Daily Archives: August 29, 2019

URSTRONG Friendology Programme

Posted by Year5

This year all Year 5 students will take part in the URSTRONG’s Friendology 101 programme as part of ‘Who we are’ and Visible Wellbeing. Through a series of sequential sessions, along with opportunities to use the techniques in daily interactions, your child will be inspired to feel empowered, develop a strong sense of self, and love themselves while learning to manage the most important thing to them…their friendships. URSTRONG is an internationally-recognised friendship programme that gives children the language, skills, and self-confidence to be better friends and develop healthier relationships.

We launched URSTRONG on Friday 16th August with the students who are now busy putting together their own ‘Soul/Sole’ bag. A white paper bag was sent home with them for this purpose and students should be starting to create their ‘shoe’, one that perfectly symbolises who they are. Over the coming weeks they will be expected to keep adding items that capture the ‘real you’, a reflection of who they are.

Here are details of the URSTRONG programme we will run in our classrooms and how the Year 5 students will be coached through the following session topics;

How to Get Real
– focuses on the importance of being true to who you are, embracing your unique self, and dispelling myths around gender stereotypes.

How to Make Friends
– focuses on the art of friendship-making starting with how to introduce yourself, find something in common, and have a conversation. Students also learn what’s normal in a friendship through the 4 Friendship Facts.

How to Be a Great Friend
– focuses on the difference between healthy and unhealthy friendships using the Friend-o-meter, attributes of a great friend, and the importance of spending the most time in healthy friendships.

How to Put out Friendship Fires
– focuses on putting a voice to your feelings and conflict-resolution using our step-by-step approach for putting out ‘Friendship Fires’.

How to be a Friendship Ninja
– focuses on understanding the difference between normal conflict (Friendship Fires) and Mean-on-Purpose behavior. Students learn how to say a Quick Comeback and report to a grown up to combat unkind behavior.

How to Handle Tricky Situations
– highlights hot topics and common challenges in tween friendships including how to handle being in the middle, managing birthday parties, how to say “No!” to friends without feeling mean, and how to keep friendships healthy online.

How to Take Control and Feel Heard
– focuses on taking control of butterflies (i.e.anxiety) and strategies for managing those ‘movies’ in our minds. Students also learn the importance of expressing how you feel and being a good listener.

How to remember URSTRONG!
– brings all the topics together by reviewing and reinforcing important concepts, recognizing the strengths in one another, and a chance for each child to showcase their “sole”.