From being an alien to belonging

Over the past week, we have been working on our paragraphs, finishing them to the highest standard possible, and beginning our personal reading programme.  Students have been posting their posters and paragraphs on Rowdy and Junior's friendship in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian on their learning blogs.

Today we are looking at another aspect of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, the part where Junior moves schools and feels like he doesn't belong on the Reservation or at Reardon.  He feels too different from everyone else in both places. 

It's really possible that students at Grey High sometimes feel like they are alone, and too different to everyone else.  One of the times when students can feel most separate from their learning and from feeling like they belong at school is when they get referred.  Option A: Write about a time when you were in trouble at school.  What happened and how did it feel?

Another time when students feel like an alien is when they are lonely.  Sometimes people feel lonely even when they seem to have friends all around them, and sometimes people feel lonely because they have no one with them.  Option B: Write about a time when you were lonely at school.  What happened and how did it feel?

Option C: What makes it difficult to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance at Grey High?  What makes it easier?  How can we build on what we do well to make our school more welcoming?