Learning Coach Corner
In This Issue:
- Grief and Loss Guide
- Re-Registration
- Spring Family Survey
- Q&A Sessions
- Learning Coach Academy (LCA)
- FAQs
- Links
- How To Slides and Smores
- School Calendar
- Events for You
- Tips & Tricks
Grief and Loss Guide
When a crisis event occurs—in school, in the community or at the national level—it can cause strong and deeply felt reactions in adults and children, especially those who have already experienced crises in the past. Acts of healing such as making drawings, writing letters, attending memorial ceremonies are important for all students. How adults express their emotions will influence the reactions of children and youth. Further, they will react to the trauma and stress based on their past experience and awareness of the current situation. Caregivers and school personnel who know a student well can best predict his or her reactions and behaviors because they have observed the student’s response to stress in the past.
Emotional reactions to death:
Denial/shock – thoughts that this can't be happening or no response at all
Anger - why did this have to happen?
Bargaining - make this go away
Depression - feeling sad or overly quiet
Fear- will this happen to me or someone I love
Physical symptoms - fatigue, stomachache trouble breathing or sleeping
Acceptance - being at peace with what happened
What parents/LC’s can do to help their student:
- First, ask your student what they know about the situation and determine if there are any misconceptions you may need to clear up.
- Based on what they already know, try to avoid telling your student too much detail but make sure they understand the truth about the situation.
- Explain to your student that the emotional reactions to death (above) is a cycle and any of these feelings can come up at any time. But time will help these feelings to become easier to deal with.
- Remember the importance of maintaining a routine and keeping normal roles and limits as much as possible. Offer choices of activities rather than forcing
- Utilize community supports such as friends, family, religious organizations, after school programs, etc.
- encourage opportunities to share and discuss feelings and concerns
- Use the term "dead" rather than passed away. Try to explain that death means to not breathe or live and help them to understand that the person who died will not come back.
- Discuss the natural reactions to death (attached) and remind your student that their feelings are normal
- Understand that after experiencing a death, your student may be reminded of past trauma (if there are any) and may want to talk about previous issues.
- Remind them to go easy on themselves, what they’re feeling is normal for someone who is grieving.
- Thank them for reaching out and/or for communicating with you. Remind them to keep communicating with their teachers so they understand their needs and can support them.
Activities that can help:
- Expressing feelings through dramatic play
- Reading student’s books about death and dying
- Writing or drawing what they saw what they remember about the person they lost or how they feel or what they are worried about
- Watching a movie with death as a theme and then talk about it
On behalf of all ORVA staff, we are here for you and your families! If you need counseling support services in your local community, please reach out to our student resource coordinator, Anne Farrell anfarrell@oregonva.org. If you need school supports, please reach out to our school psychologist, December Tueller, dtueller@oregonva.org. or our new social worker, Karina Smyth ksmyth@oregonva.org, your counselors, advisors or teachers. Anyone can point you in the right direction for support. As always, if you have an emergency, please dial 911.
Thank you for your care and time with this matter,
December Tueller, your school psychologist 😊
Re-Registration
Help Sessions
Here are the links to the sessions (these links will stay the same each week):
10:30-11:30am sessions: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81067695392
4:00-5:00pm sessions: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87852842962
Spring Family Survey
Q&A Sessions
Elementary Learning Coach sessions will be at 4:00 on Mondays.
Middle and High School Learning Coach sessions will be at 4:00 on Tuesdays.
These sessions will be open for an hour and you are free to drop in at any time during that hour.
Learning Coach Academy (LCA)
Live sessions have ended for first semester. However, we have recorded all of the sessions and they are all linked below. Most of the sessions are only around 15 min. long and are designed to give detailed and targeted info on individual topics.
Please fill out the attendance forms linked below after you complete each level. You will receive a certificate for each Level you complete. Complete all three levels and you will receive a certificate and gift 😊.
FAQs
Links
How-To Slides and Smores
School Calendar
Events For You
The 10K "Step Into Summer" is not just for students! Click the button below to sign up!
Tips & Tricks
Help your student get started
Make sure your student is attending all of their required classes
Print out a weekly schedule from your student's or your Learning Coach account and keep it displayed where it is easily seen. Use an alarm clock to ensure your student is waking up and getting ready in time to attend their first class in the mornings. Attending the required live sessions will help your student feel more a part of their class and help them stay engaged. It is also required for their attendance.
Allow your student to know that you are tracking their attendance and checking their progress
Accountability is key! Most people are more successful when they know someone is holding them accountable.
Help your student set priorities and then stick to them
- School work first and then video games, TV, play time, etc.
- Eating a good breakfast before the school day begins
- Immediately contacting teacher/advisor when school work becomes a struggle
- Checking emails multiple times a day
- Returning voice mails and texts as soon as possible
- Notifying teacher(s) when classes are missed, watch the recordings, and email teacher summary in a timely manner
Have scheduled break times
Have a reward/incentive program
- Fun breaks after each class and completed lesson/assignment
- Allotted amount of time on electronic devices (video games, tablets, TV, etc.) after all classes have been attended and all lessons/assignments have been completed for the day
- Weekly reward for good attendance and progress throughout the whole week (trip to park, bowling, movie night, play dates, etc.)
- Monthly, quarterly, and semester rewards for good attendance and progress/grades (party, cash, new game/book, special outing, etc.
Keep in mind that rewards and incentives will only be effective if they are genuinely earned and always given when earned 😊.