March Report
Hello everyone!
I’m going to share some photos here, and I also wanted to give a short summary of our first session.
We began with some housekeeping and a few ground rules around kindness, respect, and participation, followed by a name game.
The teens were then asked to decorate the cover of a book in a way that expressed who they are. Since they all have different personalities and ways of engaging with the world, they each approached the task differently.
Afterwards, we encouraged them to reflect on how they interacted with others, the assumptions they made about themselves and their peers, and how their thoughts and behaviours during the activity might mirror the way they approach tasks, responsibilities, and relationships in everyday life.
We explored questions such as whether they had already decided in advance if they would enjoy the activity or be good at it, whether they jumped straight in or held back, whether they asked for help or preferred to manage on their own, and how much they were influenced by what others were doing around them. We also looked at whether they were aware of other people’s needs, whether they expressed their own needs, whether they spent time planning or rushed to finish, and how much their level of interest affected the effort they gave. This opened up valuable reflection around confidence, shyness, self-judgement, awareness of others, and the different ways people approach tasks both independently and in group settings.
In the next activity, the teens first had to guess who in the room they thought they would have the most in common with. We then played a choice game where they moved to different sides of the room depending on their preferences — for example beach or mountain, hot or cold weather, large group or one close friend. They kept track of who ended up in their group each time, and at the end they worked out who they actually had the most in common with.
In the reflection afterwards, we asked them to think about why they had chosen that person in the beginning, before they had any real information. This led into a discussion about first impressions, the quick judgements we make when we first meet people, the clues we think we are using, and how often our assumptions can turn out to be inaccurate.
We asked whether it surprised them to learn who they actually had the most in common with. We also explored the idea that people do not need to be very similar to get along well, and that the way someone treats others may matter more than shared preferences.
Their final activity focused on perception. We looked at a few optical illusions and they wrote down the first thing they saw. Most found it difficult to see the second image once they had recognised the first, which helped us talk about how the brain often takes shortcuts. We can feel sure we are seeing someone clearly, when really we may only be seeing part of the picture.
This opened up a conversation about slowing down, questioning our assumptions, and making space for the possibility that there may be more going on for someone than our first impression suggests.
It was lovely to hear some of the kids’ feedback afterwards, but it was also really special to watch the mentors beginning to find their feet. They were a little nervous too, but it was exciting to see how much they will also grow in confidence and in their roles as we continue.
A reminder to the kids that they need to have 30 things that they are grateful for, written in their booklets before they return! They won’t be required to share this, but it needs to be done! 🤗They can do one per day, or all at once on the way to the session next time if they prefer stress and panic. 😂
