Some students will be invited to participate in small group counseling sessions as part of our school's developmental guidance program.  Referral into a group can be made by teacher, parent, or student.  Groups allow students in similar situations to share feelings, learn, and grow together.  Most group goals here at Maude Wilkins will center around the use of coping skills (handling our feelings in a safe, healthy, & appropriate manner).  Group activities typically include games, artwork, and stories/books.  Groups will meet once a week for six to eight weeks.  Participation is voluntary and confidentiality is respected. 

Banana Split Group:  This group will meet to discuss changes that occur as a result of divorce or separation.  The group focuses on expressing feelings safely and gaining coping skills related to living in different households.  It will help children build confidence and stability.  This group typically starts in January each school year.

Social Skills Group:  Social skills are apart of our everyday life in everything we do!   Students will explore and practice areas of communication (verbal and non-verbal), express feelings, manage conflict, and learn about listening to others.  The group's main goal is to show students how to better relate with their peers and offer confidence in their ability to establish and maintain friendships.  This group typically starts in October each school year.

Grief Group: This group will meet to discuss the loss of a loved one and how to handle feelings associated with loss.  Story telling is an important part of the grief process for children, so students will have an opportunity to share  stories about their special person through drawings and words.  The group will also focus on identifying people to go to for help when feeling sad, lonely, or angry.  This group does not meet every school year (depends on student population needs)

ALERT Group:  The ALERT group is a program for self-regulation.  Students in the group will learn how to recognize arousal states as they relate to attention, learning, and behavior.  The group will also help students recognize and expand the number of self-regulation strategies they use in a variety of tasks and settings.  Phrases like "How does your engine run" will be used in this group as students learn when their " body engine" is running too low or too high.  The goal is for all students to become skilled at regulating their own engine to a "just right" level in different situations.   This group typically starts in October and sometimes a second round is held in January.

Worry Group:  There are so many things in life to worry about!  This group will meet to focus on handling our worries in a healthy productive manner.  Students will learn what worry is and use coping skills, such as deep breathing, to ease their fears.  Activities such as worry disposal and positive thinking will be explored as students determine worries that can be controlled and those that cannot.   This group does not meet every school year (depends on student population needs).