Welcome

Some of the things taking place in the Guidance Office this year are:

Lunch Bunch Groups – These groups meet once a week for approximately 6-8 weeks during lunch time to discuss topics ranging from developing better friendships, dealing with changes in families, coping skills development and learning self control. Students are recommended for these groups by teachers and/or parents. Please contact Mrs. Schaefer for more details.

Developmental Guidance program- This program begins in kindergarten and continues through 6th grade at North Wales. It then follows the continuum onto middle school and high school. Skills include

developing friendships, bullying prevention, personal safety, internet safety, showing kindness, diversity appreciation, and coping skills. The focus of these whole class lessons is to provide support for the social, emotional and academic growth of our students.

8th annual Turn off your Screen Week – This will take place in April. Classes will be challenged to compete against each other for the most minutes spent doing things other that watch a screen (TV, computer, Nintendo, Playstation) More details to follow.

Helpful Web sites for parents:

http://www.kidshealth.org- providing doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence. Created by The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, the award-winning KidsHealth provides families with accurate, up-to-date, and jargon-free health information they can use.

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/- This site discusses current issues related to social media and how to encourage your children to be digitally literacy but also show good digital citizenship. It also helps parents and caregivers navigate and discuss the impact of digital media on kids' social, emotional, and intellectual development. Using resources based on our K-12 Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum, parents can empower young people to harness the power of the Internet and digital technology for learning and life -- both in the classroom and at home.

https://cyberinsureone.com/online-safety/-Online Safety tips for children and Teens. Also contains resources for parents that will help you and your child as you navigate the World Wide Web:

rhttp://www.micheleborba.com- filled with helpful tips and strategies to nurture children’s goodness, build character, and prevent bullying. h

http://www.worrywisekids.org/ This site's mission is to improve the quality of life for anxious children and their families by providing parents, educators and mental health professionals with comprehensive, user-friendly information on the full range of anxiety disorders.

http://www.ahaparenting.com -articles with all kinds of information for parents at all stages of parenting.

http://positiveparenting.com/ Videos,articles and on line parenting classes as well as helpful parenting tips.

http://www.childrennow.org/index.php/learn/talking_with_kids/ Ideas on how to talk to kids about difficult subjects

Mental Health resources:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AJrSRl7Z9M0Vkna4bD8821Kgv-kOxrOtkoZGLMvF_fw/edit

*Please feel free to contact Mrs. Schaefer at schaeft@npenn.org or call 215-699-4471 ext. 1652 with any guidance related questions.