Pulling my shoe laces tighter, I see my watch alerting me that it is time to leave for school. The first day jitters setting in as I prepare to face a new school for what feels like the hundredth time. My father’s work meant we got relocated every couple of years, so this is nothing new to me at this point. As my father’s red Mazda pulls up to the front of my new school, the same familiar questions fill my mind. Will I fit in? What are the teachers like? Will the students be nice? Will I make positive friends? Will I belong there?
Whether you are an adult or a child … No matter which way you look at it, everybody wants to feel like they BELONG!!!
Moving around so much as a child has definitely helped me understand the importance of belonging for students, especially new students.
Monash University found that there are 5 main ways to boost students' sense of belonging in a school setting:
Kelly-Ann Allen in her book ‘Boosting School Belonging’ states that belonging happens through connection, connection with; teachers, parents, peers, oneself and learning.
Here at Avondale School we are so proud of our teachers, Pastoral Care team and support staff, who intentionally work to ensure our students all feel like they belong. In a recent Staff Meeting we focused on the topic of belonging. Staff collectively shared over 50 different strategies they use to help their students feel like they belong. We see belonging as a vital aspect of our learning environment and hold it as a high priority in our school.
We are a school where we learn, we are a community where we connect and importantly, we are a family where we love so everyone feels like they belong. Our message for our students is to:
BE HERE
BE YOU
BELONG
What is one tangible thing that we as a family can do to support a sense of belonging at school?
Let's continue our school and home partnership to work together in love to create that overwhelming sense of community and belonging.
Collosians 3:14 And above all, clothe yourself with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
Mrs Hayley Ferris
Head of Secondary
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