Keeping PACE

Emotional Regulation: Recognizing What's Wrong

Emotional regulation is the key to life! The first step to creating healthy emotional regulation is recognizing what's wrong. This session will cover:

• Why do we have emotions?
• The impact of inward emotions on mental health.
• Why emotions being too high or low can be harmful.
• Tools to understand our child's emotions.

When: January 22, 2025, 12:00-1:00 p.m.

Where: Online (Zoom)

Register here

Parents/guardians can always watch the previous month's wellness workshop if they aren't able to join the live session. Please feel free to share the link to the recording and the description below.

Helping Your Child Succeed - Three Parenting Styles: Learn more about ways to improve parental warmth, which is one of the key areas of principle-based parenting. Children who experience parental warmth are found to be more creative, experience less depression, and have healthier self esteem. Watch now: https://cookcenter.info/Dec18HarfordReplay.

This is reminder that the Cook Center for Human Connection is offering to host a mental health workshop for your schools’ parents, providing dinner and incentives for parents who attend. Email Mary Beth if you haven’t already scheduled your event, and she will connect you with the Cook Center!

The Harford Community Action Agency Mediation Program (HCAAMP) promotes peaceful alternatives. Their well trained mediation coaches help resolve conflict and find win-win solutions. Do you know of a family that could benefit from mediation services? Please share this information with them and encourage them to contact an intake worker at HCAAMP as the first step. Mediation can begin at any stage in a conflict, and anyone can initiate the mediation. If all parties agree to the mediation, a session will be scheduled as soon as possible.

If you would like to print their brochure (pictured below), please click here.

The School Attendance Webinar Series is a collaborative effort between the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium (MAEC). These virtual events are designed to support educators, families, and community partners in fostering family engagement and promoting regular attendance in schools.

Each session will explore practical strategies and evidence-based approaches to create environments where all students feel supported and connected.

Webinar Schedule

Family Engagement and Dual Capacity-Building Framework

• Presenters: Rita Perez and Jessica Webster, Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium
• Date: January 29, 2025
• Time: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.

Belonging, Connectedness, and Support

• Presenter: Demetria White, Interagency Education Program Specialist, Division of Early Intervention and Special Education Services
• Date: February 26, 2025
• Time: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.

Bullying Prevention and School Climate

• Presenters: Brad Engel, Specialist, School Climate Initiatives, and Lauren Holmes, Executive Director, Division of Student Support and Federal Programs
• Date: March 26, 2025
• Time: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.

Community Schools Supporting Attendance

• Presenters: Derek Anderson, Executive Director, Community Schools, and Jenny Torres, Coordinator, Community Schools
• Date: April 30, 2025
• Time: 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.

How to Join

Register for one or more sessions by visiting the link here: https://bit.ly/4g7yzPv.

Consider replicating this best practice at your school.

Shout out to Community School Specialists and Social Workers from Hall’s Cross Roads Elementary, Aberdeen Middle, Joppatowne High, Edgewood High, and Harford Academy for securing a donation of women's clothing from Macy’s!

If your school is planning a food drive, please consider donating food items to The HOPE Center. The HOPE Center is providing weekend meal bags for HCPS students as part of its "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" project.

Please share this opportunity with families that my be interested:

The 2025 C5ISR Center Math & Science Summer Camp is a unique program designed to inspire and educate students in the fields of math and science. The application process will open on Monday, February 3, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Please note that seats fill up quickly, often within the first day, so parents/guardians should be sure to apply early to secure their child's spot.

Important Details:

• Application opens: Monday, February 3, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.
• Application process: First Come – First Served basis, with placement preference given to children of current military members
• Camp location: Harford Glen Environmental Center, Bel Air
• Themes and dates:
• Rising 5th & 6th Grade: Flight and Rocketry (July 21 – July 25)
• Rising 7th & 8th Grade: STEM in Pop Culture (July 28 – August 1)
• Rising 9th & 10th Grade: Natural Disasters (August 4 – August 8)

For more information about the application process and details about the various themes, please visit: https://c5isrcenter.devcom.army.mil/k12/.

The archive of Parent Connection newsletters can be found here. Please take the time to review the most recent issue and share the content with parents, as appropriate to your school’s level and needs. Feel free to cut and paste directly from the newsletter!

Resources from Dr. Steven Constantino's Engage Every Family are available on SharePoint: https://hcps365.sharepoint.com/sites/FamilyandCommunityPartnerships2.

• The National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement is a great resource for you to learn more about best practices in parent engagement, join their listserv or become a member: https://nafsce.org/.

• National PTA’s Center for Family Engagement– check it out! https://www.pta.org/the-center-for-family-engagement

• Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center: https://ohiofamiliesengage.osu.edu/resource/educators/

• The Collaborative Action for Family Engagement (CAFE) Center (Maryland and Pennsylvania): https://maec.org/cafe/

Mary Beth Stapleton,

Manager of Family and Community Partnerships

410-588-5263

Website: https://www.hcps.org/parents/ParentAcademy/Default.aspx
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HCPSParentAcademy