Salvaging Sisterhood Promotes Positive Relationships
Elementary girls' group fosters friendship and healthy social skills.
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Launch the media gallery 1 player - media #3"I am unique."
"I set high standards for myself."
"I see the good in others."
It's these positive affirmations that the 4th grade girls shared with each other and their elementary counselor Mrs. Diane McClain on a Wednesday afternoon during lunch period. They were gathered for their weekly girls' group, Salvaging Sisterhood. Mrs. McClain started the voluntary 8-week group several years ago for 4th and 5th grade girls. They meet together in her office, eat lunch and spend time talking about things that matter: developing empathy, healthy conflict resolution, feelings exploration, and how to be a good friend.
On this day, the girls each wrote down one positive affirmation about themselves and then shared them with the larger group. Some girls quietly spoke a quick statement, while others gave more detail, but one thing was certain - they were all happy to be there.
Mrs. McClain said they do a variety of activities during their times together, including personality quizzes, role play, and self-evaluation of friendship skills. They go through the positive affirmations activity during each meeting, and Mrs. McClain encourages the girls to read the quotes to themselves throughout the week to build their self-esteem.
She also gives each girl who enters the group a journal and a folder and asks them to write in their journals daily. It helps the girls to find healthy ways to process their emotions. They can bring their journals back to get a sticker and they can share a journal entry with the group if they wish.
5th Grader Dylan went through the program last year and said she felt like it was a safe place to share her problems. "I liked how we could talk about hard things that were going on while we were there," said Dylan. "Mrs. McClain helped us to think of good ways to handle it all."
Thank you to Mrs. McClain for providing such a positive program for the 4th and 5th grade girls at PC R-1. Your impact will surely make a difference for years to come.
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