Each class at Mt Pleasant School has a buddy class who they spend time with on a regular basis.

Buddy class activities are a great way for the older students to mentor the juniors in many different areas of their learning, ranging from PE to maori and mandarin and everything inbetween! They also provide the students with a familiar face in the playground who they can go to when needed. Young buddies love cheering for the older students at sports events and you will often hear them greeting each other in the playground with an enthusiastic “Hi buddy!”

During buddy class students have an opportunity to show how they can be caring and a good communicator, which are part of our Learner Profile. They also develop several attitudes, including empathy, tolerance, respect and cooperation. It is also a way to foster the wider whanau feeling at our school.

Last Friday Room 10 carefully selected a picture book from the school library that they thought their buddies would enjoy. These were shared on Friday in a quiet space and the Room 4 children also spent time reading to their “big” buddies. It is lovely to see these relationships develop and strengthen as the year progresses.