Student Wellbeing
Cheltenham Primary school is proud to be a You Can Do It School we also offer a number of other programs which help the social wellbeing of our children.
FRIENDS FOR LIFE PROGRAM
The FRIENDS for Life program is a cognitive-behavioural therapy program designed to be used in the classroom that aims to increase the resilience and happiness of children. It promotes important personal development concepts such as identity, self-esteem, problem solving, self-expression and building positive relationships.
Program structure:
The FRIENDS program runs for ten weeks of 1 to 1.5 hour sessions conducted during class time, and has home follow up tasks for each session. The Program is currently introduced at a Grade 1 and Grade 4 level.
Buddies
A highlight of the Prep year is the buddy program! Each Prep student is partnered up with a Grade 6-school buddy at the start of the year. The buddies help in the transition from Pre-school to Prep and they also ‘model’ positive and responsible behaviours. The children take part in regular classroom activities together including computer, cooking and games.
Peer Mediation
Each year the grade 5 students participate in our Peer Mediation Program. The program is designed to teach students skills in managing conflict. Students learn to identify the causes of conflict and evaluate possible responses. They investigate the impact having either a positive or negative outlook in different situations. Peer mediators are then chosen from the Grade 5 students to help at playtime and lunch time to help solve problems with other students. The children know if they ask a peer mediator for help they will get a fair and positive solution to their problems.
Some of the skills gained in Peer Mediation:
- Assertive Communication skills
- Active Listening skills
- Resilience
- Problem solving skills
- Conflict Resolution skills
- Critical thinking skills
Some comments from students on what they thought of the program:
“It will help you to help other people and yourself.” Emily
“I think it is really good and it makes people get along more” Palluvi
“It was really fun and I learnt a lot about me and I even helped other people.” Sebastian
“It will help people a lot and might even help myself.” Lachlan
