BEE A FRIEND PROJECT
Julie Petrynko, the counsellor at Tecumseh Elementary School, started the Bee a Friend Project with a group of grade 5-7 students.
The problem: Kids who don’t have anyone to play with at recess or lunch. They don’t have the skills or perhaps the confidence to join in play with other students.
The questions: How can we make recess and lunch fun for everyone? How can we help kids to learn how to make and keep friends? How can we “show the ENCOURAGE” in the Tecumseh Code of Conduct?
(Tecumseh Code of Conduct => RISE => Respect / Improve/ Safe/ Encourage)
The Plan:
1. With Ms. Petrynko’s guidance, students chose an old bench by the playground to make the site for the “Bee A Friend Bench“. The idea is for kids to meet at the bench if they want to find a friend to play with or if they need an idea of what to do.
2. The team of students along with the vice principal enlisted volunteers at recess and lunch to sand the bench and get it ready to paint. This has been a popular activity.
3. When school is back in session, the students plan to paint the bench yellow with black accents. Then they are going to paint bees on to the bench so everyone knows where to go to find a friend or an idea for an activity.
4. They are hoping to have a celebration to introduce the bench and it’s purpose to the rest of the students at the school.
We’ll keep you posted on how that goes.
This is another idea that has received funding from The Promoting A Culture of Peace for Children Society. See the War Toys to Peace Art site for how to apply for a grant.
CultureofPeace4kids 