Thrive: 

Social-Emotional Well-being is synergistic to academic achievement.

Navigating Middle School can be difficult

The reality is that transitioning to middle school is a huge step as adolescence involves many different changes. Your body and thoughts begin to transform and feelings become way more complicated.  At the same time that these changes are occurring, you are faced with more complex environmental factors including new academic challenges and new social pressures.  As a result of these many changes you may be in a state of feeling overwhelmed.  Adolescents can expect to make many mistakes in middle school and it all comes down to how well you can bounce back from your setbacks. 

Because a lot happens in adolescence, knowing what to expect and what is typical can make it easier for you to handle the challenges and changes that come with being a teenager or having a teenage child. Here are some things you should know that may be relevant to you:

 Ages: 10-13 ● Puberty starts (females usually mature 1-2 years earlier than males) ● May be challenging to balance family obligations with wanting to be independent ● Become more aware of physical attractiveness and physical changes ● Become more aware of yourself as a person with future wants/wishes ● Often have high expectations and lofty goals for the future, even if these ideas are not realistic (e.g., being famous) ● Desire to make more friends and to test authority figures ● Your behavior, mood, and motivations change often ● Start to become interested in sex and romantic partners ● May have difficulty thinking things through before acting

Identifying the need for additional supports

Having trouble bouncing back? It is possible that during this time of transition there might be situations you might find difficult to cope or address on your own? Although feelings are normal sometimes they can become overwhelming and they can interfere with our every day lives. We encourage you to reach out to a trusted adult or your wellness support team at Ross for Support (Support team: Mrs. Silvas, Mrs. Kaminsky, Mrs. Elli). 

Confidentiality

Your privacy is important to us, and we believe that counseling is most effective when students feel comfortable speaking openly with their counselor. 

The first question we usually hear from students is "will you tell my parents?" This is where we introduce "confidentiality". Confidentiality refers to the rules about what information can be shared with others, and what information must be kept between a student and the counselor. We want every student to know what rules are for keeping information confidential. Generally speaking, everything you say in a counseling session is confidential. However, the following are things that a counselor must inform parents, and possibly other school personnel, about by law to ensure the safety of everyone involved:

• • Self-injury (including cutting and thoughts of suicide)

  • Threats to harm others

  • Reports of abuse (if someone is hurting you, including bullying)

  • Threats to harm school property (attacks, property damage)

If this is a life threatening emergency, please call 911.