Wicklow Montessori | Family Groups and Leadership Skills
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Image of people holding fallen leaves (courtesy Providence Doucet)

Family Groups 

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As part of school the children are assigned to a particular family group.  This encourages each of the children to interact with other students throughout the school.

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The children of different age groups work together on themes and tasks, and present their findings to each other and to the whole school at assembly.

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The older children in the group are encouraged to  help the younger children with pieces of work and reading. 

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Each year the composition of the family groups are changed, as are the names of the groups. The names are based on the whole school’s theme which is varied each year.

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The Family Group system aims to stimulate collective working, develop social skills, create a sense of responsibility and respect for each other and one self thus creating a "bully-free" atmosphere in the school.

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The older children are given a leadership role and develop an awareness of being responsible for younger children so enhancing their self-esteem.

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Leadership Skills

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Most young people do not get to experience leadership until much later in life, many of them never get formal leadership training and all too often our greatest asset is not invested in -- the next generation.  We feel that by giving our young people formal leadership training we can help them develop their emotional intelligence which has been proven to help them become effective leaders and team players. 

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The leadership training allows our young people to develop key skills such as planning, managing conflict, effective communication, working in teams and much more.  They are also all given the unique opportunity to lead their peers in different activities and challenges that will help them grow their understanding of effective leadership. 

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Sixth-class children participate in a formal leadership training day in early September. They use the skills they have been taught both in their day-to-day lives and as leaders of their school family groups.

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