|
|
The SCCoop
Words on Wellness
January 2020
|
|
Happy New Year! It may feel like winter, but it's spring over at the SCC! We are bursting with upcoming events. Most importantly, we've booked our spring speaker on Social Media Wellness for April 29. See below for details.
Of course our Youth Advisory Committee is planning and training for Middle School Forum, teen to teen talks about the transition to high school. And Sixth Grade Ethics days are coming up in March! Prom Cards and Project Sticker Shock isn't far behind in May!
Plus, we're helping promote a program at Cooper Middle School featuring Anti-Defamation League speakers on discuss ways for parents and children to respond to inappropriate jokes and slurs. Details below.
As always,
let us know
how the SCC can help in your community, school, and home!
Elizabeth Hale, President
|
|
Words Matter: A Conversation About Combating Bias and Intolerance
The Cooper MS PTO is presenting a program with the Anti-Defamation League where ADL experts will discuss ways for parents and children to respond to inappropriate jokes and slurs. The ADL has been working with the SCC to present similar programming at Sixth Grade Ethics Day. This is an opportunity for the broader community to discuss bias and intolerance as it's occurring locally.
|
|
Coming Soon! Author of Social Media Wellness, Ana Homayoun
Today’s students face a challenging paradox: the digital tools they need to complete their work are often the source of their biggest distractions. Students can quickly become overwhelmed trying to manage the daily confluence of online interactions with schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and family life.
As part of a yearlong focus on social media wellness, the Safe Community Coalition is proud to present an evening with Ana Homayoun, noted teen and millennial expert, author, school consultant and speaker, and educator, on April 29 at 7 p.m. at the Mclean Community Center’s Alden Theater.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Ana is the founder of the educational consulting firm
Green Ivy Educational Consulting
which works with parents, educators and students on promoting organization, time-management and wellness issues in the classroom and school community. For more information, please visit
www.anahomayoun.com.
Her first book,
That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week: Helping Disorganized and Distracted Boys Succeed in School and Life
, provides practical solutions to the common organization, time-management and motivation challenges facing many tween and teen boys.
The Myth of the Perfect Girl: Helping Our Daughters Find Authentic Success and Happiness in School and Life
explores the real-life dilemmas faced by so many girls and young women stuck in the quest to find success amid a culture of perfectionism and offers simple, implementable strategies for overcoming the need to live up to others’ standards of success.
She has been quoted or featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Atlantic Magazine, CNBC, Fast Company, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today, New York Post, ABC News, along with dozens of other publications, and she is a frequent guest on NPR.
Tickets will be $25 per person, $30 at the door. A limited number of each of Ana’s books will be available for sale. A book signing will follow the presentation.
The Safe Community Coalition thanks the McLean Community Center for donating space and funds for Ana Homayoun’s visit and for its ongoing support of SCC programs.
|
|
Sixth Grade Ethics Days
Ethics Days are coming up Fridays in March for sixth graders in elementary schools that feed to Langley and McLean high schools.
- March 6 - Colvin Run and Kent Gardens
- March 13 - Haycock and Chesterbrook
- March 20 - Franklin Sherman and Churchill Road
- March 27 - Timber Lane and Spring Hill
Please visit our
Sign Up Genius. We are especially in need of volunteers for March 6 and 27. It's fun and engaging to talk with small groups of these kids and a great way to see what's ahead or what's behind for your own kids (and grandkids)! No experience necessary. Free pizza!
|
|
Youth Advisory Council/Middle School Forum
Also in March, dozens of youth who are part of our Youth Advisory Council will lead Middle School Forum at Cooper (March 17) and Longfellow (March 20) Middle Schools. Training for the students began last week. This long-standing SCC teen-to-teen program year helps ease the transition from middle to high school for many area students.
|
|
FCPS Parent Resource Center
Did you know FCPS offers a number of
workshops
and
other support
for free? Check out a few that are relevant to the SCC mission:
Fostering Protective Factors in Children and Adolescents to Promote Social-Emotional Wellness
Every adult can foster protective factors and build resiliency in children and adolescents. Presented by Ryan Dickerson, FCPS School Psychologist and Jenn Spears, FCPS Mental Wellness Specialist. Topics include:
- What does the Fairfax County Youth Survey data show us?
- Identifying Protective Factors and Assets (Three to Succeed)
- Strategies for building protective factors and assets
- Understanding resilience and how to increase your child’s ability to respond to challenges
Parenting Your Teen While Keeping Your Sanity
Learn important strategies to help form a positive relationship with your teen. P
resented by Michele Tureaud, FCPS Behavior Intervention Teacher.
Topics include:
- Understanding the development of the teen brain
- Recognizing ways to create a positive climate in the home
- Identifying constructive discipline approaches
- Increasing more productive and effective communication strategies
|
|
Acknowledge, Care, and Tell (ACT)
While not an ongoing SCC program, the ACT concept is near and dear to our hearts as language we've promoted for suicide and depression awareness over the years. The MHS Class of 2023 successfully finished Acknowledge, Care, and Tell (ACT) sessions with counselors and a clinical team. They learned the importance of mental wellness, warning signs of suicide, and available resources in the building.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC
), suicide is the second leading causes of death among youth. Help is available in and outside of school. Counselors, school social worker, and school psychologists can support and guide students to find resources in the community to address their mental health needs.
|
|
FCPS Healthy Minds: Choosing Media Wisely
Many parents worry about the amount of time their children are spending on devices. While time is one consideration, the content and features of media they’re using is important too. The six steps below will help families discover high quality media. They’ll also help parents learn what to look for and discuss with their children before using a new app, game, or service.
Step 1: Make a list of the specific games/apps/media your children use or would like to use.
Step 2: Use reviews to learn about the game/app/media your children want to use. The following two sites provide information about what’s in a game, app, movie, or online service. This helps parents make informed decisions about the media used by their children.
Step 3: Consider the following questions to inform your decision and what you need to talk about with your children.
- What is the educational value of the app, media, game, or service?
- Can your children communicate with people they don’t know while using the app, game, or service?
- Is the app, game, media, or service age appropriate and is there questionable content?
- Does the tool or service use location services?
- Can your children buy additional features, also known as in-app purchases?
- Can your children publish text, photos, or videos publicly?
- Is there live streaming?
- What information is collected about your children and who can this be shared with? This information is usually found in the Terms of Service and Privacy Policies.
- Who owns the content your children post or share?
- Does the app, game, media, or service reflect your family’s values?
Step 4: OK...you’ve done your research! Next, decide the app, game, or media that is right for your family. Does your child have the maturity, judgment, and self-control to use it in a safe, responsible, and ethical manner?
Step 6: Enjoy media together. Use teachable moments to help your children develop a safe and healthy relationship with their media and devices.
|
|
Keeping New Year's Resolutions
New Year's resolutions can be extremely productive and help provide the motivation needed to achieve certain goals. Whether short or long-term, setting specific goals is vital for our mental health and wellbeing. Goals can help to ensure our daily lives are aligned with our values and moral code, for example, by improving our relationships, learning a new skill, or challenging ourselves physically.
However, it’s important to set realistic and achievable goals and not set ourselves up to fail. If you tend to over commit or overachieve, try and consider breaking the resolution down into smaller, more manageable steps. Remember--keep resolutions SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and [within a] Time frame).
Here are some recommendations:
Develop and nurture a healthy support network of friends/family.
Humans are social animals and naturally want to connect with others. Sharing our concerns and struggles with others who will simply listen and not pass judgment can be extremely therapeutic and is a great way to keep our mental health in check.
Undertake an activity that lifts your mood and makes you feel good.
Just 20 minutes of daily exercise can release feel-good endorphins to dramatically lift our mood and promote positive sleep patterns. It can also help increase resilience to mental health problems.
Learn a new skill.
Whether you stopped playing the piano as a child or have wanted to learn a new language for ages, set aside adequate 'me-time' to do something you love. Keeping your brain active with new challenges and activities can also help to take your mind off worries and concerns and keep things in perspective.
Reduce screen time.
Strong, happy and healthy individuals are those who are active, engaged in face-to-face social interaction and explore and participate in real-life situations and activities. The over-use of electronic devices can have serious repercussions on our mental health and negatively impact our confidence, self-esteem and general wellbeing. So, put time limits on screen-time, keep mealtimes phone-free and avoid using devices at least 60 minutes prior to bedtime.
Seek advice and support from a trained professional if you are struggling with your mental health.
Remove the stigma, if any exists, from your mind and recognize that any feelings of shame are part of the biology of depression. Remember, the mind and body are one, so treat them equally.
(Article originally published in Harper's Bazaar Arabia, but edited for clarity and length by IndieFlix. Source data seems to be missing, but we liked this enough to include anyway!)
|
|
Tips for Elementary School Parents: Do You Monitor Your Child's Screen Time?
There are positives and negatives to screen media for children. But one thing's for sure, today's children spend an increasing amount of time watching screens. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that parents develop a screen use plan for their child. Your plan should take your child's development into account and provide consistent rules about media use. It should also ensure that your child's screen time is balanced with plenty of time for sleep, exercise, and non-screen recreation.
Take time today to evaluate digital media use in your home. Is your child spending too much time watching TV and videos, playing electronic games, surfing the web or texting? Is it affecting success in school? If so, it's time to set some limits. To plan appropriate media use:
- Pay close attention to how your family uses digital media. Where are the TVs and computers located? How many hours does your child spend in front of a screen?
- Learn more. New apps and video games come out all the time. Find out what your child is playing. Ask other parents what they recommend.
- Make a plan. Keep TVs and computers out of your child's bedroom. Put both where you can see them and be aware of what your child is watching. Figure out how much recreational screen time you will allow your child. Then establish a screen-time schedule for your family and stick to it. Establish screen-free times and zones in your home—during homework time and mealtimes, for example. In addition, set an electronic device curfew one hour before bedtime. To use the AAP's media plan calculator, go to healthychildren.org/English/media.
- Share recreational screen time. When your child does watch TV or videos, or plays with video games or apps, join in. Interact with your child. Talk about what you are seeing and doing.
- Offer choices. Suggest productive activities for your child when electronic devices are turned off, such as reading, doing puzzles, playing an active game and talking with family.
|
|
As part of our Social Media Wellness theme, we'll be highlighting articles about interesting things going on with our personal tech and social media. Here's one from Common Sense Media about
apps our kids are using that have risky features
.
|
|
Safe Community Coalition | mcleanscc.org
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
