Throughout the course of Year 5, the boys are encouraged to think of themselves as role models, future leaders of the school and young men who do themselves, their families and the school proud through their actions. Indeed, we emphasize that idea of integrity as ‘doing the right thing, even when no one is looking’, and many of the boys in Year 5 have already demonstrated this throughout their first term this year, and continuing into Term 2.

It was a great first term for the boys, with many of them demonstrating leadership qualities with their Kindergarten buddies, and with fellow students at Cromehurst Public School.

This year, Year 5 will continue to teach the Arthur Interactive Media (AIM) buddy project to their younger peers. AIM is comprised of five sessions throughout the year in which the Year 5 boys teach social skills, starting with empathy. The first session was a great success, with the boys preparing and then delivering a lesson about the importance of empathy to their buddies, checking in with key questions to check their their buddies’ understanding. The boys are looking forward to continuing the program this term.

Year 5 are also continuing last year’s partnership with Cromehurst Public School, a school that caters for students from the age of 4 to the completion of year 12 in the moderate to severe range of intellectual disability. Our boys have been tasked with preparing and delivering a lesson for their buddy group each time they visit, linked to the Cromehurst theme for the term. Last term the theme was, ‘Under the Sea,’ with the boys delivering a presentation and an accompanying activity each time they visited. This term’s theme will be, ‘Workers in the Community’.

The feedback from the Cromehurst teachers has been incredibly positive towards our boys’ commitment, engagement and interaction with their buddy groups. It has been so rewarding to watch the boys grow and develop during this time, not just when at Cromehurst, but behind the scenes when they are working collaboratively to create their lessons too.

The college’s idea of developing ‘men of substance’, may seem like a rather grand notion at primary school level, but the aim is to plant that seed at this age. With last year’s Year 5, we really tried to emphasise that idea of respect, starting with the small things like a simple greeting in the morning. Many of the current Year 6 boys still pass by the Year 5 classrooms at the beginning of the day to say hello, which may seem trivial, but it makes us feel good as teachers to have that follow through from the previous year.

We are looking to emulate last year’s successes in Year 5 this year, and it starts by developing those leadership qualities, encouraging boys to make good decisions that have a positive impact on those around them, demonstrating integrity and making sure that the boys have a strong sense of self-belief and that ability to achieve.

Sam Watson – Year 5 Teacher