Inner Balance
December 2020
Exciting Events Coming Up for Dawson Middle School!
STOPit Launch
Winter Break
New Online Reporting Tool Available to Students
Carroll ISD is implementing a new anonymous reporting system for students in crisis and/or who need some sort of assistance. While the DMS Hotline was effective for almost a decade, it is no longer available, and the district decided to enroll with STOPit, an online reporting tool that allows us to intervene with at risk students before they hurt themselves or someone else. It also provides us the opportunity to support students who are struggling socially or emotionally in other areas.
Please take a couple of minutes to view a video about this new system by clicking on the link: https://vimeo.com/481439360. The password is dragon1234.
Our students will have access to the STOPit mobile app which has two simple but powerful features:
Report can be used by students to report incidents to school contacts anonymously.
Messenger can be used to engage in anonymous two-way communication with school contacts.
Both Report and Messenger empower students to stand up for themselves and for one another. They can use STOPit to reach out for help if they or a peer are facing a personal crisis, experiencing bullying, abuse, self-harm, suicidal ideation, or are otherwise in need of assistance. Our goal with STOPit is to create safer, kinder, school communities both online and off.
No student information is needed to use STOPit. The only way personal identifiable information will be accessible through STOPit is if a student voluntarily includes it within the content of a report or message.
Both our school and STOPit are committed to protecting the privacy of student data. STOPit is a signatory to the Student Privacy Pledge, spearheaded by the Future of Privacy Forum and the Software & Information Industry Association. You may review STOPit’s Privacy Policy for details, including more information on how anonymous reporting works.
DMS will be launching STOPit on Monday, December 7th. At that time, your student will be asked to add the STOPit website to the Bookmarks bar on their school laptop. Students will also be invited to view a video with instructions on adding the STOPit app to their phone. We will also have the link on our DMS Office Canvas page and on our DMS website.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact one of our DMS counselors or administrators.
Watch the video below to see the instructions that will be shared with students on Monday, December 7th.
Planning for the Upcoming Winter Break
Make the Most out of your Winter Break!
For many of us, this break may look different than breaks of the past. Here are some things students can do over the break to benefit their mental health:
- Have a nice long conversation with some of the older members of your family. Loneliness and isolation have been real issues for many of the senior members of our communities over these last few months. Your conversation could be in person, on the phone, or a FaceTime call. Just spending some quality time with that person could really brighten their day...and yours!
- Look for opportunities to do community service or volunteer with a group whose mission inspires or motivates you. Do something good for someone else to practice generosity and cultivate empathy. You don't have to GO anywhere to volunteer... Seek out opportunities to volunteer from the comfort and safety of your own home.
- Spend a little time (not too much) organizing your notes and papers from your first semester classes. You probably have both digital and paper documents that could be gathered, sorted, and organized for maximum use later on. Your future self will thank you!
- Take a little time to write in a journal. Whether you prefer to write in a pretty notebook, on a few sheets of notebook paper, or type on your laptop doesn't really matter. But taking time to reflect back on the last few months of the year, how things went with school, any challenges faced by you or your family, can be very beneficial for your social and emotional wellness. This is also a good time to look forward. A new year is just around the corner (thank goodness!), so goal setting is a great way to get some positive vibes going.
The Importance of Generosity
Acts of generosity, such as giving your time, talent or resources, and expecting nothing in return, have been proven to be good for our health. Generous individuals are personally more fulfilled, happier and more peaceful within themselves, not to mention more productive at home and in the workplace.
The University of Notre Dame’s Science of Generosity Project defines generosity as “the virtue of giving good things to others freely and abundantly.” When we think deeply about this definition, three parts stand out clearly. Generosity is giving “good things”, giving “freely”, and giving “abundantly.”
We can deepen our experience of generosity by moving from acts of generosity to cultivating an attitude of generosity. When we embody an attitude of generosity, the good things we share expand out from deep within our hearts as an offering of freedom from fear–no one need fear that I will harm them, no one need fear that I will take from them what is not mine, no one need fear that I will cause harm with my words.
Cultivating Generosity with Youth
- Act in Service. Invite youth you work with to research the needs in their communities and organize a service project around this need. Schools and youth organizations always need extra hands. The benefit of practicing this kind of generosity locally, is that youth will be able to witness the effects of their giving. Be sure to dedicate time to reflecting on how the act of generosity made the kids feel.
- Smile. Giving away a smile can be a simple yet impactful form of generosity. Invite students to identify a person at school whom they will offer a smile to at least once a day for month. Students can reflect on this process by journaling how if feels each day to give in this way.
- Practice Self-Love. Being generous with ourselves can be a lifelong challenge. We can support our youth with developing healthy self images by encouraging them to practice self-love.
Why is Developing Empathy Important for Students?
Building an understanding of what others are feeling, how their own actions can impact on others, and why someone might be experiencing feelings at a particular time is a valuable life skill for children to possess.
Helping students to develop a strong sense of empathy is beneficial because:
- It helps them to build a sense of security and stronger relationships with other children and educators, positioning them well for learning
- It encourages tolerance and acceptance of others
- It promotes good mental health
- It promotes social harmony and can reduce the likelihood of bullying
- Greater success personally and professionally
- Higher levels of overall happiness
- A better ability to understand others, like customers or co-workers
- More success in leadership positions
- More satisfying relationships and be better at dealing with conflict
- Lower levels of stress
In a nutshell, developing empathy is a vital building block in a child’s ability to regulate their emotions and is so valuable in being able to adapt and succeed in an ever-changing world.
How can we help children develop empathy?
Other simple ways empathy can be developed include:
- Helping your child to name their feelings, as understanding their own feelings is an important first step in understanding the feelings of others
- Talking to your child about how other people may be feeling, and why. This helps to build their emotional language and think about other people’s perspectives.
- Caring for animals and plants, which helps children understand the role they play in helping another living thing survive, thrive and be happy.
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