Every Month A Community Celebration

June 17, 2010

Latham is a strong, tight knit community. Part of the reason we stay that way is because we regularly get together and celebrate everything that is going right. Once a month, students, administrators, school staff, clinicians, nurses and residential staff meet in the dining area to check in with each other.

Although the meeting is only 45 minutes long, a lot of discussion is packed into that time. Typically a clinician opens the meeting with a “Mindfulness” activity that helps every to center themselves and re-focus after the transition from school. Campus news and events are then passed along to the community. This month there was some discussion about our parking area being paved and when that would be completed. New members of our community, both student and staff, are then introduced and welcomed.

After that the floor is opened up to student validations. At this point students can raise their hands and give a validation. The rules of this are they must say something nice that an individual has done for them over the past month and something they are proud of themselves for. This can be a really nice event to watch the kids participate in.

The end of the meeting is left to monthly recognition. There are a number of students that get certificates every month for being good students, suitemates or keeping their rooms clean. Latham’s community meeting is a wonderful time to come together and celebrate everything we are.