Peer Support is a program designed to make the transition from Primary
to Secondary school more seamless and enjoyable for our Year 7 students.
In the program, all of the Year 7 students are assigned to small groups
of up to 8, and each group is matched with two of our trained Year 11
Peer Support leaders.
These Year 11s co-ordinate activities which improve the confidence and
self esteem of the Year 7s, enabling them to make friends more easily
and giving them a "family" to belong to in the early stages of their schooling
here at McKinnon. Above all the activities are fun!
Some of the pics here show students involved in group discussions, trust
games where people are led blindfolded around the school, team games such
as the Human Knot and even the Sock Challenge where two groups compete
to see who was the first of each pair of combatants to remove the others'
sock!
The Year 7 students enjoy the opportunity to spend time with older students
who act as wonderful role models for them. The Year 11s really enjoy working
with younger students and helping them begin their long journey through
secondary education.
We also have many of the staff trained to teach and support these Year
11 leaders in their efforts, so you can see the program involves many
members of the college community.
It is an excellent program for developing leadership and responsibility
in our older students, and for enriching the experience of school for
our Year 7s.
