Respectful Relationships Collaboration with the International Grammar School and St Catherine’s Girls School

Our boys learn to develop respectful relationships in many ways, including through our social skills program, Second Step, and our focus on being a White Ribbon School (addressing the issue of domestic violence, with a particular focus in Years 5 and 6). To empower boys to become men of substance and resilience who make an active and positive contribution to society we need to teach our boys the importance of building, appreciating and maintaining respectful relationships. So to this end, this collaboration has been very beneficial as it is building authentic connections between our schools with a shared vision of developing our students’ social and emotional skills.

After our successful inaugural Year 5 collaboration with The International Grammar School last year, this year the relationship has grown to also include St Catherine’s Girls School.  The boys have been collaborating with these two schools to further develop their understanding and application of the concept of a respectful relationship. So far, this collaboration has seen our boys interact both online (through Skype and Google Docs) and in-person as they explore the concept of respect and how this relates to contemporary social justice issues. Later in the year the groups will collaborate on performing a rap that they have created to promote respectful relationships, together with a collaborative artwork that may be 2D, 3D or digital depending on the collective decision of the group.

The boys have found interacting with other students and schools a rewarding experience and have enjoyed the opportunity to build new friendships with the students at the International Grammar School and St Catherine’s Girls School.

Pascal Czerwenka and Sam Watson – Year 5 Class Teachers