Growing healthy friendships and relationships continues to be a focus for us all here at St Thomas More’s. It is becoming evident that isolation from friends whilst in COVID-19 lockdown has had an impact on many friendships. Some have been strengthened as a result of social distance, whilst other friendships have become a bit wobbly, as they have changed and moved in different directions (and as Friendship Fact #4 teaches us, ‘Friendships change and that’s ok’). This time has been destabilising for many of us, and for our children too!

To teach students what is normal in a friendship we use URSTRONG’s language and ‘Friendology 101 Curriculum’. Through ‘Friendology 101’ students learn skills and strategies to empower them to manage conflict independently (referred to as Friendship Fires™) and effectively deal with mean-on-purpose behaviour. The language that we use when helping children navigate friendships is particularly important. At our school we don’t use the term ‘bullying’ because it is generally misunderstood, misused and disempowering. We prefer the term mean-on-purpose, because taking action to stop mean-on-purpose behaviour is far more empowering! There are many ways that you can support your children in their social and emotional learning at home too:

• by using the same URSTRONG ‘language of friendship’ that we use at school, when you are talking about friendships at home (Friendship fires™ & Mean-on-purpose)
• by accessing URSTRONG’s free parent resources, watching the ‘Language of Friendship Video Series’ and doing some friendship-based activities with your children at home. (Use the coupon code URSTRONG to access membership for free)
• Helping children remember the ‘4 Friendship Facts’ by making them visible in your home
• Role playing and practising skills, such as ‘quick comebacks’ and ‘talking it out’ at home to empower your children to confidently problem solve for themselves
• Reading books and stories that model healthy friendships

As we return to school in Term 3, we will continue to be focusing on the explicit teaching of Friendship skills. If you would like further information about how to access URSTRONG to support your children at home, please get in touch.

Megan Booth, School Counsellor (Mon & Tues)

Email: Megan.booth@aohtas.org.au