Greensborough College

Middle school students are able to elect to be involved in the Peer Support Program as part of their extension subjects during semester 1 only.
The aim of the program is to foster positive and meaningful relationships between Year 7 and Middle School students.

• The first section of the program focuses on peer leadership and teaching the MS students to develop some of the skills required to actively lead groups. There is both a practical and theoretical base to this learning. MS students are encouraged to attend one of the Year 7 Camps held during Term 1and to actively participate in all aspects of camp life. It gives them a great opportunity to get to know the students in a relaxed setting and to observe the behaviours and relationships of the Year 7 students.

Back at school MS students, in pairs, are allocated small groups of students from the Year7 level that they will work with during the term. Suitable themes and activities are discussed in class sessions and MS students then plan the lessons for their small group. Sessions begin with 20 minutes then as the skills of the MS students develop the length of the sessions increase. After each session MS students debrief and discuss the positive aspects of the session and also outline any difficulties within the session. Students share with each other ideas and strategies for dealing with difficult situations.

• The second half of the semester the focus shifts to students working in the classroom with Year 7 students as a peer support helper. Staff is requested to nominate classes when the extra support would be of value and it is often in the literacy and numeracy areas that their skills are most appreciated. This area is new to the program for 2006 and we are yet to evaluate its value. At the same time students have been asked to explore a current and past leader as a research project with the aim of presenting their findings to the class, with an emphasis on style of leadership and leadership qualities.