Mankato PA Teams 2004-05.7.tikalsky

Coach: Jill Tikalsky
Melissa, Chelsea, Mariah, Kourtney, Jade, Rachel

April 2006

This year in Public Achievement we got a lot more accomplished than we give ourselves credit for. Each week the girls came to Public Achievement with many great and creative ideas. Since our first meeting, I can see that the girls have become friends with people that normally do not associate with. It was a big focus for us to have our entire group accept one another and respect other peoples’ thoughts and opinions. We talked a lot about confidentiality and how important that was to the group. If the girls were having a problem in school, they knew Public Achievement was a place they could discuss their feelings and get advice from the other girls or from me.
Our first project we started was the “Talking Locker”. If a student at DMMS had a problem, they were able to write and explain their situation and then put it into a locker that was designated for our group. Each week we would go and check the locker. The girls would then write down a response to the problem and then put it back in the person’s locker. The girls did an awesome job on the posters we hung around school. Our final project is the “Suicide Awareness Bag”. Each member of seventh grade PA will get a bag with a suicide statistic sheet, crisis card, a yellow ribbon, and a Hershey’s Hug. The girls did a great job on raising awareness about teen suicide and depression.

joseph.kunkel@mankato.mnsu.edu ------------------------------------- May 2006----------- Mankato PA Home
				2005-2006 Public Achievement
	Teens Listening and Caring (7th grade)
		Coach: Jill Tikalsky Melissa, Chelsea, Mariah, Kourtney, Jade, Rachel April 2006 This year in Public Achievement we got a lot more accomplished than we give ourselves credit for. Each week the girls came to Public Achievement with many great and creative ideas. Since our first meeting, I can see that the girls have become friends with people that normally do not associate with. It was a big focus for us to have our entire group accept one another and respect other peoples’ thoughts and opinions. We talked a lot about confidentiality and how important that was to the group. If the girls were having a problem in school, they knew Public Achievement was a place they could discuss their feelings and get advice from the other girls or from me. Our first project we started was the “Talking Locker”. If a student at DMMS had a problem, they were able to write and explain their situation and then put it into a locker that was designated for our group. Each week we would go and check the locker. The girls would then write down a response to the problem and then put it back in the person’s locker. The girls did an awesome job on the posters we hung around school. Our final project is the “Suicide Awareness Bag”. Each member of seventh grade PA will get a bag with a suicide statistic sheet, crisis card, a yellow ribbon, and a Hershey’s Hug. The girls did a great job on raising awareness about teen suicide and depression.

			December 2005 Teen Suicide: Teens Listening and Caring Within the past couple of weeks, TLC has come along way. The group of seven seventh grade girls have learned to vote democratically, how to be a strong public speaker, and the seriousness of teen suicide. TLC has decided to start a “talking locker” at DMMS. Students at DMMS will be able to write down any problems they are having and then drop it off in the “talking locker”. During our PA meetings we will check the locker as a group and then write the student back and try to help with their problem. For example, a student may be in an argument with their group of friends and have nobody to sit with at lunch. The student can fill out a form with their name, locker number and problem and then tell our group they would like to have someone sit with them at lunch. We will fill out a response letting the student know to come sit with one of the girls at lunch. The girls feel this will help eliminate stereotyping at DMMS. They want everyone in their school to feel welcome and know they have friends to turn to when they are in need. Our goals for the year are to work well together in a group, help solve problems, accept people for who they are, raise awareness on teen suicide, and to eliminate stereotyping and peer pressure. The girls also want to have a lot of fun! .