Partnering
with
Amherst
Regional Middle School
Dear ARMS 8th
Grade Families:
Welcome
back to school! This fall we have a new
program called You Belong! for our 8th grade students which will
take place on Monday, November 4th for Team Evergreen, Tuesday,
November 5th for Team Greylock and on Wednesday November 6th
for Team Frost.
The
You Belong! Program will take place in the ARMS gym. It will be a full day event, beginning at
8:00 am and going until dismissal at 2:20. There will be a break for lunch at
the regular 8th grade lunch time.
The
You Belong! Program:
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True
heroism is trusting what is in one’s heart enough to step out and let it be
seen.
Please
find a full description of the program on the next sheet.
The
cost of this event is not in the school budget, so we are asking each 8th
grade family to contribute what they can now.
We hope you will see this as an opportunity to support and recognize the
great importance of helping our 8th graders become an emotionally
strong and supportive group. This
program will give them the skills and the bonds to take them successfully
through to their high school graduation.
The cost for each
student in this program is $25. We
are asking that each family contribute what they can to support You
Belong! Please consider an additional
donation of what you can afford ($25, $50, $100) to help support scholarships. Please
send in cash or check (made out to ARMS) along with the completed detached form
to your student's advisory teacher by Tuesday, October 15th.
GREAT NEWS!! The Amherst Rotary Club
has given ARMS $500 dollars to help us get started!
For
more information you may contact:
Rebecca Fricke (parent volunteer) rebfricke@gmail.com
or Mike Malone (Assistant Principal) malonem@arps.org
.
Thank
you so much for your support --
Rebecca
Fricke
(Please detach and return with your contribution and
permission slip)
Student's
name:
_____________________________________ Team: _______________________________
Please
check the following:
__
Yes! I can support the 8th grade
year-end activities. Enclosed is my
contribution of:
__
$5 __ $15 __ $25 __
$50 __ $75
____ $100 ___ other
__
I would like to request a scholarship for You Belong!
Parent’s
Name: _______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Synopsis
You Belong!
Igniting a generation of everyday heroes
There can
seem
to be a lot at stake when you
are in middle school
and high school. It can a place where you have to navigate so
many things claiming to
measure your value – your grades, relationships,
affiliation with a particular group,
where you
live, the color of your skin
or whom you are attracted to.
When
assumptions are made,
it can be a place where appearances
make the difference between fitting in or feeling isolated or alone. Reputations
can be made and
broken in
a matter of seconds with
just the click of a button. The result is
that
there can be so
many formative feelings,
questions,
hopes and fears
that feel like they
must be kept hidden – things that
feel
so very real, yet
lie just below the surface of what
people allow to be seen
and talked about.
But, what if you did not have to try to fit
in? What if you could
feel
confident
that if you shared who
you really are – the
self that you
let few see –
that it would be held
with respect and care? What
if you
could
step into the hallway of your school and
know that you had a group of peers
who knew the real you
and had your back? What
if you could
be a part of creating a school where people knew
they
belonged?
“You Belong!” is
a transformative program that engages
students, teachers and community members in creating
a vibrant culture of compassion,
inclusion and support. Through a progression of dynamic group
activities, thought provoking questioning,
and
transparent dialogue,
participants
co-create an environment of physical and emotional safety where the
full and authentic
expression of each person is welcomed and
honored. During this process, participants
deepen connections
with self and others, resulting in increased personal confidence and
compassion. Ignited by the four components
of everyday heroism
– vision, courage,
vulnerability and
action – participants emerge more emphatically rooted in their
unique strengths, embodying actions
that reflect their values and
those of their community.
The You Belong! Program:
Breaks down social and culture barriers. Reduces
bullying,
teasing and
stereotyping.
Increases
peer advocacy.
Increases sense of belonging,
value and self-esteem.
Increases ability to
communicate honestly about difficult and
challenging
issues. Increases
healthy emotional
expression.
True heroism
is trusting what is in one’s heart
enough to step
out and let that be seen. Yes, there is risk,
but think of what you are risking without this act. How can you truly belong if the real you
has never been revealed. A community
of belonging
can be inspired by the action of just a few. How much more when
it is an entire class of
everyday heroes?
Program Outline:
The first half of the day is highly fun and active as participants engage in
a series of energizing
group activities, icebreakers
and initiatives that serve to build rapport and
trust amongst individuals. During this time, groups of 6-8
are formed and have the opportunity
to develop group identity by generating a group
name,
cheer and
handshake.
The transition to the second half of the day involves creating
a physically and emotionally
safe container through
the
dialogue addressing respect,
attention
and confidentiality. This results
in the commitment to a
set of norms that will help
guide encounters
throughout the
rest of the day.
During this time, students
also learn particular communication
tools such as “I” language and the framing of
positive and negative statements.
The second half of
the day leads participants through a progression of dialogues, reflections and
sharing. Activities focus on identifying
personal strengths and vision, enabling participants to see their own unique
value, and encouraging them to wield that value in an “on purpose” manner. The
day ends with an opportunity for appreciation, gratitude and sharing within the
entire class. Due to all that has been built up to this point, this can be by
far the richest part of the day. The final component is a commitment ceremony
allowing students to identify ways in which they will carry forward the spirit
of what took place during this program.
Challenge by
Choice: This program implements the philosophy of challenge by choice.
We
are most interested in encouraging
participants to explore their true and authentic selves amidst their peers.
We
find that this happens best
when participants engage in
activities that allow them
to step from the world of the
known and familiar to that of new experiences and abilities. It is important for participants
to recognize that
this experience involves
exploring personal
boundaries and
understanding how to
identify where it is healthy to stretch one’s
boundaries, as well
as where it is important to hold fast to those boundaries for one’s physical and
emotional safety.
These boundaries will be different
for each person and are ultimately for that
individual to define.
Our facilitators
will always
encourage
participants to step outside their comfort-zone into the realm of the unknown
where new learning and
personal growth
occurs. However, it
is of vital importance that
participants have the opportunity at any point
to adjust their involvement
in activity in such a way that
they
can still contribute to the
process while maintaining their physical and
emotional well-being.
