The Buddy System is a free volunteer program where older students from grades 4 to 6 engage with younger students from Prep to grade 3 through fun learning activities. Students connect through shared interests in areas such as basic vocabulary, spellings, art and reading.
This volunteer program is free, easy to use, fun and meets developmental milestones. The program is run through our non profit organisation that has experience with similar programs since 2017 and has access to material, training and mentoring to the student. The program aims to increase engagement and connections between similar aged groups thus building the foundation for healthy social interactions in the future. Here older students act as mentors, gain confidence and build leadership qualities while guiding and connecting with the younger aged student. The program looks to increase love, inclusiveness and harmony amongst students.
This volunteer program is free, easy to use, fun and meets developmental milestones. The program is run through our non profit organisation that has experience with similar programs since 2017 and has access to material, training and mentoring to the student. The program aims to increase engagement and connections between similar aged groups thus building the foundation for healthy social interactions in the future. Here older students act as mentors, gain confidence and build leadership qualities while guiding and connecting with the younger aged student. The program looks to increase love, inclusiveness and harmony amongst students.
The program is simple to use and uses the following procedure:
- Students register with the volunteer program on StudentsLink work space on SLACK (click the Slack to access it)
- Students identify their areas of interest and available time slots on our calendar system.
- Based on the information provided, the program pairs one student from Year 4 and above (older students) with between 6 to 8 students from Year 2 and below (younger students).
- StudentsLink will provide easy online training for tutors – around 45 minutes.
- Each class is 30 minutes.
- Older students get to converse, engage and mentor younger students.
- Students engage with each other based on fun learning activities like spelling bee, drawing, and reading.
- This will run through StudentsLink’s already established platform and experience and students will receive ongoing training.
Benefits of the program:
Younger students
- Provides needed interaction with the older age group that assists with their psychological and social developmental milestones.
- Provide a sense of engagement and inclusiveness
- Platform to engage with relatable mentors – building blocks of their future personalities and human engagements.
- Provides an outlet for pent up energy.
- Provide a healthy and holistic learning environment.
Older students
- Build skills that will strengthen their personalities.
- Gain confidence and valuable communication skills.
- Learn to become mentors and capable leaders of tomorrow.
- Encourage love, tolerance, empathy and inclusiveness.
- Learn to be more self aware, responsible and accepting of differences.
The School
- Assists with the school’s reputation.
- Heralds the school as the leaders in mindful and progressive education.
- Increases connectivity, communication and healthy relations between students.
- Builds positive mentors and helpful guidance between students.
- Helps up-skill and improve the quality of students representing the school.
- Encourages unity and inclusiveness instead of bullying and segregation.
- This program also assists with students from immigrant backgrounds.
