Compassion is “helping those who are hurting.” Compassion begins with sympathy, which is seeing someone’s pain. It is noticing a student who skins his knee or a friend who hurts her arm.

Compassion also includes empathy, which is feeling someone’s pain. Once you notice an injury, empathy means you imagine how much it hurts. This creates a feeling of duty, responsibility, and sometimes urgency to help find a remedy. This brings us to the full meaning of compassion, which is doing something to relieve someone’s pain. Compassion means getting involved, investing in others, and finding ways to “bear someone’s burden” in order for healing to occur.

Embrace Neurodiversity with us! Kim Webber's class decorate the bulletin board outside Rm. 13 with fun facts about neurodiversity, True or False questions, and an interactive coloring sheet! #celebrateallminds

The Recreation Council of Greater St. Louis is a nonprofit organization that serves as a clearinghouse for information on leisure, recreation and socialization opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities who reside in the greater St. Louis area. The Council works to ensure that individuals with disabilities are aware of and have access to activities and programs of their choice.

Click on the picture to access their website! Or, cut and paste this link: https://recreationcouncil.org/

Want to see your student in the next newsletter? Make sure you have a media release on file!

According to the American Psychological Association's, annual Stress in America survey, many Americans—both adults and youth—report experiencing significant stress. Parents overwhelmingly reported concerns regarding child(ren)’s development, including social life or development (73%), academic development (71%) and emotional health or development (71%). While some stress is part of everyday life and sometimes helps motivate us to take action, adults can more readily identify feelings and causes of significant stress, and consider ways to manage it.

Young people, however, may not recognize signs of stress or know how to respond and cope effectively. Parents can offer valuable assistance and provide empathy and understanding. By knowing what to listen to and watch for and by seeking out opportunities to engage in conversation with children of all ages, parents can help their children to better handle life challenges.

APA offers these tips on talking with your children about stress: be available, listen actively, respond thoughtfully, consider how kids learn, and seek additional help.

Click the picture to watch a short video about stress with your student.

Hello Southview families and friends! Coach Sam & Coach Dan invite you to check out the Southview PE Website. They have created this site in order to help you navigate through their class information, access to all our virtual curriculum, and check out the upcoming Special Olympics events! Click on the picture below to see the Southview PE website or cut and paste the link below.

https://sites.google.com/view/southview-pe/home?authuser=0

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? April 24th - 28th is also National Library Week! We will be celebrating with a book fair at Southview!

Check out April's Virtual Library features by clicking on the picture!

PEERS® (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) is a 12-16 week social skills program for children, teens or young adults with autism. In this program, individuals are engaged in learning real-life skills for connecting with others, as well as building and maintaining friendships.

Parents/Caregivers will also participate in the program and will be taught how to support and assist their child/young adult in making and keeping friends by coaching and providing feedback during weekly homework assignments. This program is offered to three age groups:

• Children’s Friendship Training: 3rd-5th graders

• PEERS: Middle and high school aged students

• PEERS for Young Adults: Individuals ages 18+ who are no longer in high school

New sessions will begin in May and August 2023. A pre-program assessment to determine eligibility is required. Funding options include DDRB, DMH and Private Pay.

For more information and to see if you qualify, please contact our Admissions Department at 314-394-7100 or via email info@esmw.org

Bullying is an unacceptable part of our children’s lives. Do your children know how to recognize the signs of bullying? Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center offers resources to help. Click here to learn how you can become a partner in your child’s learning. The Family and Community Resource Center (FCRC), located at the Learning Center in Hazelwood, has several books that help to increase awareness and prevent bullying for students of all different ages and abilities. Here is a list of just a few: “Betty Stops the Bully: An Emotional Literacy Book” written by Lawrence E. Shapiro, Ph.D “Emily is Being Bullied. What Can She Do?” written by Helen Cowie, Harriet Tenebaum, and Ffion Jones “I Wish I Knew What to Do?!, Teens tell it like it is…on what to say to get BULLIES to leave you alone!” edited by Beth Carls and Amy Looper Contact FACE today (face@ssdmo.org, 314-989-8460) to have one of these books or many others sent home in your student’s backpack!

The SSD Board of Education strives for transparency, accountability, and accessibility. We welcome family, staff, and community members to share comments, concerns, and ideas with SSD Board of Education members. To find the Board member representing your subdistrict, visit the Board of Education page on the SSD website.