Northville Public Schools
Wellness Newsletter Winter 2019
The Northville Public Schools Health Advisory Board (HAB) is comprised of many members, from across the district and the community. The Health Advisory Board includes two co-chairpersons (a district parent and the district's Director of Instructional Programs and Service), along with teachers and administrators from each educational level, community members, parents, health professionals, and secondary students.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
At the first PTA meetings this year across the district, members from Northville Public Schools administration were talking about the focus on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Social and emotional learning is the process by which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions. The organization CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning) is making it their mission to ensure that evidence based SEL is an integral part of education from preschool to high school.
Because SEL is such a focal point in the district this year, we will be highlighting the different competencies associated with SEL so that parents and members of the community can understand what they are and how they may be able to assist with developing these competencies at home.
The Five Competencies include:
Self-Awareness
Self-Management
Social Awareness
Relationship Skills
Responsible Decision Making
This edition of the newsletter will dive deeper into the intrapersonal skills of Social-Awareness and Relationship Skills.
Social Awareness
Social Awareness is the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The ability to understand social and ethical norms for behavior and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
There are 4 skills associated with social awareness:
- Perspective- taking
- Empathy
- Appreciating diversity
- Respect for others
Being able to empathize with others will help children build better relationships with others at school, home and work place. The ability to understand how another person might be feeling in a situation, reading their body language and taking their perspective is key to being socially aware. We must also appreciate diversity as well as respect and embrace our differences. Modeling these behaviors as adults is important.
"How would I feel?" This is an important question to be asking ourselves. In school, we can use characters in books to talk about emotions. This enables us to use relatable examples to talk about how someone may be feeling. This method allows us to explore different cultures and promotes empathy.
Sources: CASEL Website - www.casel.org and www.developgoodhabits.com
Relationship Skills
- Communication
- Social Engagement
- Relationship Building
- Teamwork
What makes a healthy relationship? Respect, Trust, Honesty and Communication. Modeling these for our children is imperative. For example, using positive communication skills, such as active listening, providing positive and constructive feedback, and developing empathy for others are ways we can help our children develop relationships with others.
Sources: CASEL.org and actforyouth.net
Kids & Social Media - It Takes a Village
A recent post by Katey McPherson, reinforced that as parents we need to help each other out. Katey focuses on emotional well being and social media responsibility and this speaks to the need for parents to work together to keep our kids safe.
Katey writes:
"We all live in a village of some sort.
In 1996, Hilary Clinton wrote a book, “It Takes A Village”, and after her quote, “It takes a village to raise a child” became standard amongst educators and parents.
It also takes a village to save our children.
This week alone I have received 5 messages from parents who are doing what I have asked. Monitoring their child’s social media, video games, and digital platforms.
Within this medium, they have found their children are desperately trying to help other students with stress, distress, and emotions. Peer to peer is where they find comfort and gold.
For as many reports as outline that social media is damaging, it also serves as a connection and a lifeline, just like we had with the rotary long cord wrapped around basement stairs phone. The tether looks different, but it’s the same mechanism.
It is difficult to know as an adult what to do when you read distressing messages between your child and another. But we must address them if we are to assist our children navigate this new childhood. Open communication is key.
Some thoughts:
1. Getting clear as to what is a safety issue and what may be just a bad day.
2. Getting clear on the frequency of these types of messages and their content. If you’re seeing an uptick in negative self-talk, self loathing statements or hopelessness, that is your cue.
3. Who can you go to with this information?
-parents
-school counselor or social worker
-administration
-school police officers
-crisis hotlines are for teens and parents seeking support
Educators are mandatory reporters. If you tell them something that is a risk to self or otherwise, they have protocols and assessments in place for this.
Will you save a life? Yes.
Will you upset another parent? Maybe.
Will your child be protected from perceived or real retaliation? Maybe, and hopefully, if executed correctly by the adults in the room.
( I have outlined how to do this in a reply below in the comments)
Be a good villager. When you see something, say something. If you’re afraid, imagine how scared they are.
It’s long overdue that we stand up, speak up, to save lives.
Be a good villager."
**If you are looking for an automatic alert to these types of safety issues, I encourage you to check out BARK. Bark is an app that runs algorithms on your child’s digital platforms to keep them safe, alert you to potential victimization and harassment, as well as signs of distress and explicit content. For me, it’s a no brainer and a must in this world. See below for more information and a discount link**
https://www.bark.us/signup?ref=N6XCWWF
Some additional resources and tools to use to guide you through the social world include:
Practicing Gratitude
We learn how to be grateful at a very young age. Our families teach us how to say "thank you" and reciprocate the kindness and generosity given to us by others. However, practicing gratitude is much more than just saying thank-you, it can impact your mental and physical well-being.
Research has linked gratitude with many benefits:
- Strengthening your immune system
- Improving sleep patterns
- Feeling optimistic
- Experiencing more joy and pleasure
- Being more helpful and generous
- Feeling less lonely and isolated
According to Mindful.org, here are some ways to practice gratitude daily:
- Keep a gratitude journal - every morning write down things you are grateful for.
- Share your gratitude with others - when thanking others, let them know how what they did impacted you.
- Come to your senses - we can gain such an appreciation of things in our life through our senses.
- Think outside the box - be creative about ways to practice gratitude and share them with others.
As we approach 2020, see how you might be able to include a gratitude practice in the new year.
Foods to Boost Your Mood This Season
Research continues to support the fact that what we eat affects our mood. Here is a list of some foods that have nutrients that our brain and body need to function at its best. By curbing our processed food and sugar we can reduce inflammation in our bodies that can lead to disease. Try adding a few of these to your plate!
- Blueberries
- Dark Chocolate
- Green Tea
- Dark Leafy Greens
- Lentils
- Chickpeas
- Broccoli
- Salmon
https://foodrevolution.org/blog/mood-boosting-foods/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gut-feelings-how-food-affects-your-mood-2018120715548
Get Involved with the Northville Youth Network
The mission of the YAB is to offer programs and services for youth that help build physical, emotional and social wellbeing.
The Youth Advisory Board will provide an opportunity for youth to have a voice in the type of programs and services we provide, give youth a chance to learn valuable leadership skills and have some fun, too!
For more information you can email: youthnetwork@twp.northville.mi.us or use this link to fill out an application: bit.ly/NYNYABAPP .
Northville Public Schools - Health Advisory Board
Kristy Howard -Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Kids Yoga Teacher
Bridget Drzewicki - Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Mindfulness Coach, Certified Kids Yoga Teacher
Website: northvilleschools.org
Location: 405 West Main Street, Northville, MI, USA
Phone: 248-344-3500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/northvilleschools/
Twitter: @NorthvilleEdu