The idea of the “Buddy Bench” actually came from Facebook. It came across my feed as something someone else had shared, liking the idea.
I loved the idea and felt it fit so well with everything we are trying to emphasize at our school on a daily basis. Our four school beliefs are be safe, be responsible, be respectful and building relationships.
We have really been putting a focus on the students and staff building relationships as we see this as an important part of our students’ education. They need to learn how to get along with each other, but also find ways to solve problems on their own. Of course, there are always times when they can’t and they need some help.
I pitched the idea to the staff at one of our morning staff connections and they loved it. Mrs. Kuntz and Ms. Koback ran with the idea and got it done in a week! We took one of our benches from outside and used it for this purpose. The handprints that you see on it actually belong to some of our students.
We presented it to the students at an assembly, Sept. 29. We explained the purpose of the Buddy Bench – when you are looking for someone to play with, sit on the bench. If you see someone sitting on the bench – invite them to play.
The kids loved it! The first day it received a lot of action and we saw groups of students playing together we had never seen mixed before. No student sat on the bench for more than 30 seconds before someone was there with an invitation. It was wonderful to see the smiles, not only of the students being asked, but also of the ones doing the asking.
Throughout the year we will continue to focus on our four beliefs in a variety of ways but this one was a success! I am so pleased to see all the shares of our Facebook post and am really excited that other schools are going to be following in our footsteps. I am not sure who started the idea in the first place, but it was a gem. Sometimes Facebook can be a good thing.
