Positively Rolling

Established in 2013 by a group of like-minded educators.

In Fall 2013, Positively Rolling was created with middle-school aged boys development, needs and challenges in mind. The program was born through the creative response of concerned educators and community members due to a number of suicides in our small Truckee community, all working together to be one single part of a multi-faceted solution.

The program focuses on developing and reinforcing specific positive character traits, through discussion and creative artistic expression. This process encourages openness, communication, creativity, and healthy relationships between students, their peers, and members of the community. Ideally, the program helps boys develop a greater perspective as well as productive tools to use during times of stress.

Our adult male mentors hold a safe space for the boys to examine deep character topics, while providing feedback and sharing their own insights. Symbols and visual aspects of the topic are discussed before the focus shifts from discussion to methods of rendering the topic in a visual and artistic manner.

The boys’ response to this program has been overwhelmingly positive and our programming continues to grow exponentially each semester. We are looking forward to expanding and serving the greater Truckee/ Tahoe Community and beyond.

Positively Rolling Program Instructors meet weekly with a group of middle school boys over the course of five weeks, usually during school elective time. Themes encompassing substance of character are discussed and rendered via art (painting and drawing) on skateboards.

The Instructors introduce the weekly theme and guide a conversation that encourages openness, communication, creativity, and healthy relationships. The format for each group meeting includes: gathering in a circle, introducing the topic in an open format where everyone present has equal opportunity to share their experiences, discussing the topic and creating art work. Symbols and visual aspects of the themes are discussed before the focus shifts from a discussion based conversation to methods of rendering the topic in a visual and artistic manner. The end result is that each boy gets to design their own skateboard deck that is inspired by the conversations and reflects their own personal interpretation of what it means to them.

The goal of Positively Rolling is to increase the confidence, social connections and communication amongst middle school boys. We strive to make authentic connections with 7th and 8th grade boys by creating a fun, open space where they can talk about their feelings and express themselves. This program will provide middle school boys with the confidence, support and skills to deal with challenging situations.