According to research, friendship is the single most important thing affecting our psychological and physical health and wellbeing. Interacting with friends provides shared experiences to learn social skills, such as how to communicate, cooperate, and solve problems. Additionally, there are opportunities to practise controlling emotions and responding to the emotions of others. In friendships, children develop the ability to think through and negotiate different situations that arise in their relationships.
PLC Sydney has a long running partnership with the URStrong (GirlPower) program to enhance the social-emotional well-being of our students through friendship skills.
The college recently welcomed Tyson Greenwood, the Australian Director of URStrong Schools (below) to lead interactive workshops with Years 1-6 students reminding them of the four Friendship Facts, the qualities of a great friend, and how to use the Friend-o-meter to assess healthy versus unhealthy friendships.
PLC Sydney has a long running partnership with the URStrong (GirlPower) program to enhance the social-emotional well-being of our students through friendship skills. According to Head of Junior School, Melissa Watters, “We want to create a climate within our friendships that exudes trust, respect and honesty. Explicitly teaching children how to develop healthy friendships and manage conflict in a positive way is at the heart of helping our girls flourish. And of course we do this in partnership with parents”.
“This program empowers girls with the skills, language and self-confidence to be better friends and develop healthier friendships. We want to ensure that our students are set up for success and our school culture is one of respect and kindness,” said Mrs Watters.
The girls discussed the importance of standing up for themselves and how to put out Friendship Fires® through an open, honest conversation. A key element of URSTRONG’s GirlPower program is teaching students the difference between normal conflict and bullying. We firmly believe that URSTRONG’s focus on teaching the skills to develop healthy relationships is a proactive approach and, ultimately, the best way of dealing with this issue.
Social-emotional learning and holistic education are already such an integral part of our school’s philosophy and this friendship program for girls aligns perfectly with our values. Research clearly demonstrates that girls who have healthy friendships are involved in more leadership opportunities, have higher self-esteem, a more positive body image and make wise decisions in future relationships.