From the President...
Welcome back to this very strange year! Here at the SCC we've been working hard this summer to see what we can do this year. Like everyone else, we're limited by in-person events and meetings. But also like everyone else, we're adapting. We've continued to post timely, relevant, and local resources and advice on our Facebook page and Twitter feed, plus we looked inward to develop an updated logo and improve our website. But most importantly, we are launching our theme for the year, Managing the Moments (with its own logo!) with two great programs, a webinar with our canceled speaker from the spring and a video series with our own Mental Health Committee. Continue reading for all the details!

Please note we are still in need of board volunteers to manage Sixth Grade Ethics Days and to represent elementary and middle school students and parents. Please contact us if you are interested!

As always, let us know how the SCC can help in your community, school, and home!

Elizabeth Hale, President
SCC in the (Virtual) Community
Speaker Event Redux

This year’s theme, Managing the Moments, kicks off with educational consultant and best-selling author Ana Homayoun, originally slated as the featured speaker at the group’s annual spring speaker event last spring, presenting a FREE webinar entitled “Setting the Tone: Habits for a Smooth Virtual Learning Experience” on Thursday, October 15 at noon.
We know the only constant this school year is change. In this pragmatic, solutions-oriented talk, noted author Ana Homayoun will examine how setting students up socially, emotionally and academically in the midst of pandemic pivoting and change is key to long-term well-being and engagement. She will also discuss how taking the time to set the tone for a smoother school year means looking at daily and weekly habits that work for your students and your family. 

Within this year of transition, our overarching goals of finding ways to promote autonomy, competence and a sense of relatedness and belonging - which research reveals are the key foundational tools to building intrinsic motivation - remain critical for this year and beyond. 

Ana Homayoun is an educator and the author of three books: That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last WeekThe Myth of the Perfect Girl, and Social Media Wellness. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Jose Mercury News, as well as on Fast Company, CNBC, and ABC News, among others, and she is a frequent guest on NPR.

To learn more about her work, visit www.anahomayoun.com.
Later in October Managing the Moments continues with a series of professionally-filmed short videos featuring conversations among psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers of the SCC’s mental health committee around a particular topic they are seeing in their practices that will likely resonate among the greater community. The 5-10 minute segments touch on a wide variety of topics designed to help parents in dealing with their responses to childrens’ challenges to pandemic and distance learning. The first video rolls out in October and will be followed by additional videos released periodically throughout the year. They will be posted on our website and sent out via school and PTA newsletters.
ISO School Liaisons

The SCC has a long history of working with our schools to achieve common goals. In order to ensure coordinated communication, parent associations (e.g., PTAs, PTSAs, PTOs) of each school are asked to provide a volunteer representative to the Coalition. SCC School Liaisons are the backbone of our organization in the community, and we are always looking for more! Liaisons might spend 2 hours per month on SCC activities, and it's a great way to learn more about what is going on in the community and in other school communities. We have liaisons for public schools and several local private schools that keep up with SCC activities.

We use our School Liaisons in a number of ways:
  • Facilitating communication between the individual school represented and the SCC;
  • Providing input to the SCC and the SCC Board on program topics and emerging issues of relevance to the individual school represented and the community at large;
  • Receiving monthly information from the SCC School Liaison Coordinators regarding various topics and events, and communicating this information to the individual school represented both at parent organizations and through school newsletters, websites, and/or weekly folders;
  • Forwarding and organizing requests for volunteers for SCC activities and events; and
  • Attending as many SCC community meetings and events as possible, providing a report on those meetings and events to parent organizations, and to the larger school community through school newsletters, websites, and/or weekly folders.

To learn more about becoming a School Liaison or about why your school might want to participate, contact Julie Hohl
WeCoach: Student2Student

While some initiatives had to put on hold when schools closed, a new SCC-sponsored pilot program, WeCoach: Student2Student (S2S), was launched over the summer. Ten peer learning circles, each led by a trained high school or college student, launched virtually using a proven, structured peer coaching method to help circle members help each other with current challenges, questions, or priorities. The program proved very successful and the SCC is seeking to expand the program to more high schools. For more information, contact Valerie Lingaman.
Upcoming Events
PEP Parenting Webinars and Master Classes

PEP, Parent Encouragement Program, offers a variety of parenting courses, webinars, podcasts, blogs, and other resources. See the PEP website for more.
Reading List
Parenting During the Pandemic

In early March (what I have come to refer to as “the before times”), none of us could have imagined that we would be heading into a new school year with social distancing, mask wearing, and limits on travel and other activities still necessary and still in place. As time goes on, it may become even harder to picture going back to “normal.” Rather than think about going back, however, it may be more helpful for us to look to this experience and find opportunities to re-set our priorities and re-focus on what is truly important. In other words – what can we and our children learn and carry forward into a new normal?

Josh Anderson + Our Minds Matter = A Win!

From our friends at the Josh Anderson Foundation:

In 2009 the Josh Anderson Foundation to honor my brother Josh whom we lost to suicide. Since our work began in 2012, our mission of providing adolescents with mental health resources, education and support never waivered. Our north star was the question, "Would this [program, event, initiative] have helped Josh?" Through runs, galas, community funding, and your donations, we secured the resources necessary to provide in-school mental health initiatives to approximately 150 schools and over 120,000 students. Recognizing the power of peer-to-peer influence and the lack of mental health platforms in the high school space, we took it upon ourselves to launch the student-led club you’ve come to know, Our Minds Matter. Since 2016, Our Minds Matter clubs have impacted 111 schools nationwide, with a majority in the DC Metro Area.

To remain clear and effective in our role to prevent teen suicide, we'll be merging the Josh Anderson Foundation and Our Minds Matter into one unified voice - Our Minds Matter. This shift in nomenclature doesn’t change the way we work. Rather, it's to help the movement realize its potential and allow your support to go even farther. The distinction between JAF and OMM was confusing for some, at times hindering our strength. A solid and defined name will help our movement grow and reach more at risk youths while pushing Our Minds Matter to become a household name. We thank you for your support throughout the years as we cannot build a future where no teen considers suicide without strong allies like you by our side.

I trust you’ll continue to support us as we work together toward this future.

With Gratitude,
Lauren Anderson
Executive Director, Our Minds Matter 
The SCC thrives in its 25th year as an all-volunteer organization with funding from community grants and individual donors including the New Dominion Women’s Club, Rotary Club of McLean, McLean Community Foundation, the Zavela Foundation, and through the SCC Mental Health Committee. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and welcome all donations.