s especially hard to find the green ones,” he said.

“You can’t hide them in the trees; That’s too high, because the kindergarten kids can’t reach them then,” Mahoney said.

Eleven-year-old Angela Napolltano said she especially enjoyed helping the younger students.

“They really are our buddies because they like it when we help them. And it’s fun for me too,” she said.

Both Krista Reid, 11, and Katherine Keeney, 11, agreed that it was important to remember where the eggs were hidden.

“Plus, their parents packed these eggs for them, so it is kind of important that we help them (children) find all of them,” Keeney said.

Mallory Gregorius, 11, said she had looked forward to the buddy egg hunt.

“It’s fun getting to spend time with little kids — plus it is nice to help others because so many people have been that way to me,” she said.