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Based on Yalom's Therapeutic Factors, I can see the majority of the students using direct advice.  Some of that advice would be coming from a place of frustration when a member of the group expresses why they chose to fight.  Direct advice is when the group members readily offer advice to their group members to give them a solution to their problem (Yalom ID, 1995).

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According to ASCA's ethical standards, school counselors should evaluate the effectiveness and adjust accordingly often during the process of group counseling.

A.7. Group Work (ASCA, 2022)

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According to the ASCA ethical standards, counselors should offer small group counseling based on a need and to a prescribed group of students.

A.7. Group Work (ASCA, 2022)

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KISD's confidentiality statement is based ASCA's Confidentiality standard: A counselor must explain the legal and ethical responsibilities they have towards the students in keeping their discussion confidential. Counselors must use wording that is age appropriate. All discussion with the counselor is to be kept between the counselor and the client with these three exceptions: the student expresses a desire to harm themself, the students shares that someone is harming them, or the student shares an intent to hurt someone else. The counselor's duty within the group setting is to share those same sentiments of confidentiality with the group members and to urge them to grant each other the same level of confidentiality. This confidentiality will help the group members create trust with one another. The counselor is responsible for getting the assent of all of group members as well as written consent from the parents in order for their children to participate.

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I will take on the role of a facilitator. As I read through the roles outlined by the Missouri Comprehensive Guidelines for School Counselors, all of the responsibilities could be summed up as a facilitator. The SC should choose the group members, describe their purpose, guide the group through the steps, check on the members, and follow up with the members.
I think that a facilitator/ participant role would work best because the facilitator can stay on task toward building the group members' growth if she can be on the outside looking in. She can guide the conversation, stop to restate key points, and help to keep the group going.

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We will use the social contract to set our ground rules. A social contract is created as a group. Often the facilitator, the counselor in this case, will lead a discussion asking the participants how small group discussions have worked for them in the past. She will ask what they need and what they want to happen during the discussion. Then, the facilitator should go over the term "confidentiality" and how important it is in this setting to help the group's success. The facilitator will add the key terms of the social contract on a piece of chart paper and then each agreeing member would sign it in agreement to treat their group members in the ways described on the social contract.

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American School Counselor Association. (2023). ASCA student standards mindset & behaviors for student success. American School Counselor Association.

Brukner, L. (2021, May 24). Emotional regulation activities for tweens and teens.  https://www.edutopia.org/article/emotional-regulation-activities-tweens-and-teens

Leutenberg, E. & Liptak, J. (2011). Conflict management skills workbook. Whole Person.
https://wholeperson.com/pdf/TeenConflictWorkbook.pdf

Marshall, R. & Neuman, S. (2012). The Middle School Mind : Growing pains in early adolescent brains. R&L Education.
https://search-ebscohost-com.easydb.angelo.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=433573&site=eds-live&scope=site

We are Teachers. (2023, July 25).  200 fun icebreaker questions for kids and teens. Weareteachers.
https://www.weareteachers.com/fun-icebreaker-questions/

Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators. (2015). Professional school counselor small group counseling guide: A professional school counselor’s guide to planning, implementing, and evaluating school-based counseling groups. Retrieved from https://www.missouricareereducation.org/doc/smallgroup/SmallGroupCounseling.pdf

Yalom ID. (1995). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (4th ed.). New York: Basic Books.

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Because of the nature of this group, there will not be any kind of public announcement of the group nor any type of interview processing. The aim of this group is not to encourage fighting but to teach ways to prevent it. Preventive guidance lessons will be used throughout the year to try to prevent the incidents from occurring.
Participant readiness will be assessed on a one-on-one basis. Prior to setting up the initial meeting, I will talk to each participant, gain their assent, and ask for parent consent. Then, I will explain why the student was chosen and go over our session goals. I will also ask a few get-to-know-you questions if I do not already know some things about the student.  I will screen students individually.
This is my perspective on the TAP-in process (Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators, (2015).

Missouri Professional School Counselors and Counselor Educators. (2015). Professional school counselor small group counseling guide: A professional school counselor’s guide to planning, implementing, and evaluating school-based counseling groups. Retrieved from https://www.missouricareereducation.org/doc/smallgroup/SmallGroupCounseling.pdf

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Teachers and administrators will be made aware of the room and times that the room will be used to conduct the group sessions.

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Parents will be notified in order to gain consent for their child to participate in the group discussions. Follow up with the parents will be made as necessary.

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Students will be invited to join the group. The school counselor will gather names from the discipline records for each semester.

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Category 1 Mindset Standards
M2. Sense of acceptance, respect, support and inclusion of self and others in school environment.

Category 2 Behavior Standard
Learning Strategy
B-LS 9. Decision making informed by gathering evidence, getting others perspectives and recognizing personal bias.
Self-Management Skills
B-SMS 2. Self- discipline and self-control.
Social Skills
B-22 2. Positive, respectful and supportive relationships with students who are similar to and different from them.

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Stage 1- We will always begin each session with some type of get-to-know-you activity or ice breaker. We will follow that up with a reminder that the things that we discuss in this group should remain with the members of the group. The only exceptions to that are if someone plans to harm someone, themselves or someone is harming someone in the group. The group members would also be reminded that their responsibility of confidentiality is to keep the details of the discussion to themselves. Their confidentiality will help the members to trust each other. If they choose to break the trust of the group, it could be grounds for dismissal or even worse, our group may not be able to continue or may not get to the depth of success because there is a loss of trust among the members.

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Stage 2- I will conduct a check-in after the first meeting, at the end of the 3rd session and the 5th session.  The check-in will consist of a head down vote.  I would ask a question, then ask the participant to show the number of fingers that corresponds to their answer choice.
The head down approach would give the participants some anonymity. I could get some quick feedback and jot a quick note of any negative responses. I would ask questions similar to those on the pre test.

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Stage 3- The closing of the group will happen with a post test. Students will be reminded to keep their sessions confidential even after the last session. "We can celebrate our growth as a group together". After the final session students can begin to feel a sense of loss so, the counselor can set up other activities where the students can attend and have that group feeling again. One idea that I have had was to set up a morning meditation room. This would be an opportunity for students to come and be still, to prepare for their day of school ahead, and check in with each other about ways to face the day.