Year 7 students have been encouraged to share their skills with their peers in a program that has seen girls conduct their own lessons on a topic of their choice during Pastoral Time.
Year 7 Coordinator, Miss Ji Mee-Lee, said the exercise encourages students to bond and also helps them understand that everyone has valuable skills and abilities to share.
“Starting high school is a major milestone that can be daunting for students,” Miss Lee said.
“Meriden’s pastoral care program aims to ease the transition to Year 7 by helping students make and maintain healthy friendships, gain confidence and develop strong communication skills. Teaching their peers not only assists girls in thinking differently about themselves and what makes them special, it helps them think about their audience and how best to communicate with others. The presentations are great ice-breakers that enable the girls to value each other for their unique interests.”
Sophie Yi used her presentation to share her interest in journalling and calligraphy which she has been practising since primary school.
“My interest in calligraphy began when I had to write out a nineteenth century recipe for a school history project. My mum helped me get started and then I continued to develop my skills from there,” she said.
“During my presentation, I gave the girls a template of a simple calligraphy font so they could have a go at forming the intricate letters. I felt quite accomplished afterwards and it made me proud to be able to teach them a new skill. I was happy to hear that the girls in my group enjoyed learning about calligraphy, too.”
Selina Wang has been playing the violin since she was six years old and wanted to share her passion for music with her peers.
“I enjoy playing the violin and am a member of Meriden’s Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Strings. I wanted to help my classmates understand how amazing the violin is by giving them a short history of the instrument, which dates back to the early sixteenth century,” she said.
“The activity has helped us all improve our ability to speak in front of an audience and it’s been great to get to know each other better by understanding each other’s passions.”
