The Bubble Project

The Bubble Project was our student initiative to create a more inclusive school community, reducing academic and personal anxieties through discussion between junior and senior students. Due to the pandemic, some younger students at school were having trouble readjusting to school. The 8th grade especially struggled with a very fragmented social environment with constant breakdowns, disagreements, and social exclusion. To improve this, we created support groups called bubbles, where junior students could communicate their issues or questions in a protected, confidential space. The bubbles consisted of 7 students from Grade 8 and one from Grade 12 as leader. To prompt deep conversations, we developed games and frameworks that established rapport within the group. My favourite was a game called 'Spectrum' that delved into contentious topics like academic competition, social rivalry, and homophobia. Constructive discussions helped students realise that many of their opinions were based on wanting to be perceived as “cool”, and not how they really felt. Authentic conversations brought the class much closer together, with teachers reporting fewer instances of exclusion and dispute.