Every morning we have a dedicated 20 minute Home Group session where the focus is on Pastoral Care, including the Growing with Gratitude program. For our two Year 8 classes, Term 3 saw a focus on kindness, respect and consent. The two classes participated in some teamwork activities together and had our school captains Casey and Max speak with them about kindness and teamwork. We then consolidated the most important messages into a visual display called the “Kindness Tree”.

Made up of leaves containing examples of kindness students have experienced or have committed to try, the tree is on display in the Ag classroom as it is a space both classes use. We then added to the tree with examples of what consent and respect look like, sound like and feel like.

Why consent?

Usually thought of in connection to romantic relationships, consent is also closely linked to respectful friendships. We talked about how to ask a friend if they like their nickname, think a joke is funny or were happy to be tackled or tripped as part of game. Some great suggestions from students were:

“Is it ok?”            “Was that funny?”           “Do you mind when?”                   “Do you care if?”

Reporting vs dobbing

We have spoken with a number of students and parents about the little incidents that start off as jokes but become upsetting for the person involved. We have a strong culture of viewing these incidents as learning experiences and starting with a conversation, not a punishment. If we don’t know about them, we can’t do this. Reporting something or seeking help from an adult, myself or Mrs Cameron on how to talk to the other person about it is NOT dobbing. We would love to be able support students in maintaining their friendships and developing positive communication.

How can parents help?

Try these conversation starters about your child’s day:

•  Who was kind to you today?
•  How did you show kindness today?
•  What was hard about today?
•  Were you worried about anything today?

Your child might talk about other students, their teachers or their learning… but will hopefully share some of their feelings about their day!

Visit https://parents.au.reachout.com/ for some great information about the most common concerns parents have for their teens. And please – call or email the school if we can help!

Kate Seidel – Middle School Coordinator