Wellness Wednesday
Resources and Information from WHS Counselors
April 8, 2020
Hi! How are you? We miss you! Don't forget you can email any of us if you have questions or want to chat. This week's newsletter has a bit more information than we had planned, but we wanted to make sure you knew what was happening with course selection! Check your email for updates about meetings, office hours, and more.Be well,
Your WHS Counselors
Maintaining Emotional Health Resources (in many languages)
Photo by Emily Morter on Unsplash
What is Mindfulness?
Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash
What a Wonderful World
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Take Care of You.
You've probably heard people (including us!) talk about how important it is to take care of yourself during this time. Why do we keep saying that? Well, this is an uncertain time and during uncertain times, it is completely normal to feel stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious. Your emotions might include fear, worry, sadness, and anger. You might feel discouraged, you might have trouble sleeping, and you might notice yourself getting headaches or feeling fatigued. During these uncertain times, we may not pay as much attention to what we need physically and emotionally. By taking care of yourself (practicing self-care), you are giving yourself time to pay attention to yourself and take care of yourself so that you can remain healthy, be available to help others, and manage your stress.
This week, we wanted to share some suggestions from the counseling group. We know taking care of yourself looks different day to day and person to person, but here are some of the things we're doing to make sure we are caring for our own physical and mental health.
Need a hot second to yourself? CorePower Yoga is live-streaming classes and some classes on demand - all for free! You may not be a child anymore, but child's pose is for everyone! :) Namaste -Ms. Leonard
Feeling worried? Try "scheduling your worry time". Sometimes worries take over and make it hard to focus on the tasks at hand. By scheduling time each day to think about your worries, jot them down, and maybe even think about how to solve those worries, you might find that you become better able to focus on other things at other times. This probably won't stop you from worrying and you probably won't see a change overnight, but with time, you might find it a little bit easier to manage your worries. Check out an article about scheduling worries here. -Ms. Kim
If you've been to my office, you know I like to bake, so I'm taking time during the school closure to do that. I've started my own sourdough starter and am taking care of it (it's like a pet for the first week!) and have done some baking with some of the little kids in my life over Skype. We've made cookies and brownies. On the nice days, I get in a long walk outside, while practicing social distancing. -Ms. Eaton
Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after. So who is ready for a few jokes...-Ms. Orpen
Schedule for School Closure
Course Selection Updates
Core course recommendations (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, World Langauge) will be completed by your teachers by the end of this week. Our goal is to provide you with a verification sheet with these courses listed by Friday, April 17. If there are changes that need to be made to these core courses, we ask that you do the following:
- For level changes ("I want to take Honors, not L1"), start by talking with your teacher. If no resolution can be made, the department coordinator will be added to the conversation. These discussions should begin on Monday, April 27. These types of appeals may take time, so they will not be subject to the same change deadline as electives and other request changes.
- For the removal of core courses that you have been recommended for ("I am not going to take a 4th year of _____"), note this information and communicate it with your guidance counselor during the week of April 27. Guidance counselors will hold office hours during this time and you can also email your counselor.
Elective requests will be gathered using a Google Form this year. It will be important that you complete the form accurately in order for us to ensure that we are capturing your primary (1st and 2nd) choices. More details about this form will be sent towards the end of this week, but your responses will be due by Wednesday, April 29. Changes to elective requests can be made until Monday, May 11. Once you have submitted the Google Form, you will need to email your guidance counselor to make changes.
A final course verification sheet will be provided to all students on Monday, May 4. This sheet will list all the courses that you have requested for the 2020-21 school year. You will have until Monday, May 11 to make changes to these courses (unless you are working through an appeal for a core course with a teacher).
In order to answer questions that you might have about this process, your guidance counselors will provide office hours next week. During these office hours, you will be admitted one at a time into a Zoom chat so you can discuss questions with your guidance counselor. You may be in the "Waiting Room" for a bit, so bring your homework, a snack, or something to do while you wait (have you tried yoga?!). These should be general course selection questions or quick questions. If you'd like to schedule a longer meeting with your guidance counselor, please send an email to schedule something. During the week of April 27 and May 4, we will provide additional time for you to meet with your guidance counselor to go over the course verification sheet and elective choices. A link to the office hours for next week will be emailed to you on Sunday night, April 12, but here are the times that counselors will be available via Zoom drop in hours.
Dr. Baker will be available to meet with students on Thursday, April 16 from 10AM-1PM (9th grade from 10:00-11:00, 10th grade from 11:00-12:00, 11th grade from 12:00-1:00.
Ms. Eaton will be available to meet with 11th graders on Tuesday, April 14 from 11:00AM-12:00PM, 10th graders on Wednesday from 9:30AM-10:30AM, and 9th graders on Wednesday from 12:00PM-1:00PM.
Ms. Orpen will be available on Tuesday, April 14. 9th grade from 9:30AM-10:30AM, 10th grade from 11:30AM-12:30PM, 11th grade from 3:00-4:00PM.
Ms. Leonard will be available on Wednesday, April 15th to meet with 11th graders from 11:30AM-12:30PM, and on Thursday, April 16th from 11:00AM-12:00PM for 10th graders and 12:00PM-1:00PM for 9th graders.
Ms. Osborne will be available on Monday from 3:00PM-4:30PM and Tuesday from 3:00PM-4:30PM for any grades.
We know this is different than any other year, but we hope we have come up with a plan that will help you get your questions answered. Remember, you can ALWAYS email your guidance counselor and ask to schedule an individual meeting - just ask! We'd love to chat with you.
World Autism Month
Autism Speaks has made 2020 the "Year of Kindness" with a goal of achieving ONE MILLION acts of kindness, big and small. According to Autism Speaks, "We believe that celebrating and encouraging acts of kindness will directly advance our mission by creating a more inclusive, understanding and accepting world for people with autism."
Here are some ways to be kind in your community...
*remember to practice social distancing right now!*
(as posted on Autism Speaks):
-Be inclusive: Include others in group settings. Reach out to someone who may seem shy, isolated or feel alone.
-Be polite: Don’t stare or draw attention to people who are exhibiting behaviors that are unfamiliar to you.
-Be understanding: Recognize that not everyone interacts with the world the same way you do. Give everyone your full attention and take the time to know and appreciate what makes each individual unique.
-Be patient: Give others the time and space they need to digest and share their thoughts, feelings, questions or concerns.
-Be loving: Let your friends, family and strangers know they are loved in the ways they feel most comfortable. Expressions of care and love do not have to be verbal or physical.
-Be involved: Volunteer in your community with organizations that share your passions and interests.
-Be brave: Go out of your comfort zone to help someone else or even ask for help yourself.
-Be friendly: Remember to say “hello,” “excuse me,” “please” and “thank you” with a smile. One single interaction could make someone’s day, so make it count.
-Be thoughtful: Little things can make a big difference. Hold a door for someone or leave positive messages on a post-it-note in random places throughout your town.
Interested in Leadership? Public Service? Social Causes? Making the World A Better Place?
Thursday, April 9, at 3 p.m. EST -- Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation
The leaders of Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation will talk about making the world a better place -- and how you can help! To RSVP, please send a note to john.vitti@headlinersineducation.org.
This is for any students or teachers involved with LEADERSHIP or PUBLIC SERVICE or SOCIAL CAUSES or MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE. People who take part will learn a lot about organizing and spreading their particular message and affecting that change. (BTW has 114k followers on Instagram.)
You can learn more at https://bornthisway.foundation/ and Channelkindness.org.