Skip To Main Content
  
Boys Belong at BHA, Too

Boys Belong at BHA, Too

By Arnold Poe - Grade 3 Teacher

During any given recess time, you will see Junior School girls sitting, talking, eating snacks, running around and enjoying their break time. But if you look closer, you will also see a smaller group of students that you wouldn’t expect to see at Branksome Hall Asia. Our Junior School is co-educational from JK Prep to Grade 5. We support our boys’ transition to other schools at the completion of Junior School at the end of Grade 5.

The “Boys’ Village” was born at the beginning of this school year as a way to support our boys in Grade 1 to 5 through their many phases of growth and change during their Junior School years. With the students coming up with their own name, the ‘Boys’ Village’ meets every second Wednesday in the cafeteria for a delicious pizza lunch.  Afterwards, under the guidance of some male teachers in the Junior School, students are able to develop the skills and coping strategies needed to be successful in our school environment. Targeted skills including friendship, communication, and social skills are just some of the main areas we focuse on. The students are involved in group read alouds, cooperation games and teamwork challenges in their post-lunch sessions.

We also use the time to look at the IB Learner Profile as a way to self-reflect on how we are as students at Branksome Hall Asia. How can you be principled? How can we be caring to our friends and others around us? When were you a risk taker? These are just some of the questions that we asked our boys as they enjoyed interacting with their peers in a small group setting. The students were comforted by discovering that other children are navigating the challenges of growing up as well. 

I would like to thank our Junior School Counselor, Ms. Mack, and the teachers who have been volunteering their lunch hour to take sessions with our boys in the Junior School; Mr. Watene, Mr. Poe, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Drury, Mr. Roberts and Mr. Han.