Counselors Corner
Village School Counseling Department
In this issue you'll find...
- Happy New Year!
- Make way for Duck Passes!
- Community Resources
- Recommended Articles
- Mental Health Resources & Apps
Happy New Year!
So far, we've got so many great intentions:
- help out others
- get better at math
- clean my room
- practice skiing
- listening to teachers
- being kind to others
- limit phone time
- make more art
- do my chores
- get outside every day
- and so much more!
Encourage your child to check out the board and add their ideas! We also have a jar filled with New Year's intentions to help students brainstorm :)
Quack...Quack...Make Way for Duck PASSES
If your child comes home upset with a problem in class or with a peer, please remind them of these Duck Passes and encourage them to borrow the Duck Pass for Guidance. Teachers ask that students verbally let them know/sign out before using a Duck Pass so they know where they are going.
Counselors are here to help students always and this new hallpass system empowers our students to get the support they need in the moment :)
Community Resources
bryt
When a child returns to school after struggling with depression, anxiety, a concussion, or any other major mental health or medical condition, parents face big questions: how to help their child recover, rebuild strength, and stay safe when the transition back to schoolβs social and academic pressures poses its own, seemingly enormous challenge?
The bryt Family Engagement Team warmly invites families to participate in their weekly Parents Supporting Parents groups:
A confidential, non-judgmental & safe place for parents to process their own emotions as they support their childβs mental wellness.
Parents share & receive support from others who may be going through similar experiences.
Discuss options and resources other families have used in helping their child.
Hosted by a bryt Family Engagement specialist via Zoom.
Links/info to join Parent to Parent Support Group Meetings: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DKnQG6ebaMUcLeDYWYBzCTmvGjIesxN0/edit
IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW:
FREE ~ VIRTUAL ~ OPEN TO ALL
Parents/caregivers are not on camera -- only the speaker is
Parents/caregivers have the option of typing questions into chat
Cartwheel
As parents and caregivers you have a front row seat to the ups and downs experienced by your kids and teens. All children have moments of stress, sadness, anger, anxiety (and more) on their journey from childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood. When are emotions and behaviors developmentally appropriate for your child? And at what point are they an indication that perhaps your child is experiencing a mental health issue?
Join Cartwheel and Marcus Cherry, Ph.D. to learn when you might consider seeking mental health support for your child, plus tips for how to go about finding a mental health professional.
January 10th at 7:00pm
Click HERE to register!
Recommended January Articles π
Technology & Social Media Awareness
The Benefits of a Social Media Break, Plus 30 Things to Do Instead
How Girls Really Feel about Social Media
Keeping Teens Safe on Social Media
Additional helpful resources
New Year's Resolutions for Good Mental Health
Explaining the news to our kids
How parents can recognize and help a child with anxiety
Mental health tools that can help tweens get a better perspective
Mental Health Resources & Apps π
Stop, Breathe, & Think is a great tool that is designed to help you learn how to be more mindful and manage stress using simple meditation. You can check-in daily, track your progress and feel more calm. Stop, Breathe, & Think is a free app.
How you feel matters! Happify allows you to take control of your feelings and thoughts. The Happify app provides you with engaging activities and games to support positive emotions. Happify is available to download on iOS and Android devices.
The Marblehead Rotary Club has generously gifted access to this amazing resource in an effort to support our community's mental health and wellness. This program fosters life skills such as improved focused, compassion, gratitude, and self-regulation strategies. Check it out!
Handhold was created by a team of mental health and child development experts with tips, tools, and resources created especially for parents.
This is not a social media app. This is an educational apps focused on mental health. Created by GoZen! for Tweens and Teens!
Village School Counseling Department
Kate Dulac, Grade 4 School Counselor
Jeffrey Newsome, Grade 5 School Counselor
Kevin Merrigan, Grade 6 School Counselor
Website: https://www.marbleheadschools.org/domain/206
Location: Village School, Village Street, Marblehead, MA, USA
Phone: 781-639-3159