• SSD Everyday Wellness Vision- Food Wednesday in staff room
• Celebrating Transportation
• Fascination Tournament
• Self Care During Hard Times
• 60 Second Guided Tapping Exercise
• What is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT- Tapping)?
• Cultivating Resilient Students. The Power of Tapping in Schools
• Sometimes Wellness is Consistent with the Simple Things
• Self Compassion Tips and Practices
• 125 Beautiful Things to Love About Yourself
• Roasted Butternut Squash Soup Recipe
• September Self Care

We’re here to support you in taking care of yourself—because your well-being matters. By trying new things and building connections, we create a balanced, caring environment that empowers us to serve our communities with compassion.

We’re excited to share some updates to our wellness program, based on your feedback. We’ll be offering more family-friendly evening events, like a Fascination tournament, game nights, and bowling. These are opportunities to relax, have fun, and connect with each other.

We’ll also continue providing wellness food on the first Wednesday of each month, offering nutritious and delicious options to support your health. Please note, there won’t be wellness activities in September, January, and April. Instead, we hope you’ll join our new evening events, designed to help you unwind and recharge.

Taking care of ourselves is an act of self-compassion, and it benefits everyone around us. When we prioritize our well-being, we model the importance of balance and self-care for our students, showing them how to navigate their own lives with resilience and kindness.

Let’s keep supporting each other in our wellness journeys, so we can be our best—for ourselves, our colleagues, and our students.

A heartfelt thank you to our dedicated transportation team for the invaluable work you do every day to ensure our students get to and from school safely. Your role is so much more than just driving a bus—you are the first warm smile our students see in the morning and the last one they see at the end of their day. We were honored to gift you a connection activity during inservice at Captain Kids Amusement Park as a small token of our immense appreciation.

Thank you, Transportation Department, for all that you do. May you be well, may you be happy, may you be peaceful, and may you always know how much you are appreciated!

We are excited to offer another Fascination Tournament connection event September 6th, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, alongside our community partners SEPRD (tournament Emcee) and Seaside Fultanos Funland Arcade. Dinner and sodas are provided.

This is an amazing opportunity to strengthen our connection in a friendly competitive atmosphere. Sign up here with a team of 4 SSD employees and/or family members to participate!

How to Play the Game

Fascination at Funland Arcade on Broadway Street is set up like a parlor with about 40 long tables. You sit at one end of the table and roll a small ball toward a 5-by-5-holed matrix on the other end. When your ball falls into one of the holes, a light on the backboard indicates which one. The object of the game is to continue to roll your ball until you’ve gotten five holes in a row, similar to bingo. What makes this game more interactive than skee ball is that you’re playing against everyone in the room.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

How can we learn to be kinder to ourselves, especially in difficult times?

Self-care isn't selfish, it's essential. It involves learning to treat ourselves like we would a good friend. Rather than continually judging ourselves, we can show ourselves kindness as imperfect humans and learn to cope better with the inevitable struggles of life.

At this special live event Dr Kristin Neff will share how we can make helpful changes to build our resilience and cope better in hard times - not because we’re selfish, but because we genuinely care about ourselves as well as others. She will also focus on the benefits of being part of a wider community of people learning and helping each other to do this.

This live Action for Happiness event was recorded with Dr Mark Williamson on the 23rd July 2024.

About The Speaker

Dr. Kristin Neff is one of the world’s leading experts on self-compassion, being the first to originally define and measure the concept. She has authored various books, including Self-Compassion, Fierce Self-Compassion and The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook. She also developed an eight-week program to teach self-compassion skills in daily life, called Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC).

Emotional freedom technique (EFT)—also known as tapping—is a type of mental health therapy that you can use to control your thoughts, manage stress, and regulate emotions.1 When using EFT, you tap certain pressure points on your hand, wrists, head, and body. These points are similar to the points therapists use during acupressure.

The Power of Tapping in Schools

In an ideal classroom setting, students would leave their worries at the door alongside their backpacks as they step into a space conducive to learning. However, the reality is far from this utopian vision. Issues from home, conflicts in relationships, anxiety over assignments or exams, and broader concerns from the world beyond the school gates often accompany students throughout their day. This persistent background noise of stress undermines their ability to concentrate on academics, hindering their potential for success.

When students are grappling with the weight of stress and anxiety, it becomes challenging for them to fully engage with their studies, let alone excel. According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which was published in the American Medical Health Association’s journal JAMA Pediatrics, the prevalence of anxiety diagnoses among children aged 3 to 17 increased by 29% between 2016 and 2020. This begs the question: How can we expect students to absorb and retain knowledge when their minds are clouded by external pressures?

School serves not only as an academic institution but also as a crucial environment where children learn vital life skills. Here, they navigate relationships, resolve conflicts, and develop coping mechanisms for stressful situations. Consequently, teachers and school administrators shoulder a significant responsibility beyond merely imparting traditional subjects. They are tasked with nurturing students into well-rounded individuals equipped to thrive in their communities.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in initiatives across federal, state, and individual school levels aimed at prioritizing Social Emotional Learning. SEL equips students with the tools to identify and regulate their emotions, enhance their understanding of others, communicate effectively, foster empathy, cultivate meaningful relationships, and make sound decisions. By integrating SEL into education, students gain invaluable skills such as emotional regulation, effective communication, problem-solving, decision-making, and self-control, leading to a deeper understanding of themselves and their peers.

One groundbreaking tool for Social Emotional Learning are Emotional Freedom Techniques, also known as Tapping, which is an effective self-regulation and somatic healing technique that involves gently tapping specific points on the face and upper body while verbalizing one's emotions in response to the issue at hand.

After more than a decade of teaching others about Tapping, I have developed Functional Tapping, a simplified version of the technique. It's designed to be easily replicable, enabling school staff to quickly learn and teach it to their students.

So, how does Functional Tapping benefit schools? It serves as a stress and anxiety relief technique that teachers can employ to help students maintain calmness and focus in the classroom. By learning to regulate their emotions, students become better equipped to engage in learning. For guidance counselors and special education teachers, Functional Tapping offers a valuable tool to help students manage their emotions and refocus on academic tasks, ultimately enhancing their classroom performance and overall well-being.

Self-compassion is often a radically new way of relating to ourselves. Research shows that the more we practice being kind and compassionate with ourselves, either using informal practices such as the Self-Compassion Break, or formal meditation practices such as Affectionate Breathing – the more we’ll increase the habit of self-compassion.

There are a few tips to practicing self-compassion that are important to keep in mind for novice and experienced practitioners alike. Self-compassion is a practice of goodwill, not good feelings. In other words, even though the friendly, supportive stance of self-compassion is aimed at the alleviation of suffering, we can’t always control the way things are. If we use self-compassion practice to try to make our pain go away by suppressing it or fighting against it, things will likely just get worse. With self-compassion we mindfully accept that the moment is painful, and embrace ourselves with kindness and care in response, remembering that imperfection is part of the shared human experience. This allows us to hold ourselves in love and connection, giving ourselves the support and comfort needed to bear the pain, while providing the optimal conditions for growth and transformation.

Some people find that when they practice self-compassion, their pain actually increases at first. We call this phenomena backdraft, a firefighting term that describes what happens when a door in a burning house is opened – oxygen goes in and flames rush out. A similar process can occur when we open the door of our hearts – love goes in and old pain comes out. There are a couple sayings that describe this process: “When we give ourselves unconditional love, we discover the conditions under which we were unloved” or “Love reveals everything unlike itself.” Fortunately, we can meet old pain with the resources of mindfulness and self-compassion and the heart will naturally begin to heal. Still, it means we have to allow ourselves to be slow learners when it comes to practicing self-compassion. And if we ever feel overwhelmed by difficult emotions, the most self-compassionate response may be to pull back temporarily – focus on the breath, the sensation of the soles of our feet on the ground, or engage in ordinary, behavioral acts of self-care such as having a cup of tea or petting the cat. By doing so we reinforce the habit of self-compassion – giving ourselves what we need in the moment – planting seeds that will eventually blossom and grow.

A Word on Self-Love

Let’s begin with understanding what self-love is. As described in this article from PsychCentral…

“Self-love means that you accept yourself fully, treat yourself with kindness and respect, and nurture your growth and wellbeing.”

If you have a hard time practicing self-love, the good thing is this exercise can be extremely helpful.You may have a hard time identifying things to love about yourself, or perhaps you’ve never even thought about what you like. So, you may feel emotional, if you can’t think of anything. You have special qualities that make you, YOU, but how often do you take time to appreciate your uniqueness?

Take a look at this amazing list – because you deserve to focus on loving yourself and that begins with being aware of all your great qualities, and appreciating them.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK

• Plant-based but creamy. There’s no milk, cream, or butter in this recipe, making it completely vegan, but velvety and rich at the same time, thanks to the butternut squash and the coconut milk.
• Basic ingredients – As long as you planned ahead with the butternut squash, the rest of the ingredient list is super simple, and I bet you have most, if not all, of them on hand.
• Aromatic roasted flavor – There’s just something wonderful about roasting vegetables to use in soup. It brings out that smokey flavor of the butternut squash and makes it more caramelized and tastier than simply boiling the squash.

INGREDIENTS FOR A SIMPLE ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

• Butternut squash: Cut the whole butternut squash in half before removing the seeds. Cut into cubes so that it roasts quickly. You can buy prepared squash at stores for convenience.
• Seasonings: Salt, pepper, ginger, and cinnamon.
• Onion and garlic: Onion and garlic are a great way to add flavor to this soup so that it’s not bland.
• Broth: You can use homemade vegetable stock or store-bought. If not vegan or vegetarian, chicken stock will work well too.
• Coconut milk: This plant-based milk gives the soup a creamy texture without the need for dairy. Oat milk can be used, or unsweetened almond milk would work great too. Use a dairy-based milk or half-and-half if not vegan.

HOW TO MAKE ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

This butternut squash soup is incredibly simple to make. The hardest part is trying not to devour the tray of roasted squash before you can get it into the soup! You could also cook the butternut squash in different ways, but roasted gives you the best flavor.

ROAST BUTTERNUT SQUASH

1. Place the butternut squash cubes on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and cardamom. Toss to combine.
2. Bake, flipping halfway through until the butternut squash is knife tender and golden.

PREPARE SOUP

1. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large pot. Add the onions and seasoning. Cook the onion, until softened. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer while the butternut squash finishes roasting.
2. When the butternut squash is done, transfer it to the pot, and remove it from the heat.
3. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until completely smooth.
4. Stir in the coconut milk. Serve with a drizzle of coconut milk and pumpkin seeds.

TIPS FOR MAKING THIS HEALTHY BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

1. Grab my tips for the best way to cut butternut squash. This is not an easy vegetable to cut, but there are a few ways to cut it. I recommend cubed for this recipe for the best
2. Use an immersion blender to make the soup smooth. This is the easiest way, or you can use a stand blender, but be careful as it will be very hot. Alternatively, leave it as is if you like it chunky.
3. Taste before you serve. If you find that it needs more of one spice or the other, add in a little more to taste. Remember, you can always add more, but you can’t take it away, so start off small.
4. Make it ahead of time. This roasted butternut squash soup reheats well in the microwave or on the stovetop, making it a great meal prep option or make-ahead dinner.

Wellness Coordinators

Jenn Gooch (SMS)

District Office

Susan Penrod (Superintendent)

Toni Vandershule

Amy Santilli

Pacific Ridge Elementary School Building Leaders

Kathryn Zacher, Debbie Hillman, Grace Brunke

Seaside Middle School Building Leaders

Natalie Dyroff, Wendy Crozier, Karma Herd, Shelby Gagnon

Seaside High School Building Leaders

Julie Greene, Vihn Pham, Katharine Parker

Bus Barn Building Leader

Jerry Herrington

Contact us at wellness@seasidek12.org

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