Despite Canada’s multi-cultural posture of inclusion and tolerance, not all students feel a sense of belonging to the various social groups at school. While opportunities for participation are given, one cannot presume that a student new to a school community will feel a sense of belonging. Students need to be invited to move from the peripheral sphere of co-existence in space, to the inner core of relationship or possibly to friendship. We identify strategies that teachers and student peers can use to permeate in- and out-group boundaries common to school environments. This session will focus on equipping participants with conceptual and practical tools that can empower students to recognize shared similarities, bridge differences, and foster a mutual identity and a sense of belonging for all. Word count: 125 By the end of this session, attendees will be able to: 1. Understand the need to move beyond societal tolerance to nurturing a child’s sense of belonging to a school micro-community. 2. To provide a framework for creating pathways that enable engagement with “difference” in order to establish a shared identity. 3. Provide suggestions and multi-grade activities for teachers.