Overall, tonight was a pretty typical, thoroughly enjoyable, meeting. The teens spent the first 10 minutes in the office "just socializing." It was interesting to listen to them, generally, from the other room. The noise level started off loud, but not too loud as they were broken into naturally formed dyads and triads. Then after about five minutes, the noise level subsided and just as I walked in, it was more of a "murmur."
We discussed holiday breaks and who did what. This is one of those times when working on free-flowing conversations, attentional skills, summarizing, and staying on target come into play. They did well. Interestingly, it was notable during last month's laser tag/Hamburger Hamlet outing, where they really acted as a cohesive group of teens. Whereas before the two counselors and I would "fan out" among them, now we mostly leave them along during meal time because it goes so smoothly and they appear to be enjoying themselves.
Back to tonight. Only three group members had LUNCH Points Certificates with them (one forget his) and one chose not to play Wii. We let the two who had them choose who else they wanted to play. Also, I announced that we are installing the Wii Fit and that generated more excitement than I anticipated.
The rest of the members (7 of them) came into the large group room and we reviewed and updated the behaviors they wished to focus on outside of group. They helped one another a great deal and only one member (a female) did not wish to add any new behaviors. After about 20 minutes, the members who had been playing theWii came in and joined the others. The transition was seamless and well-orchestrated. Those who had not already updated their LUNCH Points behaviors did so at this point.
A couple of parents had written me, commenting that they hoped I could address anger and social anxiety problems occurring outside of group. Two of the group members targeted behaviors that related to being more outgoing and assertive and a several wanted to work on controlling angry responses. I gave a brief (maybe not so brief) didactic on social anxiety and how it works, encouraging practice even through it can feel uncomfortable. We'll see what happens, but at least one member began showing more assertiveness, which earned him Hero Raffle Tickets (the red ones) for his behavior.
In fact, we held our first Hero Ticket Raffle tonight, giving away four $15 prizes (they had the regular "blue ticket" raffle last session). One member was disappointed that she had zero tickets, but I spoke with her and explained what she needed to do to obtain them. We will hold another, most likely in early March.
Dinner occurred at Gelsons market and went extremely smoothly. Everyone found something to eat and a few kids found their way over to the cheese samples as well. To watch them distribute the food (yes, I have it on video and will show it at the upcoming parent meeting or make it available via a secure link) then sit down and socialize was very rewarding to observe.
A few families came late due to a terrible traffic accident on the 101 that had a ripple effect throughout the city. One parent reached me through my emergency line, another used our customer service support option. Just as a reminder, to reach me, dial the office, then press "1" and "1" a second time. Or you can call in and press "3" for our 24 live operator service (they forward an immediate email). In any case, all ended uneventfully and it looked as though they enjoyedthemselves.
A couple of final pieces. Rina will be sending out an email and a survey to figure out the best schedule for March and April. I have several conferences during those months and we have one short period where the schedule may be irregular. We'll send out a survey to find out what you would like to do.
Next meeting will be a Parent Meeting in the office, from 6pm - 7pm. Check the schedule
I hope everyone had a good New Year. See you next time.
Bruce
