How can you feed your brain this summer? |
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Dear Middle School Students and Families,
I hope the summer is off to a great start for everyone!
I wanted to reach out and share a few summer resources and initiatives with you to help you and your student have a restful and restorative break.
You will notice there is not a recommended reading list but definitely links to reading-specific resources. Reading is absolutely a fundamental element and our Feed Your Brain: Summer Edition is full of all sorts of resources and ideas. Our recommendation is for everyone to do something to feed your brain this summer! |
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Feed Your Brain
Learn | Move | Connect | Nourish | Be
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WHAT IT IS
Our Feed Your Brain initiative combines intentional action and mindset with neuroscience to encourage our middle school community to try new things, tap curiosity, and practice self-care—during intercessions and all year long! |
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WHY WE DO IT
Feed Your Brain is our response to questions about required summer reading, summer work, and helping kids prepare for the upcoming school year.
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HOW IT WORKS
Our approach focuses on student choice and agency and allows for students to diversify their summer experience. We believe it is extremely important for all students to do something and that they should choose how to create their summer plan. Feed Your Brain incorporates five essential elements of growth and development: Learn, Move, Connect, Nourish, and Be. Students are encouraged to try to incorporate something from each category into their summer plan.
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AN OVERVIEW OF THE FIVE ELEMENTS |
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Learn 💡
Choose how and what you want to learn. Read, watch, listen, or do something new or connected to what you want to learn more about so you can add to your fund of knowledge. Prior knowledge helps you acquire and learn new information and improves your capacity for problem solving.
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Move 👟
Exercise improves brain health, enhances focus, strengthens memory, improves mood, and reduces stress. (Read this fact sheet or listen to this Ted Talk to learn more.) |
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Connect 👥
Make new friends or strengthen existing relationships by sharing a common interest, develop a sense of purpose, learn new skills, and stay active physically and/or mentally.
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Nourish 🍳
Cooking can enhance cognition by improving one’s memory, fine motor skills, attention, and ability to sequence and anticipate. Learn more about the seven ways that cooking can boost brain power. Try to choose foods linked to better brain health! |
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Be ✏️
Choose activities that help you slow down to have a calmer and clearer mind. This also will help improve concentration, memory, and decision making.
- Meditation: decrease stress, increase focus
- Reading for pleasure: increase brain connectivity, build empathy
- Writing: improve creativity, problem solving, empathy, and self-monitoring skills
- Listening to music: elevate mood, reduce stress, stimulate memories
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Navigating the Transition from School to Summer
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As we transition from the structure of the school-year learning routines, families can use the upcoming months to provide their children with plenty of rest, relaxation, and fun. After each school year, it is important to take a pause, shift, and create some new and re-setting routines for kids during these summer months.
Our annual edition of Navigating the Transition from School to Summer is our response to questions about how parents/caregivers can support their students throughout the summer.
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While our community takes the necessary time to refuel our tanks, we are excited to spend time preparing for the fall. In late July and early August, families will hear more about schedules, advisories, and details related to the start of the school year.
Enjoy the summer and feel free to be in touch with any questions.
In partnership,
Director of Middle School
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MARK YOUR CALENDAR
The first day of school is Tuesday, September 5
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