4 I Make Friends and Lose Enemies The Art of the Exuberant Greeting Forgiveness and Relationships Forgiveness Trapped Collaboration Wins in the End Broaden their friendship groups Learn how to resolve differences with friends Research shows that students who develop strong peer friendships and connections have improved outcomes and resilience. Developing social connections also increases emotional literacy, self-awareness, empathy and compassion for others. Lead activities across the school that extend and deepen positive interactions and friendships Teach friendship skills and conflict resolution skills to all students across all year levels Support those young people identified as needing additional assistance to develop friendships and social connections Refer those in need to appropriate services that specialise in social and emotional intelligence Partner with the school community, including families and local and community services For more information visit: I Handout 21: How I Make Friends and Enemies To help students consider what type of friend they are Provide students in both Years 6 and 7 with a copy of the How I Make Friends and Lose Enemies handout. After they have completed the task, generate a list with the class about what do we look for in a good friend. Discuss this quote by Abraham Lincoln: Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?
To celebrate and acknowledge students’ achievements at primary school To continue to encourage the process of building a positive identity for students A key focus of START is to have students build and refine a personal portfolio that can then be accessed by themselves, their teachers, and their parents or carers, as they transition from primary to secondary school. Ideally the student starts his or her portfolio in Year 6 and it travels with them as a living record, potentially generating a “conversation” between the student, his or her teacher and their parent or carer. Even if a student has not developed a portfolio in primary school, portfolios begun in Year 7 can still be useful as they provide students with a snapshot of themselves that can be valuable in identity formation. The portfolio can be an effective tool to help teachers identify the individual needs of each Year 7 student coming into the school so that their social, emotional and learning needs can be tailored to support them. The portfolio can encourage students to develop and reflect on their personal learning goals and ongoing development over the course of their transition. Reflection involves going back over issues and considering them further. The activities in each of the eight sections of this resource link directly to eight segments within the student’s portfolio, culminating in a statement about personal identity. As each section is completed students will be able to fill in that segment of their portfolio. Teachers can decide whether students create an online or paper-based portfolio. For students with special needs, the portfolio would need to be adapted to their learning needs or abilities. For example, they could record a portfolio or create it in images as a picture journal. The portfolio provides students with the opportunity to develop: Identity formation Depression prevention Mindfulness Positive or growth mindset Anxiety reduction methods Empowerment Increased friendship skills Provide students with the Portfolio document, or ask students to develop their own document on the computer. Introduce the notion and benefits of students creating their own portfolio. (E.g. To celebrate their achievements at primary school and to communicate to their teacher at secondary school) Advise students about how much control they will retain over its distribution - whether it will be sent to their Year 7 teachers and whether other people will see it Be aware that the portfolio can contain personal information about family characteristics, illnesses etc. Refer to the Department of Education and Training’s website for more information about confidentiality and teaching and learning resources: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/ principals/spag/curriculum/Pages/selection.aspx Provide support to students as required