Clever Counseling Connection
March 2020
Message from the Clever Counselors
Hello Clever Bluejays!
We hope that you all had the chance to enjoy your Spring Break, whether you were traveling with family or playing at home. During the next few weeks, our hope for each of you is that you will continue to find joy in each day. Go for a walk. FaceTime a friend. Play a game with your family. Bake a cake. Whatever it is that makes you happy, make time to do it! Self-care is a focus in the counseling world. You can't take the best care of others if you aren't taking care of yourselves. This is often a difficult message to receive. As parents, we are not wired to focus on ourselves but rather on our children. During this time, please do both!
We know that there are many unknowns ahead and that you all are striving to find your new normal for at least the next few weeks. The Clever staff and administrators are continuing to work to provide supports for our students, families and community, including:
- Grab N Go meals in the Elemiddle bus lane every M-F between 11:00am and 12:30 pm for ALL individuals under the age of 18. This is a safe way to spend a few minutes out of the house, get TWO delicious meals, and see some familiar, smiling faces!
- Educational opportunities designed specifically for your students from their teachers. While these activities are not required, this is a great way to help provide some structured, educational time for students at home. PK-5 teachers will be sharing weekly frameworks for each grade level. This includes special classes, PAT, and counseling activities. 6th-12th grade teachers are pushing out activities through Canvas that are designed specifically for your student's classes.
- Opportunities for social connection. The high school has adopted the motto "We Are One" over the past few years and it continues to ring true during this time. We encourage each of you to continue to foster your connections in the community through district activities such as Spirit Weeks, communication between students and teachers on SeeSaw, Remind, Canvas, Email, etc. and reaching out for support if/when you need it.
This is where we hope that your Clever Counseling Team play a role. We hope that this newsletter can provide you with some beneficial information, resources and connections throughout the upcoming weeks. We will continue to reach out to all of you and hope that you will contact us individually if we can provide additional support to you and/or your student.
Talking with Children about Coronavirus
- Monitor what your children are seeing and hearing. It is okay for children to have information but it should be filtered by you and appropriate for their age.
- Ask your children how they are coping with the changes in their world and if they have questions for you. Answer the questions that you can and let them know when you don't know the answer. Sometimes, our kids need to know that we have questions without answers too!
- Listen to what your children are saying and validate their feelings. It is okay to be worried about the unknown!
- After your child has been heard, encourage them to focus on his/her "circle of control". This terminology should be families to our students as we use this often at school. What do we have control over right now? Creating a routine. Spending time with family. Communicating with friends and loved ones. Eating healthy meals. Completing educational activities. Watching a movie. Choose something that can be a positive focus for your child and run with it.
Below are links to some great resources to help you navigate these conversations with your students. PBS.org has a great list of tips for parents and videos that you can watch with your children to help focus on their circle of control. The HuffPost article is a great resource for our older students and provides a unique perspective on self-isolation from an astronaut.
Coping with Stress
Kindergarten - 4th Grade
School Counselor
Email: twiggd@cleverbluejays.org
Phone: 417-743-4810
5th - 8th Grade
School Counselor
Email: caseyl@cleverbluejays.org
Phone: 417-743-4820
9th - 12th Grade
School Counselor
Email: waisnerr@cleverbluejays.org
Phone: 417-743-4830