By Lisa Kruger, Review Staff Writer
The Adrian Elementary is excited to start off the month of October with a gesture of friendship and kindness. The Grand Prairie Rockets 4-H Club has donated two “Buddy Benches” to the school to help with the school’s 2016 anti-bullying campaign during October’s Bullying Prevention Month. The 4-H club demonstrated how to use the benches by performing a skit during the school’s Monday morning blast off.
What is The Buddy Bench?
The buddy bench is simply to eliminate loneliness and to create friendship on the playground. A child will sit on the bench when they are feeling lonely or left out, signaling other children to ask them to play. The schools mission is to spread the message of inclusion and kindness!
Christian Buck started this idea in the United States after seeing it on a German’s school website. He started the idea with his principal and in 2013 the second grader introduced it to his school in an assembly.
At least 2,000 elementary schools on six continents have installed buddy benches on their playgrounds.
Here at Adrian Elementary School the staff teaches about caring, sharing and respect with their anti-bullying messages. Plans are in place to teach the message “Wanted: Playground Buddy, Need a Friend? Sit on The Buddy Bench!” Be a friend and make a friend.
Members of the Grand Prairie Rockets 4-H Club; Whitney Henning, Addison Wieneke and
Cody Weidert show how to use the Buddy Bench.
