Eleven-year-old Morgan Tegels was a little unsure about moving up to the sixth grade in Mitchell, which meant a new school with a new group of students.
On Saturday, running the admission table to a carnival at the Mitchell YWCA, Tegels was full of confidence and vigor. Along with her fellow participants, Tegels is in ZONE, a program which stands for "Zero Out Negative Energy" and is directed at sixth-grade girls in Mitchell to help them with the transition into middle school and becoming a teenager.
Tegels said the best part of the program is getting to meet new friends and hang out with other girls who are going through the same things.
"I was nervous going into sixth grade, but here, I met a whole bunch of new people and made more friends," she said.
On Saturday, the program's participants staged a winter carnival fundraiser at the YWCA on North Main Street meant for children up to age 8. The fundraiser was intended to raise money for the program, so it can run at no cost for participants.
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The event included food and snacks, carnival games and inflatables, letters to Santa Claus, decorating Christmas cookies and photos with characters from the Disney's animated movie, "Frozen."
Mitchell YWCA Executive Director Kaylee Nicolaisen said she created ZONE as part of her master's degree program, and felt it was something that would be valuable to young girls transitioning from elementary school to middle school. The program runs Wednesday afternoons at the YWCA in six week periods.
"That's when they start to go through changes, both emotionally and physically, and when girls are dealing with adversity," she said. "Obviously, that's a big time in a girl's life."
ZONE started in September with 14 participants. Nicolaisen said she hopes to make the program available make fifth-grade students this spring in advance of another group of girls entering middle school next fall. The program was started with seed money from the Mitchell United Way and is assisted by donations from individuals and organizations. Nicolaisen said the organization received a boost recently when Twin City Fan donated $5,000 to the YWCA on behalf of its employees.
"That's huge for us," she said of the donation, adding that it would help operate some programs on its own for a year.
The YWCA also operates programs such as an after school and summer program known as Kids' Klub, an assistance program for low-income pregnant women and families called Teddy Bear Treasures and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which encourages parents to read to their preschool children.
Some of the lessons in the class include how to deal with body changes, dangers of social media, bullying, creating healthy boundaries and learning about coping strategies. Nicolaisen said it's important to build the confidence of young girls before they enter middle school.
"When you take a young girl in elementary school and you ask them what they want to be when they grow up, they want to be president, they want to be a lawyer, they want to be a doctor," she said. "When you talk to sixth-grade girls, they don't have a clue. That fire is just burned out. We want to bring that back and show them that they are important and there are things that they are good at."
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Emily Thompson, 12, said that she appreciates the chance to interact with other girls and to share experiences.
"We all get to know each other and you have a safe place to share things with others," Thompson said.
Tegels agreed, saying the ZONE program has been worth it to her.
"It's an opportunity for us to be ourselves and have fun, too," she said.
