Year 6: Peer Support
‘Optimism’ is the key focus of our Year 6 Peer Support program this term, and judging by Courtney, Chloe and Brielle’s huge smiles yesterday, Hooke House is full of happy and positive energy.
Spearheaded by our wonderful Year 3 teacher, Mrs Burkett, who works tirelessly each year to get the program up and running, our Peer Support program is designed to support students to develop the skills, attitudes and understandings vital to their health and wellbeing.
Yesterday, the top floor of Hooke House reverberated with laughter as Mrs Burkett and the Year 6 teachers worked closely with Year 6 students, training them so they can confidently facilitate Peer Support sessions this term.
They participated in lots of fun team-building activities during the training day, including a coin-passing exercise. Standing in lines of nine or ten, the students worked together as a team to pass a coin using only the back of their hands. It took an enormous amount of concentration (lots of wide eyes and sticky-out tongues), communication, encouragement and resilience to succeed.
“We had to work together as a group,” said Courtney. “We had to talk about our mistakes and learn from them.”
“It made us realise that when you make a mistake, it’s okay,” said Chloe. “You just have to pick yourself up and try again.”
“At the start it was quite hard,” said Brielle. “We had to work as a team and communicate with each other. We talked about what went wrong and worked out how to solve it.”
Deputy Principal (Student Wellbeing) Mrs Oakley kindly arranged for a special morning tea and lunch to be provided for the Year 6 students, which they all greatly appreciated.
What also made the day extra special, was the fact that it was Amy’s birthday. Fortunately, she managed to complete the activities without losing her birthday crown!
Promoting the social and emotional development and wellbeing of our students is paramount. Every Tuesday morning this term, our newly trained up Year 6 students will support groups from Years 3 to 5, helping them to identify their personal strengths, discuss the meaning of optimism and engage in fun activities. This includes working closely together to learn how to persevere, set goals and show gratitude, and also to learn useful relaxation techniques.
As American teacher, poet, and author Lucy Larcom once said, “If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it.” Thanks to our wonderful teachers and the Peer Support program, our Year 6 students are doing just that!