Kind of long but please give some advice!

My daughter started middle school this year. There are 9 elementary schools that feed into two middle schools, which are split up into “teams,” so she is surrounded by strangers. A few of her close friends are in her team, but they don’t always share the same classes.

I am aware this happens to children all over the place, but what worries me is that her old friends seemed to have abandoned her. As kids this age (11-12) do, they all start to grow their own personalities and then people start to clash. These girls make up the “popular crowd,” and now they are leaving my daughter out. I can tell she feels alienated. It’s breaking my heart. Not only that but I feel like they may be bullying her, but she won’t tell anyone.

What can I do to help her through this? She is in many after school activities. I encourage her to meet new friends, but I feel like she’s taken a huge blow to her self confidence.

I’m also going to add that there is a giant teen suicidal crisis happening in our town. In one year we have had 7 teen suicides and 18 teen attempts. This isn’t counting the suicides of those over the age 17. It’s been national news. I’m really worried about my baby girl.