Staff and Student Ventures

Peer Support Program

As the term comes to an end, I thought it would be nice to reflect on an awesome thing that has been happening at TC ✨ 

The arrival of Entry students marks the beginning of every school year 🎓, and every year it’s the same: students arrive with a mix of excitement and nervousness in their new surroundings 😄😬. High school is a massive step from primary school that comes with more responsibilities 📚, tougher learning, opportunities to make new friends 🤝, and an unfamiliar environment. This makes it completely understandable why these new students may seek extra support and take time to fully settle. 

Peer Support is a program where students from older year levels come to an Entry Connect class to support; they act as someone to talk to or ask questions 💬. 

When Delanah S (Grad) saw that the previous year’s Peer Support program had some gaps, she wanted to improve the support system. “I heard Peer Support was not achieving what it could and saw that there was a better way to do things,” she said. 

So she got to work designing lesson plans for Peer Support leaders to use in class to help Entry students 📝. 

“Last year Peer Support classes received a lot of good feedback from staff, students and Peer Support leaders,” she said. Delanah clearly witnessed positive growth and change in Entry students through the connections they built with others, supported by Peer Support leaders 🌱. 

As a heads up to students, if you’re keen on getting involved with leadership ⭐, the Peer Support program is a great place to start. As a Peer Support leader, you learn valuable skills such as group facilitation, empowerment and relationship building 💡. 

If you’re a parent of an Entry student at TC and find your child struggles to speak to adults about any issues they may be experiencing, their Peer Support leader acts as a safe person who can support them 🫶. 

I hope everyone had a great term and that you all have a restful break 🌿 

See you next term 👋 

Dara C
TC Journalist