This school year continues to fly by, I hope you were able to stay safe and warm the past few days. The NWC School Counseling Department (That's me, Mrs. Pena) continues offering small group counseling, classroom guidance lessons, and campus-wide counseling activities. This February gives us the opportunity to continue working on having a growth mindset, spreading kindness and being the kind of friend we want to have.

When students have a growth mindset they know they are in control of their learning and growing. Having a growth mindsets helps students see themselves as learners everyday. When challenges arise, they know they can practice, practice, practice and be successful.

In guidance classes, as part of the Comprehensive Guidance Program content areas: Intrapersonal Effectiveness (students will be able to engage in effective problem solving) students have been hard at work helping understanding how important having a growth mindset is. During guidance lessons, students have been encouraged to challenge negative thinking and reframe those thoughts into more productive, helpful language. For example, instead of: "This is too hard, I give up." Say: "This is going to be challenging but with some patience, I can do this." A healthy self-dialogue paired with a positive attitude towards making mistakes and completing challenging tasks makes the biggest difference in developing resiliency.

At NWC we want to make kindness the norm. Students can effortlessly spread kindness each day just by being mindful of how they interact with others. Smiling at others they pass in the hall, opening the door for someone with full hands, saying "Good Morning" and meaning it, playing with someone new on the playground, each act so small, but the effects are lasting. Attached below are 50+ ways to spread kindness and fill buckets. We encourage you to post this list somewhere it is visible everyday as a reminder that acts of kindness can be spread every day in many ways. Better yet, why not make a challenge out of it and see how many you and your family can complete! If you want more information about Random Acts of Kindness Week, visit https://nationaltoday.com/random-acts-of-kindness-week/

This February, check out the calendar and challenge yourself to do the entire month or a certain number of days. Try these on your own or with a family member or friend. You can cross them off as you go and even circle ones you love. Keep a journal as you work through them or share your experiences with someone you trust. At the end of the month, you'll have some pretty awesome habits. Eventually, these tiny little actions will add up to some pretty amazing changes! If you enjoyed this activity, visit GoZen.com for more ideas to enjoy throughout the year.

Let's face it—all of us wanted to reduce our kids' screentime at some point.

Technology is hardly avoidable in today's life. It can be tempting to hand over the screen and let the kids zone out while you get some work done (or just need some quiet).

Is there another way?

You can let your children take ownership of their day (at least some parts of it) and select their own offline activities.

Use this Screen-Free Activities Tear-Off Posters by "Big Life Journal" to encourage interaction, creative thinking, problem-solving, and a healthy brain development all while keeping your kids off screens.