ELEMENTARY SEL & Wellness

Stress is inevitable and can be a positive or negative response to different life events. Excessive amounts of stress can affect the way a child thinks, acts, and feels.

Children learn how to respond to stress as they grow and develop. Many stressful events that an adult can manage will cause stress in a child. As a result, even small changes can impact a child's feelings of safety and security.

Pain, injury, illness, and other changes are stressors for children. Stressors may include:

• Worrying about schoolwork or grades
• Problems with friends, bullying, or peer group pressures
• Changing schools, moving, or dealing with housing problems or homelessness
• Having negative thoughts about themselves
• Going through body changes, in both boys and girls
• Seeing parents go through a divorce or separation
• Money problems in the family or living in an unsafe home or neighborhood

Children may not recognize that they are stressed. New or worsening symptoms may lead parents to suspect an increased stress level is present.

Physical symptoms can include:

• Decreased appetite, other changes in eating habits
• Headaches
• New or recurrent bedwetting
• Nightmares
• Sleep disturbances
• Upset stomach or vague stomach pain
• Other physical symptoms with no physical illness

Emotional or behavioral symptoms may include:

• Anxiety, worry
• Clinging, unwilling to let you out of sight
• Anger, crying, whining
• Not able to control emotions
• Aggressive or stubborn behavior

Parents can help children respond to stress in healthy ways. Following are some tips:

• Provide a safe, secure, and dependable home.
• Family routines can be comforting. Having a family dinner or movie night can help relieve or prevent stress.
• Be a role model. The child looks to you as a model for healthy behavior. Do your best to keep your own stress under control and manage it in healthy ways.
• Be careful about which television programs, books, and games that young children watch, read, and play. News broadcasts and violent shows or games can produce fears and anxiety.
• Keep your child informed of anticipated changes such as in jobs or moving.
• Spend calm, relaxed time with your children.
• Learn to listen. Listen to your child without being critical or trying to solve the problem right away. Instead, work with your child to help them understand and solve what is upsetting to them.
• Build your child's feelings of self-worth. Use encouragement and affection. Use rewards, not punishment. Try to involve yor child in activities where they can succeed.
• Allow the child opportunities to make choices and have some control in their life. The more your child feels they have control over a situation, the better their response to stress will be.
• Encourage physical activity.
• Recognize signs of unresolved stress in your child.
• Seek help or advice from a health care provider, counselor, or therapist when signs of stress do not decrease or disappear.

1. 
   

   Start a gratitude journal

   Start a gratitude journal. It’s not something you have to buy from the internet; just a simple notebook would do. Write three things you are grateful for every day; it could be something as simple as a good meal or a beautiful sunset. When you look back at all the things you’ve mentioned in the journal, you will be able to reflect on all the great things you’ve been missing out on all this time.

   
   

2. 
   

   Spread gratitude

   Share gratitude with other people. Tell them how much you appreciate their services, care, friendship, etc. Show your family how grateful you are to have them in your life, let them know how they make your life better just by being a part of it.

   
   

3. 
   

   Give back to the community

   Show your gratitude and appreciation by giving back to the community. Helping out in the community is a good way to appreciate everything in life. So, do your part and become something that others can be grateful for.

   
   

• Model gratitude

Children learn by watching their parents, so model gratitude in your daily interactions. Say "thank you" to people, and thank your children for helping with chores.

• Help children understand feelings

Ask your child how they feel after doing something nice for someone.

• Help children express gratitude

Teach children how and when to say "thank you". You can also help them write thank you notes or make thank you gifts.

• Help children volunteer

Find opportunities for your child to help others, such as collecting toys or food to donate to a shelter.

• Read books

Read books about gratitude, such as The Thankful Book by Todd Parr or Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts.

• Talk about kindness

Point out people who are kind and generous, and talk about how their actions made you feel.

• Donate

Talk about how other children might appreciate things your child no longer uses, and donate them.

• Make gratitude a daily practice

Take time each day to mention one thing you are thankful for. Teaching gratitude can help children feel happier, improve their social relationships, and support their overall health and well-being.

October serves as National Bullying Awareness Month each year, and both Hunt Elementary and John C French schools took that to heart last month. Each school hosted multiple anti-bullying events to help educate students against bullying, making them aware of what bullying is and is not, different types of bullying, ways to handle a situation should they or someone they know get bullied, and educating them on how to be an "upstander". The students who were not able to attend the "See Something, Say Something" and bullying programs during guidance will receive the training in the next guidance classes at Hunt.

The Bully-Buster Kindness Club at Hunt donned their new "Bully Buster" vests around Hunt. Student volunteers greeted parents, teachers and students at school entrances with a smile each morning. Bully Buster members are charged with stepping in and being an "upstander" for students in need of assistance or students sitting alone during recess. Forty-one members make up the Bully Busters this year at Hunt Elementary. John C French will soon form a Kindness Club.

Bully Buster volunteers present character trait skits in the cafeteria. Each grade level is presented with ways to show good behavior. October and November skits include cooperation, respect and gratitude. Hunt students enjoy the skits, and have asked for them to continue all year long.

Students at both Hunt and John C French celebrated Unity Day on October 16th by wearing orange. Students signed Unity Day banners making a committment to refrain from being a bully. Differences in all people were celebrated on this day at both schools.

Both Hunt and John C French students participated in Anti-Bullying Poster Contests. All students at John C French worked on their posters during art class and judges selected the winning posters on October 18th. Winning posters are hanging in the display cases in the main hallway and will remain there through the end of the semester to serve as a reminder to be kind. One hundred and ten Hunt students created posters depicting kindness and anti-bullying, and all 110 posters are hanging in the common areas of Hunt Elementary where they will remain until Christmas break. Judges reported having "difficulty choosing between the excellent selections this year".

The Raising Resilient Children Parenting Circle focused on "What is Bullying?" this month. The training was offered at both John C French and Hunt last month. Mrs. Scott focused on how to identify the different types of bullying, how to talk with their children about how they are treated at school, and how they can be upstanders when they know of a student being bullied. Parenting circles are offered each month, and each month has a new topic.

Anti-Bullying Committee Meetings are held at each campus where administration, teachers and parents meet to discuss any issues regarding bullying. Campuswide initiatives are discussed as well as any anti-bullying activities planned during the rest of the school year.

Bullying is a serious topic, and staff want to ensure that all students have a safe and positive experience during the school year. The online Annonymous Alert is available for anyone to report bullying.

TCHATT provides telemedicine or telehealth programs to school districts to help identify and assess the behavioral health needs of children and adolescents and provide access to mental health services. Cuero ISD is proud to be part of this program that helps students get access to mental health treatment and resources. This program is free for students and is available throughout the year, even in the summer. If you would like more information about TCHATT, you can visit their website https://tcmhcc.utsystem.edu/tchatt/ or contact Kathy Scott at kfscott@cueroisd.org.

Ruby Rodriguez, M.Ed. ~ Director of Special Programs

Lacy Timpone, M.Ed., LPC ~ School Climate Specialist

Courtney Kalinowski, M.S., LPC ~ School Climate Specialist

Kathy Scott, LMSW ~ School Climate Specialist

Website: https://www.cueroisd.org/
Location: 960 E Broadway St, Cuero, TX, USA
Phone: 361-275-1900
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cueroisd