SOCIAL EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Maintaining social emotional wellness and connections during distance learning is essential to support learning and academic growth. Helping students and families maintain routines and structures, while paying attention to the social emotional needs of children during distance learning are the most important things families and schools can do to support social emotional well-being.

Counselors and the School Psychologist are available for parents and students. The reasons for the school providing a distance, and not on-site, learning experience to the community may affect our students' social emotional well-being too.

    • Second Step Lessons: All grade level counselors and the school psychologist will continue their weekly Second Step lessons taught face to face, synchronously, through Zoom.

    • Newsletter: Each week the counselors and school psychologist will provide tips, resources, activities and parenting advice on maintaining social emotional well-being and supporting your child at home. This will be found in the weekly JS Newsletter sent by the JS Principal.

    • Individual support:

      • Students: Counselors and the school psychologist maintain ongoing contact with students who receive regular school counseling sessions in school. Parents and students are notified about these scheduled check-in times via email. These check-ins are facilitated via Zoom.

      • Parent Contact: Counselors and the school psychologist are also available for individual meetings with parents, as needed. These meetings can be scheduled by email (see below for contact information) and take place via Zoom during school hours.

      • Teacher Consultation: Counselors and the school psychologist are available to consult with teachers to help support student concerns during Distance Learning. Teachers can email the counselor and school psychologist, and a meeting can be scheduled via Zoom.

While students engage in Distance Learning, the Counselors and Psychologists are available during school hours. If parents or guardians are seriously concerned about their child’s mental health or fear that they might attempt to hurt themselves or others, they should call 911 or go to the closest emergency room.

Local and national mental health, substance abuse, crisis and suicide prevention services and resources can also be found via the following links:

*If during remote counseling sessions a student indicates that they are at imminent risk to themselves/others, guardians will be contacted immediately and explicit recommendations will be given to support the student. The guardian will be responsible for connecting the child with emergency care. If a guardian cannot be reached, 911 may be called to support the student.

MAKING AN APPOINTMENT AND MEETING WITH THE SUPPORT TEAM

ADDRESSING SCHOOL CLOSURE AND DISTANCE LEARNING WITH CHILDREN

  • As a response to the Coronavirus, our school can make the decision to be temporarily closed. You may have heard your parents, sitters, friends, and other students talking about it among themselves. The reason why the school is closed temporarily is to address the increased risk of contamination based on local cases (within the school community) or following executive order from the authorities (Mayor, Governor).

  • Even though the building is closed, we still need to plan for continuing our learning and routines.

  • Reassure students that schools and homes are safe and the adults are there to help keep them healthy and to take care of them if they do get sick. Continue to give simple examples of the steps people take every day to stop germs and stay healthy, such as washing hands, getting enough sleep, staying home when you don’t feel well, etc.

  • Use language such as “adults are working hard to keep you safe.” Give other examples of how they may have seen more grown-ups at school and at home cleaning, such as maintenance workers cleaning door knobs, stairwell handrails, elevator buttons, etc.

  • *Reassure students that school is a safe place today, a safe place if it is closed, and will be safe once we return to school.

  • Even if our school is closed temporarily, our learning still continues, our teachers are still connected with us, and we can still see and be with our friends. We continue our learning through virtual and asynchronous interaction. Your teachers have already worked very hard to make all your lessons and learning activities for you, just as they do when you are in school. The difference will be that you will work on your devices at home, and engage in activities at home or outside of your home. Most important is that you have a balance of learning, exercise, connecting with others and fun - just like you do at school.

  • Shift the conversation to what online lessons can look like- what distance learning is, and discuss what different online tasks and activities will look like, sound like, and what the expectations for students are.

  • Lastly, discuss and brainstorm ways that students and families can balance learning, fun and wellness at home. Keeping routines, getting outdoors to play and having daily exercise are most important.

Resources to support and guide your conversations are below. Some talking points have been adapted from these various resources:

HOMESCHOOLING: TIPS* *Setting Up Your Homeschool Space


KEEP AN OPEN MIND

Your child's homeschooling area doesn’t need to look like a classroom! You will need a work area with a flat surface, comfortable seating, good lighting, and space for storage. Ideally it should be located near wherever the parent or legal guardian will be so that they can be available for questions when they are not directly involved in the student’s work. In larger homes, there might be an entire room dedicated to homeschooling. In a smaller home or apartment, the homeschooling space might be a tabletop in the kitchen or dining room.

FIND THE RIGHT WORK SURFACE

If possible, dedicate a table or large desk where work can be spread out, left undisturbed, and returned to as needed. If the work surface must meet more than one family need, consider using a table that is only used occasionally or for just one other purpose. With a shared surface, make it a priority to always keep it clean and uncluttered, and develop a family habit to clean up thoroughly between uses.

PRIORITIZE COMFORT

Choose a chair that your child don’t mind sitting in for a long period of time. Uncomfortable seats make for fidgety students! Make sure your child has enough space and comfortable seating for each student as well as the adult(s) who will be helping them eventually.

SET UP YOUR CHILD'S SUPPLIES & MATERIALS NEARBY

Locate shelves and organizational units nearby so that materials can be kept easily at hand. You’ll want some combination of shelves, drawers, and other storage options to keep supplies organized. You will also need a place to store books. An inbox and outbox or a set of dividers can be helpful for sorting work in progress. Desk supplies, art supplies, science tools, math manipulatives, and other materials also need storage space

CONSIDER AESTHETICS

Aesthetics are also very important to consider when preparing your child's homeschooling space. Redesigning the space with your child for aesthetics purposes can also be a fun weekend activity!

MAKE CLEAN UP SIMPLE

Place a trash container and a recycling bin near the workspace to simplify cleanup. A washable plastic tablecloth can be helpful in quickly transforming an academic workspace into an arts-and-crafts space and back again. Keep your child's homeschooling workspace as free of clutter as possible. If clutter is unavoidable, find ways to trick the eye by hiding it in baskets, wooden crates, or cabinets, behind doors or curtains, or beyond a folding screen. A fabric “skirt” around a side table can hide many things while storing them nearby until they are needed.

GO OUTSIDE!

Don’t forget to consider outdoor spaces if they are available to your child! Perhaps there is a porch, gazebo, patio, or garden table that could be used if the weather allows it of course. Some of the same principles apply to outdoor learning spaces: comfortable furniture, shelter from the bright sun, and a flat space to work on.

*Setting Up Your Homeschool Space

WELL-BEING: RESOURCES

Dr. Marnin, Junior School Psychologist, suggests the resources below:

WEBSITES

  • MayoClinic: Learn how to use relaxation techniques to reduce stress and bring more calm into your life.

  • Headspace: Live a happier, healthier life with just a few minutes of meditation a day.

  • Mindful: Mindful celebrates mindfulness, awareness, and compassion in all aspects of life.

  • YogaGlo: Yoga videos and classes from the top yoga instructors.

  • University at Buffalo | School of Social Work: Menu planning, tips to reduce stress, activities and resources to promote good self-care.

  • Yoga Journal: The ultimate destination for yoga pose how-tos, practice videos, meditation tricks, healthy lifestyle tips and more.

  • Yoga to the People: Yoga made available to everyone.

  • Verywell Mind: Strong stress management skills lead to higher levels of happiness and satisfaction.

  • Yoga With Adriene (YouTube): Find a practice that suits your mood or start a journey.

APPS