Have a question?
We may have heard it before.

I’m so glad you asked! We’ve now done hundreds of online workshops since COVID-19 closed schools down and are pros at this “new way” of teaching. While in-person workshops are still possible in areas we have Licensed Presenters, our online workshops have proven to be just as impactful and, in the case of our parent-child workshops, EVEN BETTER!

For Day of Friendship workshops, we create zoom links for each session. Students can log-in via their individual devices or teachers can log-in and display the session up on their interactive boards or screens.

For our Language of Friendship (parent-child) workshop, parents register online to attend. They are sent the log-in details and simply click on the link when it’s go-time. Parents & children have the option to have their cameras on/off and can use the chat functionality to ask questions. The school is requested to welcome their families at the beginning and introduce our Presenter!

We generally book out months in advance, so submit your request early if you’re interested! We’d love to work with your school!

Our resources & curriculum are designed only for use in our URSTRONG Schools, taught only by teachers. Therefore, as a private practitioner you are unfortunately not eligible to join the URSTRONG Schools community, deliver Friendology 101, or use any of our IP. Our IP (Intellectual Property) includes the language, strategies, & visual tools and many of our terms have been trademarked for this reason and are protected under copywrite laws. (Sorry! We hope to one day find a model that will allow private practitioners to utlilize our curriculum & resources in an effective way.)

However, there are lots of other ways that you can partner with us at URSTRONG! Maybe you could host a workshop for your community? Maybe you could encourage your parents to take advantage of our free Parent Membership? We can get creative around ways that we can honour the integrity of our schools-based programming, plus support you in your practice/organization. Send us a note and let’s get chatting: info@urstrong.com

No, private workshops are only for the members of that specific school community. Please keep your eye out for another public workshop close by to you that you can attend, or consider asking your school to host a Language of Friendship (parent-child) workshop.

If you would like to attend a Language of Friendship (parent-child) workshop and you can’t see a public workshop online, the best thing to do is introduce your child’s school to URSTRONG and invite them to host a workshop!

You can also reach out to us to let us know that you’d like to see something happening at your school and we will support you as you introduce URSTRONG to your school community. We do host public Language of Friendship workshops online a few times throughout the year.

URSTRONG is a school-wide relationship strategy that can complement existing wellbeing programs or serve as the foundation for an emerging social-emotional wellbeing program at your school.

What’s unique about URSTRONG is that everything we do is through the lens of friendship skills. This is because all of the wellbeing science proves that relationships are the heart of wellbeing. Research shows that healthy friendships in childhood and adolescence promote positive mental health improving reslience, self-concept, a sense of purpose, academic performance, and attitudes towards learning (Vitaro F., Boivin M., & Bukowski W.M., 2009). We also know that when children experience unhealthy friendships, conflict in friendships, or social isolation, they often display symptoms of anxiety, depression, and have difficulty learning. In addition, children who are struggling socially are more likely to disengage and avoid school. Ultimately, when we get friendships right in schools, students flourish.

Our Friendology 101 Facilitator’s Guide demonstrates how our curriculum aligns with CASEL’s SEL framework and Positive Education’s PERMA model. We have also built out a number of resources that demonstrate how to align our friendship strategy with other social-emotional frameworks. For example, Zones of Regulation, Character Strengths, and theoretical frameworks focused on neuroscience, such as Dan Seigel’s Flipping Your Lid model of the brain and Ash Buchanan’s Benefit Mindset (an evolution of Growth Mindset). In our Friendology 101 Educator Training, we discuss other programs and resources that have a natural fit with our social-emotional wellbeing approach (e.g. Bucket Filler resources, Kimochis, Leader in Me, PBL, Restorative Practices, Berry Street, etc.).

Be sure to get in touch to learn how schools at different stages of their wellbeing journey have integrated URSTRONG into their wellbeing frameworks.

We’ve found that hosting a Language of Friendship (parent-child) workshop is a great way to introduce URSTRONG to your school community for a few reasons:

• These workshops are very popular as they provide a host of kid-friendly concepts and tips for parents to create dialogue with their children around friendship issues.
• We also provide complimentary tickets to all teachers so that they can learn the same language and skills to support the students at school.
• This is also a great no-cost option for schools as they most often provide a venue and promotional support while the parents register and pay for themselves.

Every school has different needs and challenges and most of our introductions have come from dedicated parents, teachers or administrators who have emailed or called to learn about URSTRONG. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@urstrong.com to start the conversation.

Let’s just say, we are a PRO-FRIENDSHIP program! While we don’t use the word “bullying” in our curriculum (because the word is misused, misunderstood, and results in people labeling a child a “bully” – which is name-calling in our eyes!), we are teaching friendship skills that PREVENT bullying. In fact, we were awarded the Inspiration Award by the Government of Alberta, Canada for our leadership in bullying prevention.

Using kids’ language for kids’ problems is a big part of our success in URSTRONG Schools! Here’s an article that explains the important difference between a Friendship Fire, Mean-on-Purpose, Mean-by-Accident, and Bullying.