During the month of November students are learning about and practicing Gratitude. Gratitude means pausing to notice and appreciate the things that we often take for granted, like having a place to live, food, clean water, friends, family… Research suggests that gratitude can increase feelings of happiness and empathy, and can even improve your physical health. Read this article for more information. You will also find some ideas to teach gratitude to your children at home!

To help all of us at Sand Creek practice gratitude, every classroom has a Gratitude Pumpkin. Each day a student writes something they are grateful for on the pumpkin. The students are also learning to feel grateful for who they are and for what each of them has to offer. We are grateful for every student at Sand Creek and for what they bring to our community!

Mental Health Resources: 

• Colorado now provides every child in the state with a free mental health evaluation and 3 free counseling sessions. Here is the link with more information: https://imattercolorado.org/

• Douglas County School District Counselors have teamed with Dr. Scott Cypers to create a video series to help parents understand how to help their children with Anxiety.  This series will be ongoing throughout the remainder of the school year and a new video will be released every few weeks.  These 20-30 minute video videos are designed to provide parents with an understanding of anxiety and provide some actionable tools to help their children.  Dr. Cypers is a nationally recognized expert on child and adolescent anxiety and is the director of stress and anxiety at Johnson Depression Center.  

Understanding Your Brain and How Anxiety Fits Into the Picture

Shannon Ritchey

School Counselor

303-387-6622

sritchey@dcsdk12.org