Counselor Connection
August
Welcome Back!
Greetings, Bryan Elementary students and parents, and welcome back!
As your school counselors, our mission is to prepare students with the academic, social-emotional, and career readiness skills necessary for success. We are looking forward to our fifth year at Bryan Elementary and to serving the students, parents, teachers, and Bryan community. We hope to see you at Open House, where you can meet your teacher, drop off your supplies, and tour the building, and we look forward to kicking off our school year on August 17th!
Important Dates:
August 9: Student Registration
August 15: 5:30-7:00 Open House
August 17: First Day of School
Ms. Mann: PK-2 School Counselor
Mrs. Huard: 3-5 School Counselor
Reducing Back to School Anxiety
Back-to-school anxiety is normal and understandable. Many kids may feel anxious about going back to school after a long summer break. Others may feel nervous about starting school for the first time. Regardless of what the case may be, parents can help ease the transition back to school by being able to recognize the symptoms of stress and anxiety and implementing some creative strategies.
6 Tips for a Successful Return to School
As we enter another “Back to School” season, take a look at these six tips for preparing your children mentally, emotionally, and physically.
1. Get Social Again
If you haven’t already, get creative with ways your children can get reacquainted with friends. Set up virtual lunch dates, find interactive online games to play, or choose an engaging book they can read together. Or if you feel comfortable, set up a meet-up at a park where children can have a socially-distanced playdate.
2. Get Back on Schedule
Getting back to a full day schedule will be challenging, so start establishing a routine now. Set regular bedtimes; wake up at consistent times and get dressed; stick with a daily schedule with tasks to accomplish each day. Getting into this habit will be especially helpful if you will be supporting virtual learning in the fall.
Encourage hand washing multiple times a day, as your children sing a song that is at least 20 seconds long. Have your children practice engaging with you while keeping space (show them what six feet actually looks like). Talk about limited contact with others and practice when out in public. If masks will be required in your children’s school, make sure they practice safe mask use and get used to wearing it.
No news isn’t always good news with kids. Frequently ask your children how they’re feeling and try to gauge how they’re handling the idea of going back to school. Feelings don’t need fixing; try to focus on listening and empathizing. If they are feeling anxious, try offering some coping strategies they can tap into, such as deep breathing exercises, squeezing something like a stress ball, or thinking about the words to their favorite song; send them to school with a picture of their family or pet they can look at when they feel lonely.
Listening in a classroom can be much more difficult for some than the small learning environment they have become accustomed to. Teach active listening skills through games like “Simon Says,” “20 Questions,” or “Telephone.”
Maybe not completely, but try to cut down on its use while remote learning instruction isn’t happening. Whether children will be back to in-person school or will continue virtual learning, take the opportunity now to reestablish balanced screen time. For students who will be remote learning, it will be good to squeeze in a break from those devices.
Starting a new school year can be stressful at the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic. Remind your children that teachers and students from across the country have all been out of their school buildings for five months now – we’re all in this together!
Catcher's Corner
Catcher has had a busy summer! He had the chance to hangout with his awesome friends at summer school. He also spent lots of time taking walks in the park and attending many Bryan Golden Bears sporting events.
Although Catcher had a fantastic summer, he missed seeing his friends at Bryan Elementary and is super excited to see those smiling faces return on August 17th. Catcher looks forward to supporting students' social and emotional needs again this year and to providing a positive outlet to students each and every day.
You can find updates and photos of Catcher on his Facebook Page@ bcs-Catcher
Safer Ohio School Tip Line
NEW - 988 Suicide and Crisis Helpline
Bear Bags
Mental Health America
Our mental health is in constant flux and ebbs and flows on a daily basis. Many things can impact this including our physical health. The connection between our physical body and our mental health is important and may be something worth exploring when thinking about staying mentally healthy. Learn more about whole health and what you can do to improve your overall wellness by visiting Mental Health America.
For additional information on Mental Health America:
STOP!T APP
STOPit provides students with an easy app to safely and anonymously report anything of concern to school officials. STOPit empowers students to stand up for themselves and others while giving our school the insight we need to keep students safe. Students can report bullying/cyberbully, inappropriate student/teacher relationship, violence threat, hazing, weapons possession, drugs/alcohol, and substance abuse.
The BE Code to enter for the STOPit App is: BES004002
National Online Safety
The internet has transformed the ability to access content. Many apps that children use are dependent on user-generated content which can encourage freedom of expression, imagination and creativity. However, due to the sheer volume uploaded every day, it can be difficult for platforms to regulate and moderate everything, which means that disturbing or distressing images, videos or audio clips can slip through the net. That’s why we’ve created this guide to provide parents and caregivers with some useful tips on keeping children safe online. Visit the National Online Safety website for an additional resources on how to keep your children safe.
Community Resources
Many families may have concerns that extend beyond the educational needs of their children. If you need help finding resources in our community such as food, financial assistance, health care, and mental health services, please let us help you.
Williams County Resource Guide
Williams County Health Department
Northwest Ohio Community Action Coalition
JFS Financial AssistanceMental Health Resources
Williams County Resource Guide
Williams County Referral Resource Guide
Ohio Mental Health Resource Guide
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Council for Behavioral Health
Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction
Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation
Four County Suicide Prevention Coalition
Suicide Prevention Life Line: 800-273-8255
Crisis Line: 1-800-468-4357
Call 988 for suicide and crisis lifeline
Substance Abuse Prevention Resources
Ohio COVID-19 Resources
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a new set of online tools to help teens, kids, and parents deal with the mental and emotional impacts of COVID-19. For more information on how Ohio is dealing with COVID-19, visit Ohio's response to COVID-19 or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH. Visit Ohio Department of Mental Health for behavioral health-specific resources, and click HERE for a list of pop-up COVID-19 Testing Sites. For mental health resources, visit the Center for Disease Control or Mental Health America COVID-19 Resources.
Important Contact Information:
Behavioral health related questions: covid19BH@mha.ohio.gov
COVID-19-related OTP questions: OTP_COVID19@mha.ohio.gov
Housing questions: COVID19Housing@mha.ohio.gov
Telehealth questions: COVID19BHTelehealth@mha.ohio.gov
COVID Careline 1-800-720-9616.
August-September
August 9: Registration
August 15: Open House
August 17: First Day of SchoolSeptember 5: Labor Day
September 6: Teacher Workday
September 12: Fair Day