sidecar with MacBook 2017 and iPad Air 4th gen

Hello!

I just got an iPad Air with one of the main reasons so I could use as a sidecar for my MacBook. the MacBook is 2017 which according to the tech specs I researched extensively, should work for the sidecar application, as well as the tech specs for the iPad Air 4th gen. I have updated to Monterey on the MacBook and am able to see the iPad in the Displays menu and bluetooth finds it. I can also find the MacBook from the iPad bluetooth.

however when I try to pair them, the connection times out from the MacBook and I get an "unsupported" error from the iPad.

am I doing something wrong here? or do these two devices/models not pair together?

any advice would be much appreciated. I haven't had time to get on the phone with support yet or go to Genius Bar, so those are also other options. TIA