By Tate Papworth
A special place for fostering friendship has taken pride of place at St Lawrence Primary School.
VCAL students at neighbouring Marian College donated a buddy bench to the school with the hope that it will help create many friendships in coming years.
The Marian College students spent the past term decorating the bench as part of a project to expand their personal development skills.
Buddy benches, a concept that began overseas, are placed in school grounds so students who are feeling lonely or need someone to talk to can get support.
St Lawrence Primary School learning assistant Maryanne Said believes the bench will have a positive impact at the school.
“We’re really happy to receive the bench,” she said.
“It’s a great idea for students who might be struggling on the playground.
“We had kids sitting on it right away, which was really good to see – they get together, have a chat and probably don’t realise it’s evolving into something else.”
The bench has been placed in front of the school’s discovery centre.
“The bench is obviously moveable, but we decided to place it in front of the discovery centre so we’d be able to keep an eye on the students who are going there and to make sure they’re doing OK,” Ms Said said.
