Brooke Middle School students in the Lunch Buddies program are building confidence and empathy through lessons from the Second Step curriculum. Second Step programs help students build social-emotional skills—like nurturing positive relationships, managing emotions, and setting goals—so they can thrive in school and in life. The program is supported by research and an approved evidence-based program for grant funded Expanded School Mental Health initiatives in West Virginia.
The Lunch Buddies group is open to students in Grades 5-8, based on teacher referrals, and provided by Ashley Flaherty of Youth Services System. Recently, groups have focused on the power of positive self-talk—helping students recognize unhelpful thoughts and replace them with encouraging, growth-oriented messages. Through discussions and reflection activities, the goal is for students to learn to manage their emotions, create a supportive school community, and foster resiliency. As part of the group activity, students are encouraged to write down a negative thought or criticism they are experiencing and shred it through the manual paper shredder. For every negative thought shredded, students replace it by pulling a positive thought out of the “Positivity Jar”. The group also uses affirmation bracelets, positivity pens, and anti-anxiety stickers for giveaways which have been very popular with the students.
