Peer Support Training Day

On Tuesday the 22nd of November, over 80 volunteers from Year 9 attended an all-day training session to prepare them for becoming our Peer Support Leaders for 2023.

The day was filled with a number of activities aimed at improving their leadership skills, and their ability to communicate with one another, as well as recognising the strengths in themselves and others.

The day started with a focus on everyday leadership and the small things one can do to make a difference. Many students left this session with a new perception of what leadership means to them and how they can create ‘lollipop’ moments for both the new Year 7s and their peers around them. This was put into practice during several House challenges, including Bingo. 

We then focused heavily on the different ways we communicate as leaders. Students started by silently organising themselves into birthday order, developing their understanding of the ways they can use their body language to communicate, rather than their voices.

A highlight of the day for many were the Robot Sandwiches, with each team in charge of instructing a blindfolded staff member to make two different types of sandwiches. This required clear and specific instructions and reminded our leaders of the need to choose our words carefully, a skill they were reminded of throughout the rest of the day.

The day was a phenomenal success and each participant showed significant levels of leadership and maturity. They should be incredibly proud of the way they engaged with the day, throwing themselves into each activity, no matter how silly they may have looked. They then had the opportunity to showcase their skills on ‘Oh’ Day, helping the incoming Year 7s with their first introduction to Kildare life.

Thank you to Tegan Kelly, Tom Hull, Matt Henry and Timmy Bacon for all their help, support, and participation throughout the day.

Clementine Patterson | Teacher