Woodside High School
Students Offering Support
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Conflict Mediation Request Formtitle
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Students Offering Support (SOS) trains and supports youth advocates to listen, share, help, mentor, and teach their peers. It encompasses six programs, each with its own focus:
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Freshman Transitiontitle
Freshman Transition focuses on building a welcoming, safe and caring community by teaming each 9th grader with an upper-class Peer Leader.
Peer Leaders are sophomores, juniors and seniors who complete approximately 12 hours of training to prepare for their work with the freshmen.
Orientation Day is the kick-off event for Freshman Transition and the new school year. Freshmen and new students attend a Welcome Rally and tour the campus with a Peer Leader.
From August through March, pairs of Peer Leaders meet every 2 to 4 weeks with a small group of freshmen during World Studies I. They teach a different theme at each meeting: getting to know your group, getting to know your school, values, stereotyping, bullying, harassment, and working together. Peer Leaders guide a variety of activities around each theme to help freshmen develop the communication and listening skills needed to build cultural competencies and to succeed in school and within their families and communities.
Peer Leaders are available to meet informally with freshmen outside of class time.
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Freshman Challenge Daytitle
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As part of our Freshman Transition Program, our peer leaders take all freshmen on a low ropes course with their social studies teachers. The freshmen bond and engage in trust and team building activities that increase the feeling of community at Woodside High School. Research shows that students who feel connected to school are more successful than those who don't. |
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Conflict Mediationtitle
Conflict Mediation provides a safe and confidential environment for settling problems between students, teachers and/or parents in a non-violent manner. Peer Mediators complete 12 hours of training to learn the mediation process.
Mediation sessions are held during school time on an as-needed basis throughout the school year. Any WHS community member (students, teachers, administrators, staff or parents) may refer a dispute to our program by contacting one of the coordinators in person, or by phone or email. During a session, two trained mediators sit down with the two disputants and help them solve the problem.
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Safe School Ambassador Programtitle
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The Safe School Ambassador Program is a national violence prevention program that promotes the power of teens to intervene when they notice bullying at school and off campus. Students are trained in seven strategies for preventing and intervening safely when they notice mistreatment. Woodside High School trains 45 students each year to join the SSA Program. We meet every other week to discuss what we've noticed and to plan multicultural activities for the school. |
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Kids Learn Empathy and Respect (KLEAR)title
KLEAR - KIDS LEARNING EMPATHY AND RESPECT
The KLEAR program promotes empathy and respect among students, parents, and staff in the Woodside High School community. Its focus is to create a common language of respect and empathy for all people at school, on the playing field, and in life.
KLEAR has been updated.
KLEAR now has three components which still focus on empathy and respect, but we are changing from an alternative to suspension focus to delivering three pro-active curricula.
1. Building Empathy and Respect Mentoring
Peer mentors are paired one on one with students who are referred for disrespectful or bullying behavior.
2. TEAM: Together Everyone Achieves More
Two hour sessions focusing on sportsmanship, resiliency, decisionmaking, and leadership skills for Woodside High School teams and/or groups.
3. Promoting respect in the classroom
Assistance for teachers and classes with curriculum focused on respectful communication, winning and losing choices, and empathy for others. Safe School Ambassador students are available to deliver lessons.
KLEAR helps to create a more caring environment in which all students can succeed at Woodside High School.
If you have further questions or want to get involved, please contact the KLEAR coordinator, Elaine Dessus at edessus@seq.org.