Banyan Bulletin

To educate students with learning disabilities by identifying individual strengths and abilities, continuously monitoring individual progress, and adapting the curriculum to to meet each students changing educational needs.

As we approach the holiday season, please also practice self care.

1. Find short periods of time to sit quietly. Sometimes self-care can be as simple as taking a few minutes to stop, sit, and breathe. Whether we’re able to find a free 3 minutes or 30 minutes to take a break, it can make a world of difference for our well-being. Should we opt to use this time to do a meditation. Research shows that people who used meditation for only 10 days reported an 11% decrease in stress.

1. Tap into a sense of play. Throughout the holidays, it can be easy to get wrapped up in all the logistics the season requires, constantly ticking things off to-do lists. Before we know it, the holidays have become less of a celebration and more of a long chore. To bring more fun back into this season, we might carve out time to do something that we really enjoy. Maybe that means watching nostalgic holiday movies or reveling in the daily surprise of an advent calendar. Whatever it is, making these elements a priority can help to bring balance to the stressful moments.

1. Care for the body. While caring for the mind is a great start to self-care, caring for the body is an equally important part of the equation. During the holidays, preserving our physical health may look like having healthy sleep or eating mindfully to better navigate all the indulging associated with the season. It can also look like taking time to schedule a daily walk, a habit that studies show can help reduce anxiety, depression, social withdrawal, and a negative mood, while also boosting self-esteem.

1. Make room for all types of feelings. There tends to be an underlying pressure during the holidays to feel perpetually happy and festive. While some people may feel truly blissful during this time, 64% of people say they experience a case of the holiday blues at some point throughout the season. It’s common for this time of year to bring up feelings of sadness, stress, anxiety, grief, and loneliness

1. Practice letting go of expectations. Sometimes, the best, biggest act of holiday self-care we can give ourselves is simply to work on letting go of the standards and expectations we so often set for ourselves at this time of year — fixed ideas created in the mind that might not match how life actually plays out. Just enjoy each holiday event and gathering as it unfolds and be present in the company and moments.

The holidays have a well-earned reputation for being a time that’s all about giving. On top of giving gifts and giving our time and energy to plan and attend events, it can also feel like we’re obliged to exude a happy, carefree energy — even if that’s not how we actually feel. Remember to take a few moments to give to yourself!

GET IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT WITH A FEW GREAT ADS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ia0U6RtWl4

Our names are Cassy, Kelly, and Emma. We are the occupational therapists covering for Ashley Rogalski while she is on maternity leave. We spend some of our mornings at Banyan. At Banyan, we address each students’ goals within individual and group settings and work on skills such as executive functioning, fine motor skills, oculomotor skills, self regulation, and emotional regulation. Some of the fun activities we have completed with Banyan students while working on these skills include cooking rice krispie treats and pizza, making lemonade, and planting pumpkin seeds!

Here is an example of one of the group sessions that was run at Banyan! These students planned, organized, and celebrated a Halloween party, working on all executive functioning skills across multiple weeks in order to prepare and create all decorations and treats. (picture below)

When we leave Banyan, we head to our full time job at Intensive Therapeutics. At IT, we provide group and individual based therapy services for children and young adults. We work on functional goals and focus on what is important to each individual client and their families. We listen to families and parents, and adapt and grow with the individuals that we work with.

One of our group programs, Teen Series, is led by an occupational therapist and speech therapist, which addresses social skills, life skills, and executive functioning skills for teens. Some of these skills include communication, organization, time management, working memory, planning and prioritizing, and applying those skills through technology, home management, money management, health and wellness, and meal preparation.

Thank you for welcoming us into Banyan! We are so lucky to work with each student here and are excited for the remaining few weeks together!!

Kelly, Cassy, Emma, & the rest of the Intensive Therapeutics team!

Once again, the high school music classes have been working diligently throughout the fall to prepare for a performance where students will be sharing their vocal and instrumental gifts with our Banyan family. The chorus has been singing in three part harmony together to create a beautiful sound. The students have developed their singing tone and voice throughout the chorus classes and are excited to share the gift of song with the audience. This year, our students have worked diligently to increase their repertoire and bring a concert that is better than ever! Students have also been working in our guitar and rock band classes to develop their musical talents and prepare for their performance. The Rock Band will rock again at the concert, as they did at the Golf Outing in the fall.

The number of students in our Music Programs continue to grow. They are ready and excited to share their gift of song with you.

We can't wait to see you all at St. Francis Hall!

We would like to invite all of our parents to join our PTSO for Banyan High School and LIFE Academy! The PTSO hosts many events for our families, such as the upcoming Bingo, and provides events for our students. If you would like to join, please use the links below:

Here is the link to the PTSO membership on https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E-qyfDldaJgOtt2KxsDsgIao1hFnkUiQg0uvBM-piMQ/edit?usp=sharing

PTSO are collecting dues and payment will be accepted via Zelle and check/cash. Checks made payable to Banyan High School PTSO

Suggested amount $45

The next meeting is on December 10, virtually at 7 PM.

Please join our PTSO!

Here are some important upcoming events:

LOST AND FOUND: We have many items already in our lost and found at the main office. Please have your student check or call the main office for missing items.

• Jack's Walkabout - Greetings Adventurers! Join us for a wetlands walk, a Meadowlands meander, on Saturday, December 7, 2024 at 2pm. It's easy and it's wheelchair accessible! Here is the link to directions and details: http://www.jackswalkaboutclub.com/next-hike.html
• Virtual PTSO Meeting - December 10 at 7 PM, link to follow
• Basketball Game Home - December 11 at 10 AM, in Wayne PAL

• Social 4 Life - December 11, Holiday Shopping Willowbrook Mall 3 PM
• Winter Concert - December 12, 7:30 PM in St. Francis Hall
• Ally's Elves - December 14, 11 - 3 PM Verona Community Center
• Basketball Game Home - December 18 at 10 AM, in Wayne PAL
• Ugly Sweater Contest - December 19 during the school day
• Winter Break - Half Day December 20 and No School December 23 - January 1, 2025

Website: www.banyanschools.org
Location: 471 Main Street, Little Falls, NJ, USA
Phone: 973 785-1919
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Banyan-School/100063632976200/