Sudbury kids make school yard friendlier with yellow "buddy" bench

Students at Lansdowne Public School in Sudbury are hoping a special new "buddy bench" will help other kids feel less alone on the school yard.

The idea behind the bright yellow bench is simple: when a student needs someone to play with or is nervous to approach others, he or she can sit on the bench. When other kids see someone sitting on it, they know that student is looking for a friend.

Troy Jones, a grade eight student at the school, helped build the bench.

"There are kids who have no one else to play with or hang out with," he said.

Jones said it can be nerve-racking to approach another kid on the playground and ask them to play.

"There are some days when I am lonely or some days where people don't include me in stuff, I just don't know what to really do. So I think the buddy bench is a pretty awesome idea," he said.

Trent Oystrick, the teacher behind the project, said many at-risk students in the school gained a sense of pride and ownership building and decorating the bench.

"We brought down some kids that would traditionally be a challenge in class. Every kid that was down here was totally engaged. We never had any behaviour problems," he said.

He added that the kids who built the bench could get an idea about career options in the trades, too.

School staff say the buddy bench was such a hit with students they're hoping to build more like it.