The Smith Family student2student Program
This year I have had the pleasure of working with fourteen dedicated and caring students who volunteered their time to support students in our wider community who were struggling with literacy. The Smith Family student2student Program matched these students with a younger student identified as being behind in their reading who could benefit from more practice.
Many in our community are aware of ‘The Endeavour Way’. It is the values we hold as a College community that we express in our interactions with others. The Endeavour Way values of Love, Courage, Forgiveness and Hope are not just for school, but for how our College community interacts with others.
Our students demonstrated Love by volunteering to help others in our wider community who didn’t have many of the privileges they themselves had.
Our students demonstrated Courage when they rang their reader 2-3 times a week, someone who was a stranger to them at the start of the term. Even when the relationship was established the home circumstances for some readers meant our students did not know the situation they were ringing into.
Our students demonstrated Forgiveness when their reader didn’t pick up the phone for a week or two when the reading session didn’t go well, hen their young reader was tired and didn’t want to take part.
Our students demonstrated Hope when they saw the God-given abilities of these young children, built a positive relationship with them and encouraged them to try and try again.
The benefits of this Program have not only impacted the young reader but those around them. A parent of a student2student reader said “This older child has made such a massive impact on my daughter’s life that it actually brings a tear to my eye … Her confidence now is truly remarkable!”
Catherine Barnes
Teacher Librarian
Images Credit: Ben White
