Map Your World (MYW) is a digital platform helping to empower young people to have a profound impact on their communities. It supports the development of leadership skills to encourage them to create positive change.
In term 1, Family Life commenced the MYW project at Wallaroo Primary School in Hastings, prior to the COVID shutdown. The program was run with 12 students from Prep to Year 6, who were nominated and voted by their classmates.
The students met with Family Life staff to brainstorm ideas regarding being ‘change agents’ and to identify the local and social and environmental issues in their community.
One of the ideas was to address the culture of inappropriate behaviour in the community and behaviours displayed at school that do not follow their school values and how to combat these behaviours with a culture of wellbeing. The students identified that anti-social behaviour stems from home and strategies had to include behaviour change at home as well as school and in the greater community.
The leaders chose four empathy building strategies to teach families, peers, and all those involved in the school community about kindness and understanding rather than to punish. They were ‘Implement Kindness at Home’ questions, create a ‘Random Acts of Kindness Jar’, create a ‘Student Led Positive Space’ and an ‘Empower Their Peers’ fundraising day.
The program has been very well received by the students, parents and staff at Wallaroo and fortunately we have been able to continue consulting with the children via phone and zoom during remote learning. The students are due to graduate from the MYW Program in term 4.
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