GirlTalk, BAM, Ladies' Lunch Bunch, Guys' Getaway and More

I would like to first off take this opportunity to thank all of our Middle School students and parents for their help in making Fall 2010 such a wonderful semester for the Middle School Counseling Program. We had a lot of fun! Moreover, I believe we all took home some valuable experiences and educational moments.

In that same vein, last year the Middle School counseling department started and continued a number of interesting programs designed to support all of our students. As we start this new year, we are looking to further develop these programs by letting parents and students know just how much we have to offer.

Among the list of our returning programs is our veteran initiative, GirlTalk. This bi-weekly morning gathering is open to all female Middle School students at Darlington. During these meetings, we talk about a wide range of topics from friendship to study skills. There is always a prepared topic for the day, but often we will first open up the floor to any girls who might want to talk about a specific topic or may have questions. To date, these meetings have not needed to be separated by grade level. However, there are plans in place to break into even smaller groups depending on the topic of interest. One of the primary reasons we are able to do that is that we have two Upper School girls, Margaret Hjort ('11)and Kelsey Ann Williams ('12), who assist in these meetings. Both of these young ladies are also former Middle School students.

Last year, we also started a similar boys group at the Middle School, B.A.M.(Becoming Amazing Men). This group is a little different in that it not only focuses on friendships, but also what it means to be a young man and how to deal with the common issues they encounter at this age in relating to others. This group is led by Upper School Counselor Chris Allen. Luke Cook ('11), a male Upper School student, has also taken on a mentor role. BAM is likewise open to all Middle School boys.

Both groups meet at 7:30 a.m. every other week in adjacent classrooms at the Middle School and are open to all students in grades 5-8.

Under that same umbrella of programming is our new bi-weekly Ladies' Lunch Bunch that is again open to all Middle School girls. Due to lunch scheduling, these meetings are by necessity broken down in to 5th/6th and 7th/8th grade ladies. Each lunch usually has about three different girls that will join me in the Library to discuss books, school, friends...you name it!

For our brother lunch program, Guys' Getaway, the gentlemen are invited to lunch in Dr. Hutchins’ office, where they are afforded an opportunity to step out of the lunchroom social scene and interact with one another. Again, this is open to all young men at the Middle School and is, by necessity, broken down by lunches. Generally three to four boys will attend a lunch at a time.

These groups are but a few items of programming we hope to offer this year at the Middle School. I'm very excited about 2011 and have already started brainstorming ideas. If anyone has feedback or ideas of their own, I invite them to e-mail me or call me directly.