Gateway School Counseling
April 2022 Family Newsletter
Welcome!
Everything You Need to Know About Middle School Registration
Middle School Selection
If you have any questions about middle school or school selection, please let us know! Our contact information is located at the bottom of this newsletter.
This Month at Gateway
Emotion Regulation Lessons
Help at Home
National Autism Awareness Month
April is Autism Awareness Month! Autism Awareness Month is put in place to celebrate the things that make people with autism so special. This month also helps educate people on what Autism Spectrum Disorder is. Autism is complex because there is not one clear way to identify if someone has autism. A beautiful quote about the disorder reads "If you have met one person with autism, you have met one person with autism". Autism is usually associated with difficulty in social and communication skills, repetitive behaviors, and adherence to routine. It also can be accompanied by sensory sensitivities and challenges with paying attention. If you would like to learn more about autism or teach your student(s) more about the condition, please check out the videos below!
Professor Puppet teaches about Autism (2 min) (3rd-6th grade)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrrXMO-NrCMSesame Street: Autism Highlights (3 min) (Pre-k-3rd grade)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuV8AddbXIs
Sesame Street: Meet Julia (10 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKCdV20zLMs
What is Autism? (2:50 minutes) (5th-6th grade)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mh75_u0uR8
Understanding Autism (8:40) (3rd-6th grade)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsq7kejWpY8
If you think your child may be experiencing symptoms of ASD, feel free to reach out using the contact information below!
Child Abuse Prevention Month
Child abuse is an important topic to bring awareness to because its effects last a lifetime. Many adults who previously experienced child abuse go on to abuse substances, experience mental health disorders like depression & anxiety, and even attempt or complete suicide. In 2020 there were approximately 618,000 victims of child abuse or neglect nationally. This statistic equates to 8.4 children being abused out of every 1,000 children.
Protective Factors:
Protective factors are conditions or attributes that, when present in families and communities, increase the well-being of children and families and reduce the likelihood of maltreatment. Identifying protective factors helps parents find resources, supports, or coping strategies that allow them to parent effectively—even under stress. There are 6 protective factors:
- Nurturing and attachment
- Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development
- Parental resilience
- Social connections
- Concrete supports for parents
- Social and emotional competence of children
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs):
ACEs are traumatic events that occur before a child reaches the age of 18.
ACEs include:
- All types of abuse and neglect
- Parental substance use or mental illness
- Parental incarceration
- Domestic violence
- Divorce
A landmark study in the 1990s found a significant relationship between the number of ACEs a person experienced and a variety of negative outcomes in adulthood, including poor physical and mental health, substance use, and risky behaviors1. The more ACEs experienced, the greater the risk for these outcomes. By definition, children involved with the child welfare system have suffered at least one ACE.
If you would like to learn more about what you can do to prevent child abuse in your community, please reach out to Kelsey or Ali. If you know of child abuse or maltreatment occurring, please contact the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline at: (800) 652-1999
Earth Day - April 22, 2022
Below you will find various activities do participate it to celebrate Earth Day and beyond.
1. Pick up litter.
Help clean up the planet this Earth Day by spending time picking up litter around your neighborhood, school or local park. Better yet, encourage your friends to pick their own areas to clean so you can spread the Earth Day goodness around. Remember to wear proper protective gear!
2. Plant a tree.
Trees can help with soil erosion and contribute to dealing with carbon emissions, so make your mark—and give the next generation a greener future, too—by planting a few trees this Earth Day. The best part is, you can do this just about anywhere!
3. Make a call-to-action to share on social media.
Get your environmentally-conscious message out there and show your support for Earth Day by posting an educational video on your social media feed. Give your friends an #EarthDayChallenge to try, like picking up 15 pieces of litter, or simply share a few facts about global warming or rainforest preservation to help spread awareness.
4. Plan your own Earth Day science experiment.
This Earth Day, try out a cool science experiment to show how different disasters can affect our planet. For example, pour oil into a tub of water to see how difficult it is to clean up and why it’s so important that we keep oil spills from ruining our planet’s oceans.
5. Build a birdhouse or bird feeder.
Share your home with all of the Earth’s creatures by building a birdhouse or bird feeder out of recycled materials, such as an old cardboard box or milk jug, to help out your local avian population.
6. Build a terrarium.
Building a terrarium is a neat project to try any time of year, but especially on Earth Day! Not only is it a great way to bring a little bit of nature indoors, it makes for some cool bedroom decor, too.
7. Build a bug hotel.
Every animal on Earth has a special role to play in keeping our environment healthy—even the little critters! A bug hotel attracts beneficial insects that help control pests and gives them a place to nest during colder months, so they’ll stay close to your garden year-round. Make one by filling a small wood box with dried grasses, bark and pinecones.
8. Brainstorm energy-friendly ideas for around the house.
Cut back on energy waste and come up with a list of ideas that will make your home save energy this Earth Day, such as switching to LED bulbs, turning off the AC when you’re not home and other simple, energy-efficient ideas.
9. Go on a nature scavenger hunt.
Learn about local flora and fauna this Earth Day by searching for flowers, plants and trees native to your region around your neighborhood. Look for a regionalist list of native plants online to help guide your search!
10. Start a compost bin in your backyard.
Start a composting bin for your home this Earth Day. This eco-friendly way of disposing of veggie scraps and other bio-degradable waste products not only cuts back on the amount of trash you produce and send to landfills, but it creates a nutrient-rich compost mixture that can give your garden a boost!
11. Craft a nature collage.
Celebrate Earth Day this year by making an all-natural art collage with things you’ve founding in nature, like leaves, pressed flowers, pieces of bark and other small items. Collect items while you’re out for a hike or exploring your local nature trail.
12. Check out Earth Day’s official website for events happening near you.
Earth Day is celebrated across the world and many cities and schools put on official events in celebration. Visit Earth Day network to find an event near you!
Counseling Awareness Month
If you or your student would like to try therapy or have questions about what a session may look like, please contact either Kelsey or Ali using the information below!
Winter Clothing Support
Panera Bread Program Update
These donations were available on Wednesdays during dismissal on a table near the main 'Exit' doors of the building.
This semester, we will be distributing donations differently and will no longer have a table outside on Wednesday afternoons. Instead, each classroom will receive Panera coupons that teachers can give out to students either based on need or achievement. Donation amounts may vary each week. Some weeks only one student per class will get to pick from the table. This will give more students an opportunity to take home Panera for themselves and their family members.
If you are in need of food assistance throughout the school year, please call Gateway and ask to speak with a school counselor.
General Resources
Nebraska Family Helpline
1-888-866-8660
Safe 2 Help
531-299-SAFE (7233)
Your Life Your Voice
Call: 1-800-448-3000
Text: "VOICE" to 20121
Chat: yourlifeyourvoice.org
Email: YLYV@boystown.org
Download the "My Life My Voice" app!
Contact Us
Ms. Ali McGovern
Email: alison.mcgovern@ops.org
Phone: (531)299-9529
Mrs. Kelsey Buglewicz-Miller
Email: kelsey.buglewiczmiller@ops.org
Phone: (531)299-6939