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Aggie Advocacy News
Promoting Mental Wellness in the ACS Community
🍎 August 2023 🍎
😃 Calming Back-to-School Worry
Students of all ages may experience feelings of nervousness and worry about the first day of the new school year. These feelings may be even stronger if the student will be attending a new school. Here are some tips to help students and parents calm the back-to-school nerves.
- Talk about positive expectations for the new school year.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep (8-10 hours) each night.
- Review transportation (car or bus, bus number, specific pick-up person) to make sure the student knows what to expect.
- Validate your child's worries and feelings. Let them know it's okay to feel worries or nervous.
- Practice calming strategies (see link below).
- Model positive self-talk. "I can do this. I will feel less nervous once I get to school and get started with my day."
- Allow your child to share about the day, specifically focusing on positive things that happened.
When the Worry Becomes School Refusal 📚
Sometimes back-to-school worry and nervousness grows into something more intense and can lead to school refusal. Often, a student who refuses to attend school is dealing with some type of anxiety. Students may worry that something will happen to family while they're at school, or they worry about what will happen at school. These worries are not always reasonable because anxiety is not always reasonable. When worry increases to the point of refusing to attend school, it is time to seek professional assistance to help the student manage anxiety and emotions. Parents may seek help from their child's pediatrician, school counselor, or a counselor in the community.
Key reminder: school refusal due to anxiety does NOT get better by allowing the student to stay at home. Staying at home reinforces the "I can't go to school" mindset and makes attendance even more difficult for the student.
🏅 Attendance Matters!! 🏅
Attendance video in English.
🏆 The Power of Parent-Teacher Communication
Effective communication between parents and teachers is an essential element to student success.
Communication tips for parents:
- Join the classroom message group/app (such as Remind) to receive important and timely information from the teacher(s).
- Reach out directly to the teacher via message, email, or phone. Don't wait until a small concern becomes a big problem before letting the teacher know. Parents and teachers can use translation apps/services to facilitate communication.
- Don't be afraid to request additional communication from the teacher to help you understand how your child is doing. Ask questions!!
- Request a parent log-in for PowerSchool so that you can check your child's grades and attendance regularly.
Communication tips for teachers:
- Notify parents of successes and achievements, not just problems. Every parent loves to receive good news!
- Consider sending announcement videos instead of only written information. Allow students to participate by translating the video announcements into their home language.
- Be clear with parents about your expectations of family involvement. Be considerate of parent work schedules, custody/living situations, and other barriers to expected involvement.
☀️ Mental Wellness for School Staff ☀️
Courtesy of Miranda Humphrey, ACS Public Relations & Marketing Specialist:
At ACS, we firmly believe that mental health is of utmost importance, and we are committed to fostering a supportive and caring environment for all of our employees.
In light of this, I want to take a moment to remind everyone of a few resources available to support your mental health. Thank you for being part of our system, and we're so glad you are here.
Headspace App
SMPA Membership
Uprise Health
Check out the new ACS Community Resource Guide for information about local resources.
Big News!! We are excited to welcome Esmeralda Alvarez, BSW, to the Aggie Family as a full-time system-wide social worker. She will extend our efforts at connecting students & families to community resources and helping families to have meaningful involvement in their children's education.
Kristi Rains, Ed.S., NBCT, LPC
Aggie Advocacy Center
Albertville City Schools
Email: krains@albertk12.org
Website: www.albertk12.org
Location: 202 East Alabama Avenue, Albertville, AL, USA
Phone: (256) 891-1183