SCPS High School Gifted Education
February 2021
Love Makes the World Go 'Round
February: The month of love; love for ourselves, our family, our friends, our community... Maya Angelou said, “As you grow older you will discover you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and one for helping others." February is a good time to think about taking care of ourselves and our loved ones. Sometimes we are so busy with what life tosses at us that we forget to find time for ourselves, let alone, others. Finding your own happiness and staying healthy is a must in order to care for those you love. We hope this newsletter offers ways to take care of yourself and those you love, because after all as the old saying goes, “Love makes the world go ‘round.”
Family Dinner Conversation Starters
Conversation starters for the month of February or anytime:
Age 2-7
Name five people you love most in the world, and why (animals are okay, too).
There’s a song that goes, "when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore…" What other foods does the moon look like?
What makes you feel loved?
Age 8-13
Do you find it easy or difficult to say I love you? Are there times when it’s tougher than others to say I love you?
Who or what demonstrates the meaning of “love” to you?
Do you have a favorite love story? Is it from a book, movie, game, or real life? Talk about it.
Age 14-100+
One of the Beatles’ most famous songs is “All You Need is Love.” Do you think that’s true? What other necessities might you throw in there?
Who was the first person you fell in love with? (or talk about your first love).
What one lesson about love would you share with those younger than you?
Source: familydinnerproject.org
Gifted...And Teenagers, Too!
Kindness is good for the soul!
Great motivational speech...start your day by making your bed!
How Can I Support My Gifted Child at Home After the Bed is Made?
- Be present. Make time to talk to your child every day.
- Locate resources on your child's topics of interests, such as books, videos, and websites.
- Allow your child the freedoms or responsibilities appropriate for his/her individual emotional or social development. Gifted children are often highly observant and sensitive to social issues and fairness.
- Model the behavior and respect of others you expect of your child.
- Find opportunities for your child to participate in acts of service that can make a difference.
- Provide challenge outside of school. Enrichment is incredibly beneficial whether it supplements school content or explores interests or passions. This could be in any area, whether that be through music, sports, or academic camps.
- Encourage your child to take risks. Celebrate mistakes as learning opportunities. When you make mistakes, model positive ways to problem-solve and grow.
On Being Kind...
Volunteer Your Time and Talent to Help Others
Give This a Try!
Well-known Cardiologist Dr. Robert Henson II of Port Angeles, Washington, answers what he thinks is the best—and worst—thing you can do for your heart.
Q: What’s the best thing a person can do for their heart to make sure it stays healthy?
Dr. Henson: The single, absolute most important thing anyone can do throughout their lives to keep healthy is exercise. It’s probably the biggest thing we’re missing in our culture; making time in the day to get in a brisk walk or jog on the treadmill, really anything to get our heart rate up for 30 to 45 minutes a day. Exercise keeps your weight down, reduces dementia, reduces the risk of heart attack, strokes, and vascular diseases. It’s probably the single most important thing you can do. The American Heart Association recommends 45 minutes of exercise three to four days a week. Whatever it takes to work out a sweat, get tired, get a little short of breath, that’s what they call exercise; whether it’s jogging or treadmilling or biking or a brisk walk. Four to five days a week is best, two to three times a week is almost as good as four to five, one day a week is almost as good as twice a week and anything is better than doing nothing at all. Generally, exercise is good for you and too much is always better than not enough.
Q: What’s the worst thing someone can do for their heart?
Dr. Henson: Most people think about blocked arteries when they think of heart health. Inflammation is the worst thing for arteries. Smoking causes inflammation. Being overweight causes inflammation. Exercise reduces inflammation. Many of the medications and diets that help with this do so at least partly by decreasing general levels of inflammation. The worst thing you can do for your arteries is being out of shape, having belly fat and smoking . . . anything. We’re fortunate out here on the Olympic Peninsula because the air is so clean, and there’s no reason to mess that up with smoking. Another thing to look out for is high salt in your diet. It increases your blood pressure and may increase general levels of inflammation. So be mindful of processed foods and eat fruits and vegetables. Nobody likes to hear this, but lots of bacon, ham, sausage and other processed meats probably isn’t good for you.
Q: What do you know about the heart that everybody else should know?
Dr. Henson: The human body is an amazing thing. It’s fascinating to me that when you get sick, there are forces in your body that try to guide you back to health. If you get a bad infection or a heart attack – your body has mechanisms that heal itself. Our job, at best, is to aid and encourage those forces getting you back to optimum health. For your heart, it has to keep working while it heals – that is the challenging issue with heart disease, and the biggest success of the past generation. We now understand some of these healing forces, and can encourage and emphasize the pathway to best long-term function.
Source: https://www.olympicmedical.org/six-questions-for-a-cardiologist
HIGH SCHOOL GIFTED EDUCATION RESOURCE TEACHERS
Kevin Bouffard (BPHS) bouffardkj@staffordschools.net
Feli Cardenas (NSHS) cardenasfh@staffordschools.net
Susan Easter (CFHS) eastersl@staffordschools.net
Kali Hamill (MVHS) hamillkm@staffordschools.net
Helga Purnell (SHS) purnellhj@staffordschools.net
Stephenie Fellinger (SCPS Gifted Facilitator) fellingersl@staffordschools.net