"Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget" - G. Randolf
We created a friendship club suitably named "Happy Vibes" for our PIP based on the needs of our school. Our goal was to answer the question: "How can the implementation of an extra curricular program for Division 1 help foster feelings of school inclusion for both students and parents?".
It was determined that the best way to help foster feelings of school inclusion would be to create an after-school program that welcomed Grades 1-3. The reasoning behind only offering this program to Division 1 students was that typically these grade levels do not have extra-curricular programs readily available. Creating friendships and learning how to play with others at a young age is fundamental for the development and success of an individual. Thus, our after-school program was a place where students could come and develop friendships with children from other classes.
Through our observations and conversations with both students and parents, we feel that we have successfully encouraged Happy Vibes participants to go out and build a stronger community in our school. All it took was providing a safe, fun and caring environment where students could feel appreciated.