Over the next few weeks, I will be highlighting some of, what research tells us, are the greatest contributors to youth stressors.

This week I will touch on "lack of sleep or poor sleep quality".

I am not sure when our brain makes the change, from wanting to stay up all hours of the night to looking for the first opportunity to truck off to Dreamland. As adults, and especially once we have kids, we learn the value of a good night's sleep and the consequences when we don't have one. Unfortunately, many of our kids have not made this realization, and compounded with quick and easy access to the world around them, including their peers, most if not all of our kids (especially those aged 12+) are not getting enough sleep. In fact, we have students tell us that they are getting 2-3 hours or less a night at times. We are not always shocked to see how little sleep they are getting as we can often see it in them. For some, it is a real slog to get through the end of the day.

So, why aren't our kids sleeping? There are many reasons, but the top causes of lack of sleep, that we hear are; video games and chatting with friends. Most of our kids are not out and about being nefarious, they are simply in their rooms, connected, and that is the problem. Research shows that exposure to blue light from screens 1 hour prior to sleep will interrupt and degrade the quality of the sleep we get, kids and adults included. The blue light simulates our brain and messes with our circadian rhythms (there is a good Scrabble word), this greatly degrades our sleep quality. On top of that, devices allow access to friends 24/7/365. That conversation that may have waited until tomorrow, is, more often than not, happening at 3:00am.

So what is the solution? It is actually quite simple, no devices in bedrooms and set up the do not disturb features on devices so that alerts do not go off after a certain time. Fun fact, the sound and pitch of alerts are intentionally designed so that they cannot easily be ignored. In the settings, you can choose certain contacts that still have access to you, so you can be reached in cases of emergency. This will not be an easy conversation, but one that is worth having. Lack of sleep is the number 1 biological stressor impeding our kids' ability to self-regulate.

Sweet dreams!

April 27

The grade 3,4,5 and 6 Jr. NBA players will be off to Melfort this coming weekend (April 22 and 23). The boys will take the court on Saturday and the girls on Sunday. Our playing times are below. Note these may change as the day progresses. We are super excited to be taking over 50 athletes. Do to this large number and the structure of the tournament, parents will be responsible to get their child to the tournament and to supervise them when not playing.

Grade 3/4 Boys

Saturday, April 22 (Kerry Vickar Center)

9:00am, 10:00am, 12:00, 2:00pm, 3:00pm, 4:00pm.

** We are taking 2 grade 3/4 boys teams, specific schedules will be sent to families on Monday.

Grade 5/6 Boys

Saturday, April 22 (MUCC)

10:00am, 11:00am, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00. 4:00

** We are taking 2 grade 5/6 boys teams, specific schedules will be sent to families on Monday.

Grade 3/4 Girls

Sunday, April 23 (Kerry Vickar Center)

10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 5:00

** We are taking 2 grade 3/4 girls teams, specific schedules will be sent to families on Monday.

Grade 5/6 Girls

Sunday, April 23 (MUCC)

10:00, 1:00, 4:00

The volunteer for this month is Mrs. Mielke. She has proven instrumental in rallying the troops for our Hoopla run. She has led the organization of pep rallies and events to draw attention to and celebrate Athletics in our school. She has also been known to be an effective gap hitter in staff vs student slo- pitch games. Thank you for your leadership and support for Bears Athletics.

Athlete of the month is J.R Antazo. J.R. stepped up and stole the spotlight over the past few weeks. He is responsible for the huge dagger 3 to put Preeceville to bed at Conference Playoffs. However, his best work was yet to come during the first Hoopla game vs St. Brieux. With big brother riding the pine after picking up some early greasy fouls, J.R put the team on his back and started cookin’. Offensively and defensively he was the best player on the floor and every else started to feed off his energy. Great job J.R.

Athlete of the month is James Teale. James is found in the gym on a regular basis working on his badminton game. He is showing great improvement and he’s not afraid to work extra to get better. Although he seems strictly business James shows great sportsmanship and is always up for joking around with the team and classmates. Good Job James.

Junior Badminton

Grade 7 - Mondays 4:30-5:30

Grade 8/9 - Mondays 5:30-6:30

Pod Playoffs - Tuesday

Junior NBA (Grade 3456 Basketball)

Grade 3/4 Girls will practice Mondays at 3:30

Grade 3/4 Boys will practice Tuesdays at 3:30

Grade 5/6 Boys will practice Tuesdays at 3:30

Grade 5/6 Girls will practice Wednesdays at 3:30.

** Games may start earlier if teams arrive, our goal is to get them home as early as possible.

Once again, Jigs and Carolines will be offering hot lunches on Wednesday and Friday. Please order directly from them. Please note:

ALL JIGS ORDERS MUST BE PLACED THROUGH THE GOOGLE FORM BELOW.

CAROLINES ORDERS MUST NOW BE PLACED ONLINE AS WELL.