9A has recently been doing some work based around Respectful Relationships. This topic has been in the media a great deal lately and students have shown high levels of interest and understanding, both about the importance of the topic and the concepts we are covering.

Here are some student reflections, after a class about personal strengths.

For example, humour; if you’re in a group of friends and those friends aren’t making jokes and making fun of each other, then that’s not a group of friends. But in the same sense loyalty is also just as important in a group of friends, to build a trusting friendship.

You need self control because you need to keep your cool when times get tough. Forgiveness is good because you need to forgive your friends and family when something goes wrong. In a job you need persistence too, because some people are hard to work with so you need persistence to cope with different people.

In certain situations and relationships, you have to understand how others are feeling in order to avoid arguments.

Another example is if you're the captain of your footy team you would need to have leadership skills so you can lead your team, and courage because putting your body on the line and going and getting the ball is often a good way to lift your team and inspire them to win the game.

Knowing what people are feeling means that you can adapt to certain situations and know what people need, whether if they need some space, or maybe someone to talk to.

John Monash Science School 2

Regional Exchange for Year 10 students