A new addition to the guidance department provides students with opportunities to get help and improve themselves.
The Guidance department has decided to create groups that students can join to help them with various issue they are dealing with. A few of these groups include:
- Stress Management
- Dealing with Divorce
- Choosing and Applying to College
- Drug and Alcohol Use
Several years ago Westside counselor Kirk Henningsen held a group for divorce after a student approached him about creating one. Henningsen then decided to start this program after another student approached him this year.
Each of the different groups focuses on a different topic. The purpose of these groups is to help students improve on dealing with their selected topic matter, and to address any issues they are having. According to Henningsen, the mandatory guidance classes aren’t meeting everyone’s needs. These groups are essentially an attempt to break down guidance into smaller, more specific topics.
“The goal is to is to just help students in whatever way we can,” said Henningsen.
A paper listing all of the groups was passed out to students this past week. Students filled out the sheet and marked which group or groups they would be interested in joining. Henningsen hopes that students will respond positively to this new concept.
