Inner Balance
November 2020
Exciting Events Coming Up for Dawson Middle School!
Virtual Veterans Day Assembly
DVA Lunches
SOS Follow up
Virtual Veterans Day Assembly
DVA Lunchroom Makeover!
Signs of Suicide (SOS) Suicide Prevention Program
DMS Counselors delivered the Signs of Suicide (SOS) Prevention Program's implementation lesson on October 27th (7th grade) and 29th (8th grade).
What is SOS?
The Signs of Suicide (SOS) prevention program encourages students to seek help if they are concerned about the mental health and wellbeing of themselves or a friend. By helping students to understand that depression is a treatable illness, explaining that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression, and providing students with training on how to identify and report serious depression and potential suicide risk in themselves or a friend, the program proactively addresses the growing problems of youth self-injury and suicide.
Parental involvement is supported through the SOS Parent Portal, which is designed to provide parents with both knowledge and resources. Through the portal, you will find:
Information about warning signs
An example of the screening your student will complete in his/her class
Several videos about the program, including samples of what students will see and informational videos about how parents can help
Links to resources intended to help you talk to your child about mental health
Educational materials, including evidence-based information about mental health and suicide as well as phone numbers and websites you can visit to receive help
To access the parent portal, please click here.
The Benefits of Practicing Gratitude
People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things they're thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems.
Freshen Up Your Thanks
The best way to reap the benefits of gratitude is to notice new things you’re grateful for every day.
Be Social About Your Gratitude Practice
Our relationships with others are the greatest determinant of our happiness. So it makes sense to think of other people as we build our gratitude.
What Grateful People Have in Common
People who experience the most gratitude (and therefore the positive effects) tend to:
- Feel a sense of abundance in their lives
- Appreciate the contributions of others to their well-being
- Recognize and enjoy life's small pleasures
- Acknowledge the importance of experiencing and expressing gratitude
Train Your Brain for Gratitude
Whether or not these attitudes come to you naturally, paying attention to life's positives can train you to see more and more of them, which will help you learn to be more grateful. You might feel blessed that good weather allowed you to get out for an afternoon run, that a stranger lent a helping hand, that you made it to the bus on time, or that your kids offered to do the dishes. Acknowledging these things—on paper, with words, or even in your thoughts—will help you cultivate an attitude of gratitude—and with it, a boost in happiness that will last year-round.
Gratitude and Mindfulness go hand in hand.
Gratitude allows us to notice the many blessings we have and distracts us from the many misfortunes that we face. Mindfulness helps us react to our misfortunes with grace, acceptance, and meditation. Together these two practices nurture the happier self within us.
The Importance of Self-Management for Students
What is Self-Management?
Self-management is an essential component of social emotional learning. Building from the foundation of self-awareness, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines self-management as, “the ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations.” This regulation is achieved by effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself. In short, self-management is the ability to set and work toward personal and academic goals without significant deviation.
What Skills are Associated with Self-Management?
- Impulse control – Impulse control relates to the idea of delayed gratification. This refers to the ability to distract oneself from a desire in order to delay that impulse. Impulse control, then, is the ability to not act on immediate impulses, but rather delay that action for a period of time.
- Stress management – Stress management can occur through a variety of strategies. Teachers should expose students to several different methods through discussion and implementation. Having a solid foundation of self-awareness will allow students to determine when they are stressed so that they can implement practiced strategies with more success.
- Self-discipline – Self-discipline requires an individual to control one’s feelings and impulses. Also known as willpower, self-discipline allows us to ignore other stimuli in order to focus on the goal at hand and follow our plans despite distractions.
- Goal setting – Research has found that students tend to find more success when working with individually set goals. These goals, however, need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely) so as to better prepare students to successfully meet them.
- Self-motivation – Intrinsic motivation is a skill that is difficult to teach. Students must develop their own internal push that will keep them moving toward a goal. Having developed a specific goal is a great start to employing self-motivation.
- Organizational skills – Organizational skills can refer to the organization of physical space and materials, mental pictures and information, and time. Keeping our work areas uncluttered, as well as storing materials in a neat and organized manner for easy access, allows for more productive work time. Filtering information to be relevant to the topic at hand with a clear big picture can help to keep us on track. Lastly, keeping track of time and being aware of time commitments can help us to meet expectations.
What does it mean to have a certified HeartMath Coach at Dawson Middle School?
Your Counselor's can help your child boost resilience, composure and clarity!
The HeartMath Building Personal Resilience™ program is a focused and practical program, combining personalized coaching with scientifically validated tools to help your child self-regulate their body’s response to stress and build resilience. They will learn life-long skills you can use any time to increase well-being, personal and academic performance and quality of life experience.
Be sure to contact your child's grade level counselor for more details!
DMS Counselors
Katrina Tatum
7th grade Counselor
katrina.tatum@southlakecarroll.edu
Amy Hurlburt
8th grade Counselor
amy.hurlburt@southlakecarroll.edu
Lauren Canafax
Intervention Counselor
lauren.canafax@southlakecarroll.edu
Website: https://www.southlakecarroll.edu/domain/812
Location: 400 South Kimball Avenue, Southlake, TX, USA
Phone: 817-949-5500
Twitter: @DMScounselors