Alina Untila is only in Grade 5, but today she is learning how to be a leader on the playground and help the younger students.

“We’re learning how to be nice and help everybody and how to teach other kids about respect,” the Vincent Massey Community School student says.

Alina knows what it’s like to be teased and left out, but now she is gaining skills she can use to make the playground fun and safe for everyone.

Bethany Dick organizes the training and says creating student leaders helps both the older students and the younger students to interact more positively.

“When they have this role as a leader than their negative behaviour is decreasing as well,” Dick said.

The training is run by Lakeland District for Sport, Culture, and Recreation and is hosted for schools across the province.