In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 My name is Karen Stephens and I have been a School Counselor with HCS for 23 years. I am the proud mother of Katelyn and Matthew and I have been married to Mark for 23 years. We reside in Angier but enjoy spending as much time as we can at our family house in Cape Carteret. I became a School Counselor because I am passionate about education and helping others. During college, I quickly became aware that not everyone had loving and supportive families to help guide them on their career path. I wanted to provide that sounding board to others while encouraging education, goal setting, and learning to persevere through obstacles. I love working with high school students and being able to celebrate successes and help them adjust when goals get off course. Working with students is the best part of each day! My name is Tiffany Reed and I started my career in education as a teacher. I taught second and fourth grade during the years I was in the classroom. During my time as a teacher, I was honored to be selected Teacher of the Year by my peers. Then I served as an instructional coach, where I created a girls' group called the Pearls which focused on positive friendships and self-esteem. Over the years I had several students whose life stories pulled at my heartstrings, but one student in particular changed the course of my career. During their time in my classroom for ISS, one student confided that they were being abused. After I reported the allegations, the student was removed from the home. They were allowed to call me to say goodbye and during that last conversation, the student said something that I will never forget. The student said “Thank you for believing me. No one else listened to me. Thank you for being nice to me even when I came to your class when I would get in trouble.” I knew then being a school counselor was what I was meant to do. My name is Kathryn Englander, when I was in 3rd grade, my grandma died of cancer, and I had a really hard time processing her death. My mom reached out to my school counselor, Ms. Spencer, who met with me and supported me through that difficult time. She listened to my feelings and helped me work through my grief. It was through that experience that I decided I wanted to be the person who helps others one day. Being a school counselor allows me to help others feel heard and hopefully, make the same positive impact that mine did all those years ago. I have been a school counselor for HCS for 13 years. I grew up in Halifax, VA and then moved to NC to attend undergrad at Meredith College. There, I received a BA in Psychology with a Minor in Communication. I continued my education at Campbell University and obtained a Masters of Education in School Counseling. I am currently a school counselor at CEMS and I live with my husband and two children in Fuquay-Varina. BREAKING NEWS: Meet Our Counselor of the Year Finalists! Congrats to Jessalyn Pedone! Foster Care Month Health Services SEL News School News Art-Based Intervention Resilient NC In this Issue My name is Tedra O’Neal, a licensed school counselor at WHHS since 2013. I serve as the college application month and ASVAB coordinator and ASCA model implementer among the other responsibilities. I am a 2003 graduate of HCHS, a 2007 graduate of Fayetteville State University, and a 2013 graduate of Capella University. I have a combined career experience of 16 years of counseling; first serving as a juvenile justice counselor. Being a school counselor at the high school level, is very rewarding. I am able to witness young people mature, help them to discover career paths, post-secondary educational opportunities, and navigate challenges of adolescence. I work with students to develop and set goals, intervene and advocate, empower and teach life long skills. Helping students look toward the future and goal setting is one of my passions along with interventions. Intervening on a student’s behalf as their advocate whether it is coordinating parent/teacher conferences, conducting classroom guidance lessons, crisis intervention or identifying student needs is the true essence of school counseling. I love being a school counselor for many reasons; the most rewarding experience is advocating for students and witnessing as they learn to advocate for themselves. Page 1
In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 Student Support Services Spotlight Page 2
• There are over 391,000 children and youth in foster care. Mental and behavioral health is the largest unmet health need for these children and teens. • Up to 80 percent of children in foster care have significant mental health issues, compared with approximately 18 to 22 percent of the general population. • Because of the complex traumas faced by children and youth in foster care, foster care alumni experienced post traumatic stress disorder at a rate nearly five times higher than the general adult population. • Youth in foster care are prescribed psychotropic medications at a much higher rate (ranging from 13 to 52 percent) than youth in the general population (4 percent). • Investing in culturally appropriate mental health supports that recognize an individual’s identity, culture, and lived experience may improve the effectiveness of services and supports and improve long-term outcomes for children and youth. • To meaningfully address the mental health needs of children, youth, and young adults in foster care, requires a holistic approach that focuses broadly on their well-being within the contexts of home, family, school, work, and community. • Youth and young adults are experts on their own lives. Empowering youth to make informed decisions about the mental health treatment and services they receive, who they receive them from, and when can help young people connect with providers and improve outcomes. • Maintaining relationships with relatives and kin can increase stability, reduce trauma, and help children maintain a sense of family, belonging, and identity. • Relational permanency is fundamental to the well-being of children and youth in foster care. Stable, nurturing placements have positive impacts on children and youth’s resilience and long-term wellbeing. • Effective training and support for foster parents will improve retention, increase placement stability, and increase capacity to help children and youth in care navigate life’s challenges. In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 Foster Care Month Page 3 Submitted by: Amy Crockett, Student Support Services Coordinator Key Facts and Statistics (from childwelfare.gov Foster Care Toolkit)
In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 Health Services Page 4 Submitted by: Holly Price, Health Services Specialist The difference between physical and mental health is not as pronounced as you might think. For years, researchers have been asking a complex question - how does physical health affect mental health, and vice versa? The answer is predictably complicated, but we do know that mental illness impacts physical health directly and indirectly. Take a look at some of the concrete ways your body and mind influence each other. 1. Depression and the Immune System Depression, the most common mental disorder in the United States, doesn’t just impact mood and motivation. It can directly affect the immune system by suppressing T cell responses to viruses and bacteria, making it easier to get sick and stay sick for longer. A weakened immune system can also lead to a jump in the severity of allergies or asthma. 2. Mental Illness and Fatigue Depression, anxiety and other mood disorders often result in persistent feelings of tiredness and exhaustion. Some inappropriately suggest that “it’s all in your head,” but research shows this is not the case. Being mentally tired leads to physical tiredness. 3. Anger, Anxiety and Heart Health Angry outbursts and the stress of anxiety are bad for the heart. An Australian study set out to see if acute emotions can cause heart attacks like you see in movies - and unfortunately, it is true. 4. Chronic Diseases There is a correlation between depression and several chronic diseases, such as diabetes, arthritis, cancer and asthma.Schizophrenia is another mental health condition that can lead to an increased risk of respiratory or chronic disease. 5. Sleep Quality Your child’s mental health can affect their sleep, and vice versa. Conditions like chronic depression and stress can make it more difficult for someone to get a healthy amount of sleep, which is necessary to function well throughout the day. 6. Digestive Health Many people have heard of the mind-gut connection - and there is a lot of truth to it. Think about a time when you felt“butterflies” in your stomach. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with your gut - you feel this way because you are nervous or excited. Most digestive health concerns stem from chronic or prolonged mental health conditions. 7. Life Expectancy Since a person’s mental health can impact their physical health - and the opposite is also true - in numerous ways, it also plays a role in their life span. Untreated mental health conditions can lower life expectancy because they can worsen existing health conditions or affect your immune system.
In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 Health Services Page 5 Submitted by: Holly Price, Health Services Specialist
This has been an awesome school year and progress towards integration has definitely been made throughout the district. Thank you for your completion of the CS survey as it provided valuable insight into how your school is providing students with social and emotional learning. Overall, K-12 survey results indicate that 46% of schools are satisfied with the curriculum and almost 30% are neutral. Results also indicate that 32% of our schools are beginning school wide SEL integration and this is a huge accomplishment! Our goal would be to increase this percentage and work to support additional school wide integration in the upcoming school year. Additionally, survey results indicate that a lot of schools are interested in staff presentations regarding Character Strong and how it can be implemented at their schools. Please feel free to email me with inquiries and we can set something up for next year, or this year! There is potential to add Tier 2 Character Strong SEL support to our plans to provide screening guidelines and tools, data analysis, and evidence-based curricula for Tier 2 services. Tier 2 of Character Strong would provide support for the social and emotional needs of your students who fall into the 15% of students who require additional support. More information will be forthcoming as it’s available. Thank you again for all of your support this year in providing this valuable service to your students and working to integrate SEL in core practices. Natalie McCurley [email protected] Email with questions about SEL integration for 2023-2024 school year! In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 SEL News Page 6 Character Strong - District SEL Curriculum Natalie McCurley and Amanda Sambets presented at the NC School Counselor Association Drive-In Regional Workshop on March 30, 2023. The session topic was “School Counselors Supporting Student Behavior”. Information presented was well received and it was helpful to network with other counselors from all over North Carolina. Submitted by: Natalie McCurley, Student Support Services Coordinator 2023 North Central Region Drive-In Workshop
Submitted by: Hannah Matthews, School Counselor In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 Page 7 School News Submitted by: Kristen Poe, School Counselor Mrs. Cory Morris, a CTE teacher at OHS, offers counseling and mental health introduction courses to upperclassmen. Throughout this course students explore different aspects of mental health including healthy relationships. Jenae’ Cox and Natalie McCurley were invited as guest speakers to share information about this very important topic with the students. A roundtable discussion was held that shared information reciprocally from the teens’ perspective as well as healthy components of personal relationships. Information was well received and students participated. Counseling & Mental Health Class at OHS Submitted by: Natalie McCurley, Student Support Services Coordinator
In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 School News We attended the Annual Child Abuse Summit 2023: Be Their Voice; Help Them Soar, held in Fayetteville on 4/20. This summit is sponsored by the Southern Regional AHEC. It is always a good conference with a lot of information. This year, the keynote speaker was Sasha Joseph Neulinger. He is a child sexual abuse survivor, public speaker, and advocate. He produced a documentary entitled Rewind. Rewind depicts his journey through years of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of several family members, his journey through the healing process, and the reconciliation of his past. This is a different type of documentary because it is all seen through the lens of home video footage. This is a must watch. It can be seen on Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, and Tubi for free. It is also available on other streaming channels. Submitted by: Kim Baker, School Social Worker Page 8 In honor of April being Child Abuse Prevention Month we put pinwheels out at marquee and front door. We announced Child Abuse Prevention Awareness on marquee We created a Child Abuse Prevention Awareness video done by HCMS Student Services Team, encouraging students to speak to one of us if they or someone they know is being abused Staff and students wore blue for Child Abuse Prevention Awareness on Wednesday, April 19 Poster with pictures of staff members students can speak to if they or someone they know is being abused Submitted by: Kim Baker, School Social Worker
In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 Long-term Art-Based Intervention for Mental Health Awareness Month Page 9 Every year during the month of May, we acknowledge the importance of mental health in the U.S. However, this acknowledgement and awareness are not always followed through with learning about and implementing effective strategies for our students. We also know that all too often kids, tweens, and teens can be exposed to harsh, judgmental environments where they don’t feel they can be themselves. This may cause them to suppress their real character to avoid censure from their peers etc. This is why it’s essential for teens to identify their core values and identify who they are. It’s crucial when we are working with this population to create coping strategies that they can come back to over time and let them know that their ideas, feelings, and values may change with experience, and that is perfectly natural. Creating a collage can help our students visualize their core values through creative means. Here’s how: 2 Words to Live by Collage You will need: Old magazines, newspapers, picture books, and scrap paper Markers and colored pencils Scissors and glue Cardboard or thick paper for the base of the collage This activity can be carried out with a group or one-to-one Process: 1. Asking participants to take a moment to reflect on their core values. For younger teens, you may want to discuss what we mean by values by asking them what some of the things they feel strongly about are. What do they feel good about when they practice certain behaviors or see others behave? 2. Once participants have a good idea of their values, invite them to take a mindful minute. Start by asking them to close their eyes and turn their focus to their breath. Now ask them to let the words associated with their values freely flow into their thoughts. What are these words? What are the related images, colors, and shapes that feel connected to these words? 3. Once participants feel ready, invite them to begin selecting images, words, phrases, or colors from magazines and newspapers. They will use these to compile a collage that they feel reflects their words to live by. This can be image-based or entirely abstract; it’s all about how their words make them feel. 4. If they feel comfortable, save some time at the end of the session for them to present their collages and share with the group what they have created and what it means to them. https://positivepsychology.com/art-therapy/ Submitted by: Jenae’ Cox, Mental Health Support Specialist and Amanda Sambets, Mental Health Support Specialist
Mental Health Awareness Month May, 2023 May is a great time to reflect on the school year and note all of your successes, achievements as well as challenges and struggles. It is important to consider ways to finish the semester strong while thinking about goals, healthy habits and routines for the next school year. The Mental Health Awareness Committee is promoting several topics this month to include anxiety, healthy relationships, self-care, SMART goals and healthy coping skills. The committee will have a lunch display in the commons area every other Wednesday this month to provide handouts and resources. Student activities and information will be posted weekly in the grade-level google classrooms. If you have any questions please reach out to Mrs. O’Neal. 1 In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 Page 10 School News May is Mental Health Awareness Month The Mental Health Awareness Month committee and SAVE club are hosting several activities throughout the month of May to promote awareness on topics of self care, healthing ways of dealing with stress, healthy relationships and understanding mental health. Committee of staff and students: Tedra O’Neal Dr. Moran Lisa Bryant Krystyna Dzienisiewicz Jenae Cox Branley Alman Megan McGinty Mika Knodel Charles Matthews Theo Burchard Elizabeth Bateman Gabriel Waller Daphney Ayala Week 1: Monday May 1st: 10:25am Charles Matthews: Awareness Tip during the morning announcements (approved by Mrs. O’Neal) Wednesday May 3rd: Table set up in the commons area during all 4 lunches 11:00am-12:55pm (O’Neal supervising) 1st lunch: Krystyna Dzienisiewicz, Gabriel Waller 2nd lunch Krystyna Dzienisiewicz , Theodore Burchard 3rd lunch: Dr Moran 4th lunch:Mika Knodel Friday May 5th: Brief online Homeroom Activity “Understanding Mental Health” Week 2: Monday May 8th: 10:25 am (Theodore Burchard) Awareness Tip during the morning announcements (approved by Mrs. O’Neal) Friday May 12th: Brief online Homeroom Activity “Healthy Relationships” Week 3: Monday May 15th: 10:25am (Megan McGinty) Awareness Tip during morning announcements (approved by Mrs. Cox) Wednesday May 17th: Table set up in the commons areas during all 4 lunches 11:00am-12:55pm (Mrs. Bryant) 1st lunch: Krystyna Dzienisiewicz , Gabriel Waller 2nd lunch: Krystyna Dzienisiewicz , Theodore Burchard 3rd lunch: Dr Moran 4th lunch: Friday May 19th: Brief online Homeroom Activity “Feeling Overwhelmed” Submitted by: Tedra O’Neal, School Counselor
In the Loop Student Support Services Newsletter May 2023 Page 11 Community Information Submitted by: Amy Crockett, Student Support Services Coordinator