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Chilliwack students embrace friendship with Buddy Bench program

New benches put in place with help of sponsors and Chilliwack Restorative Justice
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Jessica Peters/ The Progress The Buddy Bench at McCammon Traditional elementary was presented by Chilliwack Restorative Justice, created by Jake Donaldson of Rustic Home Decor, and sponsored by Murray Honda.

Elementary school isn’t just about learning your A-B-Cs and 1-2-3s.

It’s also a time to learn important, lifelong lessons in friendships and inclusiveness, trust and respect. Likewise, it can be a time when many kids feel lonely, even friendless.

But a new way to open conversations among peers is developing in Chilliwack elementary schools, with the help of Chilliwack Restorative Justice and Youth Advocacy Association (CRJYAA). They know the power of conversation circles, in their years of work providing restoration and resolution between young offenders and their victims.

They’ve brought a program called Classroom Conversations to a few elementary schools, including McCammon. The 10-week program emphasized valuing and respecting each other. And this week, the school was presented with a brand new Buddy Bench, a place where they can put those lessons to work.

The bench reads: Make a friend, be a friend.

And at a school assembly at the school on Monday morning, four students enacted different scenarios that showed how the bench can help create those friendships.

In one scenario, Karma Franklin sits alone on the bench. Nearby, classmates Jessica Laynes, Fiona Mjekiqi and Raegan Ellis take turns throwing a ball. One of the girls notices Franklin on the bench, and breaks away from playing ball to sit beside her. Franklin explains she doesn’t want to play that game, and was feeling a bit left out. The two girls come up with a new game to play, and are off and running.

It’s a situation that could have ended in tears, but was solved through communication.

Kristi VanOosterom, a program manager with CRJYAA, spoke to the students about other times a student might use the bench. It could be a place for a new student to sit, or for someone to sit when their friends aren’t at school. VanOosterom is already known by most of the students, as she’s come into the classrooms as part of the Classroom Connections program. About 140 McCammon students have taken part in the program this year.

The bench can also be a place where someone can sit to encourage others to join them.

The bench itself is beautiful, hand-made by local furniture builder Jake Donaldson, owner of Rustic Home Decor and Furniture. The school’s Child and Youth Care Worker had students from all grade levels take part in painting the bench, complete with colourful handprints. The plaque notes the sponsors, Murray Honda.

The CRJYAA is hoping to see Buddy Benches placed at all Chilliwack elementary schools, and over the next few weeks they’ll be holding similar presentations at two other schools, Sardis and Robertson elementaries. At McCammon, the peer leaders will be taking the lead to promote the bench and its benefits. The whole experience has been a positive one for the school environment, says Jason Kemp, McCammon’s vice-principal.

“The Classroom Conversations program has provided our students with the skills needed to create connections, strengthen relationships and build community within their classes and around the school,” he says. “As a school, we use the techniques learned to repair harm and to restore positive relationships. The students saw this as a great time to learn more about their classmates.”

These first three benches are exciting for the CRJYAA, says their program director, Leanna Kemp.

“The idea came about a year or two ago when I came across the Buddy Bench concept online and thought ‘what an amazing idea,’” she says.

“It took a year or so to figure it out,” she adds. “As our Classroom Conversation program began and was seeing success, my staff and I thought to incorporate the bench as an addition to our program. As the students learn about friendships, inclusiveness [and] healthy relationships, the bench is an excellent way to sustain and maintain the teachings once the program is complete.”

Teachers and staff being a part of the program from “start to finish” helps keep the community feel alive and well in the schools and on the playground, she says.

“They can encourage kids to use the bench or to reach out to someone when they see someone sitting there,” Kemp says.

The program was a perfect fit for the sponsors of McCammon’s bench, Murray Honda. Justin Mallard, manager of the dealership, has been working alongside the CRJYAA over the past year, and has seen the other programs they’ve implemented in the community

“This initiative was a natural fit for Murray Honda to be involved in,” he says. “Our platform for engagement in our community has always primarily been focused on our local children and youth and ensuring they have the tools and resources at their finger tips to excel and take advantage of all the experiences and opportunities that come their way.”

But as a father, he is also looking to the positive ways his own children could benefit from this type of school program.

“It is warming to know the proactive approach Restorative Justice has within our schools to help shape a our future generation positively,” he says.

Sardis elementary will celebrate their bench on June 5which Murray Honda is also sponsoring. Robertson elementary’s bench, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Chwk Mt. Cheam, will celebrated on June 9.

In the future, Kemp says they hope to see a bench at every school.

If you would like to be a sponsor of a bench please contact us at 604-393-3023 or info@restoringjustice.ca. To learn more about what CRJYAA is doing in the community, visit www.restoringjustice.ca.



Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
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