At the beginning of the year Todd came to me with a great idea to initiate a ‘Buddy System’ between Stage 2 and Stage 4. To be honest I was a little hesitant at first as I know working with younger students can be quite challenging for teenagers but I was amazed at the outcome. Last term we spent a few sessions with Stage 4 students helping Stage 2 set up their email, teaching them how to send emails, reply to emails and attach documents to the email. I think in some instances the Stage 2 students knew more about it than Stage 4 did. Further on in the term Stage 4 helped the younger students edit some creative writing they were working on. This term we are planning for Stage 4 to provide some feedback on some of their buddies projects and they will also be designing picture books for their Stage 2 buddies.
I was impressed to see the maturity the Stage 4 students displayed in working with the younger students and the way the younger students responded to and respected their older buddy.
Building relationships is such an important part of a college environment. Students build great friendships with their peers and those in their year or stage, but often overlook those in years above or below them. The buddy system is great in allowing those relationships to be built not only in the classroom but also around the college. It has been wonderful to witness the relationships that have already been made between some of the buddies and I am sure they will continue to be strengthened throughout the year.
I hope someone is looking after my buddy