My name is E-J Boyd and I am a School Support Teacher in Nanaimo and I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Darcy for the past 8 years, approximately, as an Interventionist for several of the children that I have taught when I was a Kindergarten teacher. In recent years I have also had the pleasure of working with Darcy in my role as Student Support Teacher and I have always found her to be open, approachable and eager to try new strategies with the kids she works with.
All of the students she has worked with have shown immense growth socially and are much more capable of navigating their social world because of her interventions. More recently, I have worked closely with Darcy to run a Social Skills intervention program at my school. We have worked together with students from K-Grade 7 to help the children develop greater social awareness skills and the skills that will help them make, and keep, friends. This Friendship Club (as we called it) has been a highlight for many of our students and as Darcy has worked with the kids, I have seen many students experience “ah ha” moments when they finally understand why making friends may have been hard for them, Through direct teaching of specific skills, role plays and fun games Darcy and I were able to lead the children to a greater understanding of the skills needed for healthy social relationships and this in turn has helped the children become happier and more confident in the school environment.