Now that the school semester is over it has given time for the program to reflect on the events of the semester, thinking about what has worked and hasn’t best prepared the lessons for next semester. Now that the current teachers have been at the schools for a year they have been able to create a great relationship with the students.

Throughout the last semester we have focused a lot on the development of the teacher student relationships as the program is still relatively small. We want to ensure that the students are creating a positive meaningful relationship not only with the teachers but the program as well as the teachers will not always be the same year to year. The teachers would open up their classrooms to the students at times when classes are not running so that they are able to feel like they are able to come to talk and be supported by our teachers at any time. To build on this relationship and allow them to flourish we have used the information from the last semester to improve the new lessons. As previously when topics were taught the teachers were getting to know the students but now the teachers can tailor to the students, their preferences and adding into lessons elements or activities that push students’ understanding. For example, one of the main focuses we emphasise in the program is mental health and destigmatising conversations around mental health. This semester the teachers are placing emphasis and adding activities around gender identity and families as they have seen a struggle in students once the topic was completed previously.

Learning is never over, you can learn something new everyday. We are making sure that we are utilising what we are constantly learning about kids and the program to better create lessons and to help the program progress. We are trying to make a small difference in as many students’ lives as we can so taking the time between semesters to form an understanding of their circumstances, knowledge and personalities gives the teachers a holistic perspective when teaching lessons.