Safety, Health & Wellness

At the start of this week, I was focused on the end of the school year and all of the upcoming festivities to kick-off our student summer send off celebrations. I have enjoyed being able to see each student’s growth and development at the Primary, Lower, and Middle Division campuses this year! However, my excitement for the last day of school was marred by the events that occurred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. As Hugh Jebson, Head of School said in his email yesterday, this “tragedy in Texas is another reminder to all of us of the times we live in. Our hearts are broken for the victims of yet another mass shooting.” He went on to say that protecting our school campuses and the safety of our students and faculty are of great priority to him. There is no doubt that this tragic event will shape future conversations and policies that are implemented at school. 

Many of the parents I spoke to on the last day of school shared their own concerns about what happened in Uvalde, Texas and asked me questions about how to discuss this event with their children. While each family must make their own decision of whether or not to discuss this topic with their child and how much information to share, there are a few suggestions that I have to help with the conversation. Here are some things to consider: 

1. Provide your child with a safe, secure environment and reassure your child that he/she is safe. When unpredictable things happen, it can make children question what is going on around them. Reminding them that schools are safe places and that St. John's has a plan to keep all students safe can be helpful. This same message can be reinforced at home and making sure that your child feels safe at home. For some children, it can be helpful to come up with things that adults (teachers and parents) do to keep kids safe, such as locking the doors at home, using an alarm system, and having emergency plans (like we do at school for inclement weather and fire drills). 

2. Set aside time to talk about what happened. Children may hear about the events that occurred from the news on TV, things friends have said at school or camp, or even what they may have overheard a parent talking about with another adult. You may notice that your child appears “clingy” or seeks reassurance more frequently than is normal. It can be helpful to provide physical reassurance, such as a hug or sitting on the sofa together, as well as verbal reassurance, such as “St. John’s is a safe school. You are safe when you are with your teacher.” Some children may have questions about what happened. You can let your child’s questions guide how the conversation goes. While you want to answer your child’s questions truthfully, it is okay to not know all of the answers and to share information that is developmentally appropriate. For younger children, they may wish to engage in other activities such as drawing, coloring, or writing as a way to process his/her feelings. 

3. Limit exposure to social media and news coverage of the event. As parents, we are each dealing with our own feelings surrounding the events that have happened in Texas. Getting live updates from social media and the news, may be helpful for us as adults to process what has happened. However, it can be hard for children to watch and understand what they are seeing on television. For younger children, seeing adult news content is inappropriate and can cause feelings of anxiety and insecurity. It is also important to be mindful of the conversations that you have in front of your children about the topic. 

4. Monitor your child’s psychological well being. Sometimes, children can be very verbal and are able to express what they are thinking and feeling to a trusted adult. Other times, children do not talk about what is bothering him/her. Instead, you may see things like changes in appetite, sleep patterns, and/or moodiness. These may be signs that your child is experiencing some emotional discomfort with what has transpired. Most of the time, these symptoms dissipate over a few weeks. However, if you have concerns about your child’s reactions, you may wish to seek out mental health resources for your child. Dr. Patenaude can help families with connecting with psychologists, counselors, and therapists in our community.

5. Maintain a normal routine for your child. When things feel unpredictable or seem unsure to a child, it is important for him or her to feel safe, secure, and loved. Kids do well when they have a routine. Routines provide structure and predictability to what happens on a daily basis. As part of this, it is important to make sure that your child gets adequate sleep each night, eats healthy food and drinks enough water, and physical activity. 

6. School supports are available. At St. John’s, we are focused on supporting the whole child. As a parent, if you find yourself needing guidance or assistance for answering your child’s questions, finding mental health resources, or have other questions about how to support your child, you can reach out to your Division Head, the Head of School, and/or Dr. Patenaude for support. 

If you are looking for additional resources and information, you can check out these resources. 

They are as follows: 

• How to talk to children about difficult news: https://www.apa.org/topics/journalism-facts/talking-children

• Managing Strong Emotional Reactions to Traumatic Events: Tips for Parents and Teachers: http://www.nasponline.org/assets/documents/Resources%20and%20Publications/Handouts/Safety%20and%20Crisis/Managing_Strong_Emotional_Reactions_2012.pdf

• Helping Youth and Children Recover From Traumatic Events: https://rems.ed.gov/docs/repository/00000357.pdf

• Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers: https://www.nasponline.org/assets/Documents/Resources%20and%20Publications/Handouts/Safety%20and%20Crisis/Talking_To_Children_About_Violence.pdf

Take care! 
Dr. Patenaude

With the end of the school year, I know that many families and students are looking forward to summer break. The summer promises an opportunity to relax, spend quality time with friends and family, and to travel to various destinations. While there is a break from the daily school routine, it is important to help your student cultivate his or her academic skills, carve out time each day to read, and have fun. To make the most of summer, it can be helpful to put some structure in place for your children while having some flexibility. 

One of the things that can be helpful to do at the beginning of the summer is to have a family planning meeting with all of your family members. You can sit down with your family to review the calendar for the months of June, July, and August and outline all of the summer camps, trips, and vacations that are planned for those months. In addition to this, you can make sure that appointments are scheduled, such as going to the pediatrician, eye doctor, and dentist, before the upcoming school year.  

Another thing that can be helpful is setting goals for the summer for each of your children. For example, your child may wish to learn how to ride a two-wheel bike, read 100 books in two months, or volunteer at Vacation Bible School. It can be helpful to have your child select two to three goals that he or she would like to accomplish and to have different types of goals. For example, an academic goal could be to read each day for 20 minutes, a personal goal may be to learn how to do his/her laundry, and a community goal may be to volunteer 10 hours at the Humane Society or go on a mission trip with his/her church. 

Finally, make sure that both you and your child understand and complete all of the summer work that has been assigned before the start of the upcoming school year. By now, you should have received all of the information about summer work and the expectations of what needs to be completed before the start of the upcoming school year. It can be very challenging to try and get all of the work done in the last week or two before school starts. Instead, it is more beneficial to work a little bit each day or a few times a week on the assigned summer work. An important part of summer work is to ensure that your child makes a habit of engaging in daily reading over the summer. It can be beneficial to go to the library and check out books of various reading levels and range of topics. 

The summer months can go by quickly! However, having a summer plan and goals that each family member is aware of and agree to can help. This is especially beneficial when it comes to completing summer work and preparing for the upcoming school year. 

I hope that your family has a wonderful, restful summer! 

Dr. Patenaude
School Psychologist/Learning Specialist

Tests, quizzes, and exams are a traditional part of the educational experience for students. These assessments provide one data point that demonstrates a student’s knowledge, skills, and mastery of a certain topic. Students are assessed in a variety of ways at St. John’s from recognition of sight words in kindergarten, knowing how to solve a mathematical word problem, demonstrating mastery of content on final exams. 

It is normal for kids to feel some stress and anxiety. In fact, experiencing a little stress or anxiety can be a good thing. Oftentimes, small doses of stress or anxiety act as a motivator to study, go to tutoring, or practice a skill that a student is working on. While all children experience occasional feelings of worry, excessive and frequent worry that impacts the child's social, personal, and/or academic functioning should be addressed. Most often, anxiety manifests itself in three ways: cognitive, behavioral, and physical. The table below provides some of the symptoms for each of these areas. 

Parents play a key role in helping to alleviate a child’s feelings of stress or anxiety. In fact, parents are some of the best models and examples for their children when it comes to managing their own feelings of stress. Here are some strategies that you can use to help your child. They are as follows: 

• Be consistent in how you handle problems and administer discipline.

• Be patient and be prepared to listen.

• Avoid being overly critical, disparaging, impatient, or cynical.

• Maintain realistic, attainable goals and expectations for your child.

• Do not communicate that perfection is expected or is the only acceptable outcome.

• Maintain a consistent but flexible routine for homework, chores, activities, and so forth.

• Accept mistakes as a normal part of growing up and let your child know that no one is expected to do everything equally well.

• Praise and reinforce effort, even if the outcome is less than expected. Practice and rehearse upcoming events, such as a speech or other performance.

• Teach your child how to manage his or her feelings of stress or anxiety by developing small “scripts” of what to do and say when anxiety increases, and learn how to relax under stressful conditions. Some strategies include deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and visualization. 

St. John’s offers resources and support for students and families to help with navigating feelings of stress or anxiety at school. Mrs. Patenaude is available to talk to students and parents about different strategies, tips, and resources to help.

Thanks to Covid and social distancing, head lice seemed to hibernate for a period of time.  However, as we come out of our Covid bubbles we will start to see an increase in the pesky head lice infestations.  It is very common after long breaks from school such as Spring break and Summer that we see head lice make its appearance. 

What is lice?  The louse is a parasitic insect that can be on the head, eyebrows and eyelashes.  They live close to the human scalp particularly around the ears and near the neckline at the back of the head.  

Who gets lice?  Lice most commonly affects school aged children and their household members.

How does lice spread? Lice is spread by direct contact with the hair of an infested person.  Personal hygiene has NOTHING to do with getting head lice.

How to prevent lice infestations:

1. Avoid hair to hair contact during sports or play time (Ex.  Selfies with friends)

2. Do not share combs, brushes, hair accessories, hats, or helmets with others

3. Use a lice comb and comb out hair weekly or post sleepovers (this can be done while in the bath or shower while conditioning hair)

What do I do if I see lice on my child’s hair?  If you do find yourself dealing with lice the most important thing is to completely treat the infected individual and have all members of the household checked.  This can be done by a parent or a professional.  There are many Lice experts in the Tampa Bay Area who will check and treat for Lice.  Once you are treated and deemed clear of lice it is ok to return to school.

How can I prevent a recurrence? 

1. Disinfect combs/brushes in hot water (at least 130 degrees) for 5-10 minutes

2. Machine wash and dry any clothing and linens used by the person within the last 2 days in hot water and high heat.

3. Non-washable items such as pillows or stuffed animals should be sealed in a plastic bag for 2 weeks.

4. Vacuum the floor and furniture.  It is not necessary to spend too much time on this and lice does not live without hair for more than a day and it is less common to spread this way.

5. As mentioned earlier, weekly combing out hair and after sleepovers is helpful in preventing infestations.

This time of year can be very frustrating for parents. Your child complains that he/she doesn’t feel well, has a runny nose or stuffy nose. As a parent it is difficult at times to determine if your child is actually sick with something contagious or just battling allergies.

Allergic conditions are one of the most common health issues affecting children in the United States. Allergic Rhinitis affects approximately 5.2 million children. Allergies are the immune system’s reaction to a particular substance. Examples of these are pollen and pet dander. 

Colds are infections that are caused by a virus. There are over 200 various types of cold viruses. Rhinovirus is the most common cause, accounting for 10 to 40 percent of colds. Coronavirus is another common cold virus.

How do you tell if your child has a cold or allergies? 

Allergies: 

• Itchy, watery eyes

• Clear watery mucus                                                                     

• Sniffles last > week

• Sneezing

• Post nasal drip

• Sore throat

Cold:

• Thick or discolored drainage

• Low grade fever, cough, HA

• Sore throat

• Mild achiness

• Symptoms usually change or worsen after a couple of days

• Symptoms improve after 7-10 days

There is no treatment for either of these treatments. The management of symptoms is the key. This can be difficult but very important in keeping children in school. Most symptoms can be managed with over-the-counter antihistamines, nasal sprays and decongestants, but severe symptoms may sometimes require prescription medications and allergy shots.

Reminding your child to wash their hands after wiping or blowing their nose and coughing/sneezing into the elbow are simple ways to prevent spreading of germs. 

Cultivating a Growth Mindset in Students
By Amy Patenaude, School Psychologist

For the 2021-2022 school year, St. John’s students are learning about how to cultivate a growth mindset and develop social-emotional skills across the three divisions. 

What is a growth mindset? 

The concept of “growth mindset” comes from Carol Dweck. According to her, people who have

a growth mindset think that our most basic abilities are developed through diligence and perseverance. When you have a growth mindset about something, you believe that your skills and creativity can increase with effort, asking for help, and being willing to make mistakes. We are able to get better at things like learning to read, writing our names, tying our shoes, and learning how to conjugate verbs in Spanish.In contrast to a growth mindset, there is a fixed mindset. According to this, one’s skills, intelligence, and abilities are fixed and can not be changed, even with hard work and practice.

Parents play a key role in shaping their children’s thinking and approach to challenges and learning and trying new things. 

Here are 10 phrases that you can use with your child to help model a growth mindset way of thinking: 

1. Mistakes are opportunities for learning and growing

2. I learn by trying new things

3. I can do hard things 

4. I haven’t figured it out yet

5. I ask for help when I need it

6. Learning is my superpower

7. When I fail, I can say “I can’t do it yet” and try again 

8. I grow my brain by learning hard things

9. I am brave and can try something new

10. I can learn anything!

Questions that you can ask instead of, “How was your day?” 

• What did you do today that made you think hard?

• What new strategies did you try?

• What mistakes did you make that taught you something?

• What did you try that was hard today?

Kindness at SJE
By Amy Patenaude, School Psychologist

Kindness is a cornerstone value of an SJE education! Kindness is defined as demonstrating generosity, friendliness, and consideration for others without thinking about what an individual will get out of doing something for another person. St. John’s students are encouraged to look for ways that they can help others without being asked or told to. We see acts of kindness every day at St. John’s. Students demonstrate kindness by waiting their turn in line, holding the door open for their teachers and fellow classmates, sitting with a classmate who is by himself or herself, and helping a friend who may have gotten hurt. 

Kindness comes in many different forms. I like to live by the mantra of kind actions, kind words and kind thoughts. 

This month students at the Primary Division Campus are learning about kindness as part of our character education program. During the lesson, students learned about what kindness means and gave examples of different ways that they have seen other students demonstrate kindness. Students played a game where they were asked to determine what behaviors demonstrated kindness by standing or kneeling down. 

Students worked together to make a kindness chain. Students learned that when we show generosity, friendliness, and consideration to others, it helps others and creates a stronger, longer chain. 

Wondering how to talk about kindness at home with your children? You can talk about different ways that children and adults can show kindness to others. You can encourage your child to look for ways to show kindness to others. 

Healthy Habits for Back to School 
By Sharon Weaver, School Nurse

Hopefully you have all enjoyed your summer and had lots of quality family time. I know my favorite part of summer is the lack of routine and time to just be with family.  Our children have hopefully had lots of time to relax, play outside, and just be kids.  As we embark on the school year and get back to our routines, I thought I’d give you a few simple tips to help your children start off on the right track.

S:  Sleep - I cannot stress enough how important sleep is to a successful day.  Start re-introducing the bedtime routine now so it is not a shock to your child on the night before school starts.  Turn off the electronics at least an hour before bed so your child’s mind is prepared to rest.  A night of 8-10 hours of sleep yields a healthy body and mind that’s ready to learn.

C:  Cardiovascular Activity/Exercise - Daily exercise is a must for our children.  This doesn’t mean your child has to be in a fitness class or play an organized sport.  Exercise can be playing tag, riding a bike, running around with a pet, or taking a walk as a family in the evening.  Children spend far too much time watching screens and not enough time moving.  Exercise relieves the stress of a long school day and in turn will help with our number one tip of getting a restful sleep.

H:  Hygiene - As we start another school year amidst a global pandemic this is of utmost importance.  Please encourage your children to wash their hands frequently. Hand-washing is the one thing we know definitely decreases the spread of germs. Also, if your child wears a face covering, please make sure they have a clean one each day.  

O:  Outdoors (fresh air) -  Our children spend hours inside school buildings each day reading, writing and thinking.  All of us have busy schedules, and our kids will have homework, but it is so important that we provide our children time outside.  Fresh air clears the mind and often coincides with the all-important cardiovascular activity. 

O: Optimism - Be optimistic. This, I believe, is very important in a child having a successful day or school year.  Our kids need to hear that we believe they are going to have a great day and achieve great things.  It’s a known fact that children become who they are told they can be.  Let’s make sure we have successful children because of our optimism. 

L:  Laughter -  This is my favorite tip.  Laugh with your children.  Humor helps with self esteem and friendship building.  Laughing with your kids will benefit both parties by providing quality time.  Laughing reduces stress and has a great healing power.  Laughter is, in fact, the best medicine. 

I wish you all a wonderful start to the school year and am happy to help with any health concerns your child may have.