News
Girls in the Middle | January 2020
Off we go!
Happy New Year! You may have spent January first ushering in the new year, thinking about goals and resolutions and, perhaps, setting bets on how long you might keep those resolutions! As our girls embark on the second semester they, too, will find themselves reflecting on their fall goals, thinking about their progress, and considering how they might adjust for the spring semester.
When setting goals with our girls, we encourage them to think about where they are excelling and why, identify specific areas for growth, and reflect on how they can apply what skills they’ve gained throughout their middle school years to help them meet and exceed their goals. Additionally, we talk about making sure our goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound. And, that they are individualized. While we know that it might be easier for them to have the same goals as some of their peers, each girl has different strengths and challenges and should set goals that are just right for her. This is where our advisors, and their individual knowledge of each girl, come in.
When it comes to personalized goals, our advisors have individual conversations with each girl throughout the year to talk through and reflect on what makes the most sense for her. They help girls move away from goals that may be unattainable or not specific enough such as “getting all A’s” or “starting on the varsity basketball team” toward goals that are student-focused and reasonable such as “increasing my math test scores by ten percent” or “attempting five shots each basketball game.”
We also work with them to set specific action steps and think through how they might make progress on reaching each of their goals. They may decide to attend English Help Class once each week or spend one study hall a week at a tennis lesson with Coach Bartlett. Other girls reassess their homework load in the evening and decide to spend more time each day completing assignments at school or meeting with teachers before or after class to study for upcoming tests or gather feedback on a recent paper or project.
Finally, we talk about the hurdles that each girl might need to overcome to achieve her goals as well as how to see progress as success. There might be setbacks along the way, but it’s important to focus on the forward progress and know that as long as she is doing her best, then that’s what matters. Also, the importance of having a support system (teachers and advisors!) to hold her accountable and a peer community (friends!) to support her and cheer her on.
One of the best parts of my job is watching each girl grow, mature, and accomplish so much each year. While recognizing specific achievements is definitely rewarding, it can be even more important to celebrate the steps and progress each girl has made and the individual and measured success she has seen along the way toward meeting her goals.
Here’s to a great 2020 and to everyone setting and reaching their goals!
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When setting goals with our girls, we encourage them to think about where they are excelling and why, identify specific areas for growth, and reflect on how they can apply what skills they’ve gained throughout their middle school years to help them meet and exceed their goals. Additionally, we talk about making sure our goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound. And, that they are individualized. While we know that it might be easier for them to have the same goals as some of their peers, each girl has different strengths and challenges and should set goals that are just right for her. This is where our advisors, and their individual knowledge of each girl, come in.
When it comes to personalized goals, our advisors have individual conversations with each girl throughout the year to talk through and reflect on what makes the most sense for her. They help girls move away from goals that may be unattainable or not specific enough such as “getting all A’s” or “starting on the varsity basketball team” toward goals that are student-focused and reasonable such as “increasing my math test scores by ten percent” or “attempting five shots each basketball game.”
We also work with them to set specific action steps and think through how they might make progress on reaching each of their goals. They may decide to attend English Help Class once each week or spend one study hall a week at a tennis lesson with Coach Bartlett. Other girls reassess their homework load in the evening and decide to spend more time each day completing assignments at school or meeting with teachers before or after class to study for upcoming tests or gather feedback on a recent paper or project.
Finally, we talk about the hurdles that each girl might need to overcome to achieve her goals as well as how to see progress as success. There might be setbacks along the way, but it’s important to focus on the forward progress and know that as long as she is doing her best, then that’s what matters. Also, the importance of having a support system (teachers and advisors!) to hold her accountable and a peer community (friends!) to support her and cheer her on.
One of the best parts of my job is watching each girl grow, mature, and accomplish so much each year. While recognizing specific achievements is definitely rewarding, it can be even more important to celebrate the steps and progress each girl has made and the individual and measured success she has seen along the way toward meeting her goals.
Here’s to a great 2020 and to everyone setting and reaching their goals!
