BY ISABEL GENECIN

The MHS Planning Council, a committee that meets to discuss possible school improvements, is designing a new school program. The middle and elementary schools have “rap groups” and advocacy groups in which students can get together and talk to a psychologist during lunch. The high school does not have an equivalent to these groups, so the Planning Council, Vice Principal Gail Kleiner and School Psychologist Samantha Gambino will be meeting to brainstorm ideas for these group meetings.

            Having an organized place for students to go on specific days will be beneficial. Advocacy groups in the middle school helped students meet other students who were not in their classes. In the high school, the open campus makes it easy to spend all of your free time with a small group of close friends. In these groups, students would be able to meet and make new friends that they would not otherwise encounter on a daily basis. This would help unify the school and network the MHS community.

             Stress levels in the high school are much higher than in the middle or elementary schools. With honors and AP classes, many students cannot find a minute to unwind during the school day and are constantly going from one thing to the next. After school is not much better, with extracurricular activities and homework taking up every minute of free time. Having one hour of the day to talk and relax would be great. Advocacy groups were always fun, and these groups would have a similar dynamic. Counselors are often very busy with the juniors and seniors, especially during this time of year. For students who are stressed out but do not want to bother their busy counselors, this would be a place to talk about their stress with their peers. Discussing ways to relieve stress with students who are going through the exact same thing as you could have positive long-term effects.

Gambino has been visiting certain classes in the school and promoting these clubs. She talked with these classes, asking students what makes them stressed out. For many students, the common stressors were AP and honors classes, parents and finding the balance between work and free time. She also informed the students of the nature of these meetings: they would be strictly optional and would happen five or six times a year. If students have a conflict at lunch, they would not be penalized for missing a meeting.

If a student has a problem with something, there will always be a place for him or her to seek help in the school. However, many students do not know where to find help or are too timid to speak to someone they do not know. With these school groups, students would feel more comfortable and could develop a relationship with the psychologist or social worker involved with the group. A group of peers to fall back on and a trained professional to talk to would create valuable support group that any student could access.