URstrong

Educators…have you checked your inbox!? ✨

Your invitation to our first-ever International Day of Friendship with Friendology has officially landed! 🎉 And, it only makes sense that this year's theme is: Friendships are the heart of wellbeing! 💚💛🧡❤️

Get ready for a day packed with friendship fun, including:
🎥 A very special assembly video for a whole-school watch party
💬A planning tool to help you map out the best day ever
🎨 Printable classroom activities
🏃‍♀️ Playground games & friendship challenges
🌈 Creative ways to celebrate the friendships that make school such a happy place to be!

*Registration is required*, so don't let your invitation disappear into your overflowing inbox! 😉 Be sure to sign up & join Friendology Schools from around the world as we celebrate the power of healthy friendships.

Let's make this the biggest friendship celebration ever! 💚💛🧡❤️

Let's talk about BFFs. Besties. Best Friends. Ride-or-dies. 💕

Over the years, I've had the occasional parent or teacher tell me the idea of a best friend makes them uncomfortable. They worry it's exclusionary, encourages cliques, or makes others feel left-out.

But, let me put your minds at ease. ✨

Research shows that having a bestie can be one of the greatest protective factors for a child's wellbeing. The problem isn't the label - it's when we fail to teach children that every friendship is different, that they can have *more than one* best friend, and that healthy friendships are built on trust & respect!

Close friendships and inclusivity can coexist when we teach kids how to be kind, friendly, and welcoming to all.

I unpack it all in my latest blog. 👉 Pop over to urstrong.com/blog or the direct link is: https://urstrong.com/why-best-friends-matter-more-than-we-think/

🙃You might need to turn your phone... or your head... or BOTH to check out all the fun cut-outs in this month's bulletin board! 😂

This month's wellbeing theme is TRUST, and we're reminding students that healthy friendships are built on trust & respect. 💜

Our printable bulletin boards aren't just adorable classroom décor... They're visual reminders that reinforce the friendship skills you're teaching every day. They spark conversations, celebrate positive behaviours, and keep important wellbeing messages front & centre for your students.

So grab the scissors, dust off the laminator, & transform your classroom into a friendship-filled learning space! ✂️🌈 Don't forget to get your students to colour in the flag!

🩵 June's Wellbeing Theme: TRUST! 💜

Did you know that Friendship Fact #3 teaches us that Trust & Respect are the two most important qualities of a friendship?

When someone says, "I've got your back!" in kid-lingo, they don't mean they're literally holding your back! 😂

It means:
💙 They're there for you when you need them.
💚 They keep their promises.
🩷 Their words are honest.
🧡 They do what they say they're going to do.
💜 You can count on them.

Trust is built one small action at a time. Every kept promise, every act of honesty, and every moment of showing up for a friend helps strengthen the friendship.

This month, our Friendology Schools will be diving into all things TRUST as we help students explore what it means to be trustworthy + how to build friendships that feel safe, strong, and supportive.

📌 Teachers: Don't miss this month's Trust Bulletin Board activity! It's a fun, interactive way to get students thinking about what trust looks, sounds, and feels like in their friendships.

Did you know that bugs & insects are actually AMAZING teachers when it comes to diversity? 🐞🦋🐜

Think about it…
Bees work together in teams.
Butterflies go through transformation.
Ants all have different jobs.
And, even the most unique-looking bugs play an important role in the ecosystem.

Nature reminds us that our differences aren’t problems… they’re powerful. Diversity makes ecosystems stronger - and the same is true for friendships, classrooms, & school communities.

SCIENCE TEACHERS… this one’s for you!

Did you know Friendology includes tons of cross-curricular lessons that weave friendship skills into STEM learning?

☁️ Friendship Forecast → students compare weather vs climate to friendships (temporary Friendship Fires vs long-term healthy friendships)

🐋 Friends in Nature → “Whale, hello there, SCIENCE!” Students explore symbiotic relationships in ecosystems and connect them to healthy friendships

🌈 Rainbow of Friends → diversity, inclusion, and belonging through the lens of nature & connection

PLUS so many opportunities to connect wellbeing, emotions, teamwork, and communication into inquiry-based learning. 💕

Oh my goodness… THIS is what it's all about! 💗🥷🍦

A huge shout-out to Menzies Creek Primary School (VIC, Australia) on the incredible launch of Friendology at your school!

From staff arriving dressed as Friendship Ninjas (I’m obsessed 😂) to friendship scavenger hunts, friendship gardens, daffodil planting, colourful shared lunches, and an ice-cream dance party… what a BEAUTIFUL celebration of friendship, kindness, and belonging.

I especially love that students were introduced to the Friend-o-Meter and our 4 Friendship Facts through hands-on, playful experiences that brought our 'language of friendship' to life in such a meaningful way. This is exactly what we hope for when schools embrace Friendology - creating a shared language + culture around friendship across the whole school community.

And honestly… the best part? Kids saying, “Can we do this everyday?” 🥹

THAT says everything.

Thank you to the amazing staff for your creativity, enthusiasm, & commitment to helping students build healthy friendships and strong social-emotional skills. You’ve created memories your students will never forget. And, y'all nailed the Friendship Ninja poses!! Hilarious!

Friendship really IS the heart of wellbeing. 💗

I was so happy to recently be interviewed by Grade 6 students at the Canadian International School in Singapore for their PYP Exhibition on Neurodiversity & Friendships! 👏 So proud of Lucas, Rudu and Eva!

We LOVE when students at URSTRONG Schools reach out & it was so inspiring to see students diving into such an important topic with so much curiosity and care.

For some kids, social cues can feel confusing, conflict can feel overwhelming, & without clear guidance, friendships can feel so hard. That’s why we believe something simple, but powerful:

✨ Friendship is a skill that can be taught.

At URSTRONG, we often describe Friendology as a playbook for friendship - giving kids a shared language + clear strategies so they know what to do in tricky social moments. When kids aren’t guessing anymore and everyone is following the same 'rules of friendship' at school, everything changes...

💛 More confidence
💛 Less anxiety
💛 Stronger, healthier friendships
💛 Schools full of kids who get along and belong! 💕

Pop over to our blog to learn how we support neurodivergent learners with friendship skills & why our whole-school approach matters so much.

https://urstrong.com/blog/
https://urstrong.com/supporting-neurodivergent-learners-friendship-skills/

👏

🐾✨ BIG NEWS from the Friendology world… ✨🐾

We want to introduce you to the very FIRST wellbeing dog devoted to friendship… And, guess what his name is?

NINJA!!! 😭💛🐾

OMG. I actually cried when this email came in. We’ve met so many incredible wellbeing dogs in our URSTRONG Schools over the years, but never one focused specifically on friendship skills… and never one called Ninja! I truly can’t explain how touched I was. The pawsibilities are endless.

Ninja is a result of the brilliant & loving educators at St Lawrence's Primary School in Geraldton, WA! 🐶🐾(Part of our amazing CEWA community - our partnership just keeps getting sweeter!)

This very special pup has the most paw-some role ever:
🐾 He'll be 'on the hunt' for Friendship Ninjas (students being Kind-on-Purpose & creating Green-Zone Friendships!)
🐾 Celebrating “Supaw Stars” & “Pupstanders” (upstanders who look out for their friends!)
🐾 Helping kids through Friendship Fires and those 'ruff' moments!

I mean… can you even?! We can learn so much about friendship from dogs. Loyalty, inclusion, kindness, listening without judgement...

This is what it’s all about… bringing the language of friendship to life in ways that are joyful, meaningful, and unforgettable for kids.

To the incredible team at St Lawrence’s… thank you. Truly. You’ve created something so special here and we feel so lucky to be part of it.

And please… we NEED videos of Ninja ASAP! Ninja spam is most welcome! 😍🐾

💗 MAY = DIVERSITY 💗

This month in Friendology, we’re celebrating something pretty special…
👉 We are better together!

One of our favourite reminders comes from Dr Christopher Peterson, who summed up Positive Psychology in just three simple words: “Other people matter.”

And isn’t that what friendship is all about? 💫

In our work with kids, we talk a lot about how friendships aren’t about finding people who are exactly like us…They’re about appreciating that we’re all a little different - and that’s what makes friendships so rich, interesting, and FUN.

💗 Different personalities
💗 Different interests
💗 Different ways of thinking

This month, we’re helping kids see that they’re not supposed to be the same as their friends… and that’s a good thing! Friendship Fact #2: Every Friendship is Different. When we honour each other’s differences, we build stronger, more meaningful connections.

Because when kids learn to celebrate what makes each person unique…
✨ they become more open
✨ more inclusive
✨ more connected

Want to keep the conversation going at home or in the classroom? Head over to our blog for a free colouring sheet to explore diversity with your kids 👇
https://urstrong.com/friendship-is-diversity/

We’d love to hear how you’re celebrating diversity with your Friendship Ninjas this month! Tag us or reach out with a DM or email to [email protected]. 💗

🌈Ringwood North Primary School… you’ve got something truly special!

As a URSTRONG School for over 5 years, it was incredible to see how Friendology and the importance of friendship skills are lived every single day. ✨

There were so many highlights…
🌟 Meeting your amazing team of student leaders (your Friend-o-Leaders!) who spoke so bravely and beautifully in their interviews.
🌟 Learning about your legendary Head Friendship Ninja, who takes his role very seriously and keeps everyone on their toes by hiding during assemblies and popping up to surprise students! Haha!
🌟 A Wellbeing Room filled with Friendology resources and lots of love!

And then… the COLOUR RUN!!! 🎉
Our very first one - and safe to say, we’ll never forget it. The colour has officially made its way all the way back to Canada (Ruby and I are still finding it in the craziest places! 😂). And yes… heading back to the hotel in garbage bags on our final day in Melbourne felt like a very hilarious ending! We had to hug Jess goodbye very carefully! lol

What stood out most was the feeling…
Joy. Positivity. Friendship. Connection. Community. ☀️

Seeing so many families come out to support the Colour Run was such a beautiful reminder of the strong, connected community you’ve built together.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to Ken, Jono, and Teresa - and to all the incredible students and staff who made our visit so memorable. We left with full hearts (and very colourful clothes!). ☀️🌈

Ringwood North Primary School