| | Published September 14th, 2011
| Handling the Pressure of Middle School
Sister-to-Sister program will expand beyond the popular one-day summit
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| By Sophie Braccini |  | | Lamorinda's Sister-to-Sister founder, Valarie Burgess Photo Sophie Braccini
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March 19, 2011 was, according to Valarie Burgess, the most accomplished Sister-to-Sister Summit ever. The high school facilitators ('big sisters') took responsibility for that 12th annual day for middle school girls. Through games, discussions and panels, the older girls showed the younger ones the social skills they need to successfully navigate a time of change and pressure. "Everybody left wanting more," said Burgess, "the high school girls get months of training before the Summit, but just one day for the middle school girls is not enough to effect change."
Over the summer, Burgess and her committee conducted focus groups with high school facilitators, middle school girls, and parents. The organizers, most of whom are members of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), which supports the program, also met with Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School counselor Heidi Felt. They decided to make some major changes to the program.
The consensus was that middle school girls should be involved for a longer period of time, become 'facilitators in training', and maybe even mentor younger elementary school girls to prepare for the changes that middle school brings. "These young girls have so much to contribute," says Burgess.
Sister-to-Sister is recruiting high school girls to participate in designing the new program for middle school girls. Their training starts on September 25th-they meet once a month on Sunday evenings. Applications can be found online at www.aauwoml.org/Sistertosister.html, or in the high school career centers. The application deadline is September 20th.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA