TLC Prepares for Launch of Sister-to-Sister

Sister-to-Sister is a program that is being developed by TLC, the Teen Leadership Council. Sister-to-Sister is going to be a way for students at the Academy to have someone to talk to that they feel comfortable with and have someone to reach out to and will feel safe talking to their “sister.” TLC will also be starting an anonymous forum for submissions for people who are not comfortable talking face to face yet. TLC’s goal is to foster deeper and more connected relationships between students.

Emily Pantelis, the high school counselor and moderator for TLC, says, “Sister-to-Sister might seem like a peer-mentoring program, but we want to stress that it is so much more than that. Students who feel more connected to their peers and to their school are statistically proven to perform better academically and be more successful later in life as defined by their health and well-being.”

Nicole Stephan (‘20) and Sophia Tweed (‘20) originally proposed the idea of Sister-to-Sister last year. The committee in charge of setting up the program is comprised of Caitlyn Asher (‘19), Juliana Ferrie (‘19), and Stephan.

“We started Sister-to-Sister because TLC already advises the middle school girls and boys and we wanted to expand that for the high school. We want to get it up and running as soon as possible. Our plan right now is to set up a Google Doc form and an email account, so people can fill out the forms or email us when they need help. From this we can get feel for their situation and decide who would be best to help them.” says Asher.

Stephan says, “We are adding information about Sister-to-Sister to Haiku. It will have a sheet to fill out if anyone wants to set up a time to meet with another classmate. Hopefully everyone will take advantage of this opportunity and we are really excited to see how the club affects others.”

Macy McConnie (‘18) is one of the co-Presidents of TLC.

McConnie says, “I really want this program to be a reliable source for anyone who needs a friend to talk to. I think it’s a good opportunity for students in high school to speak their mind and have someone listen to them.”