March 2017 - Special Edition
In Celebration of National Social Work Month
 FCPS School Board Recognition of School Social Workers on February 23, 2017
FCPS Social Work Services
MISSION:
The mission of FCPS school social workers is to provide effective assessment, prevention, and intervention services for students and to foster positive relationships among families, schools, and communities to ensure the academic and social-emotional success of EVERY student.
VISION:
The vision of FCPS school social workers is to ensure that all students have the supports, services, and resources necessary to achieve academic and social-emotional success at school, home, and within their communities.
FCPS school social workers are behavior health professionals who:
- Provide research-based, effective and culturally competent interventions and services that are specific to student and school needs
- Support the development of safe, positive, and caring school environments that promote student learning and well-being
- Work collaboratively to eliminate achievement gaps
- Foster engaged relationships between students, educational staff members, and families
- Help families and students locate necessary resources and navigate school and community services.
 FASSW celebrates before School Board Recognition
Be the Change
School Social Workers as Change Agents to Help Students Succeed
SSWAA Press Release
The week of March 6-10, 2017, marks the celebration of School Social Work Week. With the theme of "Be the Change," school social workers across the country will highlight their critically important role in helping students every day to meet the academic, social, and emotional challenges on the road to becoming successful and productive young adults. Under the leadership of the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA), the only national organization exclusively dedicated to the profession of school social work, this celebration will emphasize school social work interventions that support students and families to meet these challenges. "School social workers are Specialized Instructional Support Personal, working with students and their families, so that children feel supported at home and at school," said Myrna Mandlawitz, Government Relations Director of the School Social Work Association of America. "Researchers in the field are continually developing new and innovative ways to address barriers to learning that will allow students to successfully complete school and contribute to society," Anne McInerney, SSWAA Board Member, added. Rebecca Oliver, Executive Director of the School Social Work Association, noted, "School Social Workers are agents of change. When students do not feel heard, School Social Workers listen. When students or families have unmet needs, School Social Workers advo-cate for needed support and/or services. When students, families or com-munities feel marginalized, School Social Workers are an empowering force for change.” Christy McCoy, SSWAA Board Member and Legislative Chair commented, “School Social Workers advocate at the school level, community level, state level, and national level for needed change to address the needs of all students.” "School social workers help students every day in schools across the country," said Jim Raines, Board President of the School Social Work Association of America, "and those same students are the leaders of tomorrow. We join with the students, families, and school staff across the nation in saluting their School Social Workers on the celebration of School Social Work Week 2017!"
Mindfulness!
by Julie Tripmacher and Quyen Duong
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of purposefully paying attention to the present moment. This practice essentially involves using simple techniques to bring awareness to one’s thoughts, feelings, and immediate surroundings in each moment, without judgment. This can involve focusing on one’s breathing, sensory stimuli in the environment, or bodily sensations while moving through the world, with the aim of “practicing aliveness”. Myriad studies show that practicing mindfulness significantly benefits one’s overall wellbeing (i.e. decreased stress, increased positive feelings and concentration, and healthier immune system).
How can we use this with our students?
Mindfulness is increasingly being used in schools throughout the country. Studies show benefits of improved attention and concentration, reduced anxiety, and increased resiliency, self-esteem, and emotional intelligence for children of all ages. As children gain the ability to notice how they feel in the moment, the inner emotional storms can begin to transform. Awareness then leads to learning skills and tools to manage and respond appropriately to these experiences.
How to practice mindfulness everyday:
- Look for opportunities throughout the day to notice what your body is telling you—how do your feet feel in your shoes, what is your jaw doing while you wait in line.
- Sing and clap a hand rhythm with each other. Hand rhythms require sustained, focus concentration and is a playful way to integrate mindful experiences anywhere.
- Pick a daily routine you normally do on autopilot such as brushing your teeth and focus on the sight, sound, smell, taste, and feel of this activity.
- Integrate mindfulness and technology—check your breath before checking your phone or social media.
Care for the Caregiver
by Cheryl Hunsberger
Self care is so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.
~ Eleanor Brown
As professionals in the field of education, we want good things to happen for children and this expectation that we put on ourselves can create internal stress. Stress operates as a bell-shaped curve: a little stress can build motivation, but at a certain point too much stress can demotivate and decrease output. We typically deal with this increasing stress level with denial and “carry on” as they say, until it takes its toll in neck and back pain, low energy and poor attitudes.
We must learn to monitor our own stress, on an emotional level and at a physical level. We need to listen to what we tell others: “say No!,” “set limits,” “delegate.” Why do we espouse these beliefs if we don’t believe them? What kind of role model are we if we don’t listen either? If we want to help promote change in others, we need to observe what we are “saying” with our own lifestyle choices.
This makes it imperative that we take care of ourselves and our colleagues by being understanding and kind to one another and recognize that our work is heart-work and heart-felt, figuratively and quite literally.
TOP 5 Self Care Strategies to Reduce Stress
- Take care of your body: get enough sleep, maintain proper nutrition, exercise regularly.
- Share your stress-talk to someone about your worries.
- Make time for fun—have hobbies and maintain your social connections.
- Check off your tasks-trying to take care of everything can seem overwhelming; make a list, then do one at a time.
- Learn a relaxation technique-create a quiet scene mentally, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation.
Helping Yourself Along The Way…
Contributed by Angie Huber
My Child Won’t Go to School!! What Can I do?
By Cheryl Hunsberger and Liz Mathews-Jolley
Providing awareness to the community about the importance of regular school attendance, the factors that may impact attendance, and exploring solutions to improve attendance has become a focus in Fairfax County.
A Washington Post article from August 2015 reported that nationwide, children in Kindergarten are missing as many days as students in the ninth grade. Research has shown that supporting parents to help children establish good attendance habits early as they start school has a positive impact on attendance in later grades. School refusal can be a challenge to address and the longer a student is absent the more difficult it is to get them back in the routine of attending school. Students often struggle with transitioning back to school after a prolonged absence due to an illness, move, or death or illness of a family member. They may also demonstrate resistance in response to academic challenges or other school struggles. Some form of anxiety is often at the root of school refusal behaviors. Symptoms can include physical symptoms such as stomachaches or headaches. Behavioral symptoms can include tantrums, avoidance, or defiance. Re-search indicates that there are two peak times in childhood when anxiety may become more apparent. The first is ages 5-6 when students are just beginning kindergarten and the second is ages 10-11 when students are typically transitioning to middle school. These are major life changes for children and can result in worry and fearfulness. Experiencing some anxiety with these changes is very typical but it can become problematic when it continues to escalate and result in school refusal. School social workers, psychologists, and counselors are available to provide consultation and support to students and families. Together, a plan can be developed to address challenges and provide support. It is important to keep in mind that missing school reinforces the anxiety rather than alleviating it.
As School Social Workers, we are on the front lines working to support students, families, and school staff in addressing chronic absenteeism and truancy. We understand the many factors impacting attendance and know that student and parent engagement is necessary to increase attendance. Social workers provide information and resources to assist students and their families in overcoming the difficulties they face in getting to school on a regular basis. Social workers utilize a strength-based perspective, also identifying and building upon protective factors. We support school staff in understanding the barriers and strengths of students struggling with attendance, providing information and strategies so that they can best support and communicate with these students and families.
Check out the Attendance Works Website: http://www.attendanceworks.org for tools and resources.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Absences in kindergarten and the first grade can influence whether children read proficiently by the end of third grade
- Students can fall behind academically if they miss just 1 or 2 days every few weeks
- By 6th grade, chronic absence becomes a leading indicator that a student may drop out of high school
- By 9th grade, regular and high attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores
More information can be found at http://www.attendanceworks.org
Tips for supporting students that may be demonstrating
resistance to attending school:
- Set a regular bedtime and morning routine.
- Arrange an informal meeting with your child’s teacher away from the classroom.
- Talk with school staff for advice on how to make the student feel comfortable and excited about school.
- Learn about and emphasize the positive aspects of school for the student.
- Talk with your child about feelings and fears, which help reduce them.
- Help your child establish a support system. This list could include family, neighbors, friends, and school staff.
- Encourage meaningful after school activities.
- Consult with your pediatrician to rule out any medical issues and explore treatment options.
Transition Tamers
By Laura Thieman
As the day gets longer and flowers begin to bloom, even
nature readies itself for upcoming transitions! Here are some helpful tips for
managing change:
Preparation: Like an investment in the bank, prepping ahead
of time when at all possible will pay off. Laying out clothes, making lunch in
advance, and having backpacks ready-to-go are all ways to lessen the load in
the morning. Including your kids in this planning also helps them to grow their
own life skills.
What stays the same? When lots of things are changing,
children deeply appreciate the things that don’t change. They serve as
“anchors” to hold onto—favorite meals, favorite activities, favorite friendships.
They grease the wheels for the change ahead.
Routines: If you feel like you are constantly nagging your
children every step of the way in the morning, try a visual schedule. For
younger children, you can even include pictures of your child doing the
activity (getting out of bed, eating, brushing teeth) instead of words.
Music to motivate: Is getting to breakfast or putting on
shoes a sticky spot? Try a special song that is played to “signal” that
activity instead of only your voice. Kids can try to “beat” the song and get
on their shoes/get out the door before the song is over.
Catch the positives: As parents, we almost instinctively
look out for any problem areas. Challenge yourself to catch the positives, even
seemingly small ones. Whether it’s a kindness towards a sibling or sticking
with a challenge, name the specific behavior and bring it to your child’s
attention. These encouraging words help them grow in confidence and ready them
to be life-long learners.
Guard against overscheduling: Balance between scheduling and
unstructured time for children. Some kids need more down time and others
appreciate and thrive in more structured settings.
Technology Diet: Children need limits and boundaries around
their use of technology.
…And don’t forget play time: Play researcher
Stuart Brown describes play as a “catalyst for learning”. It is a necessity
for building executive functioning skills and many other life skills. Notice
the times when you and your children are enjoying one another’s company and
make time for that activity, even if only for a few short minutes!
Play: It’s Academic and Stress Relieving
By Laura Thieman
Ready…Set….JUMP!” I was about 5. The kids in my neighborhood
worked for an hour making the leaf pile bigger than life itself. Finally, the
magical moment had arrived. We took turns jumping into the pile of leaves with
glee and delight, coming up giggling, with leaf-covered hair and clothing—ready
for another go.”
“Play is like oxygen,” says play researcher and
psychiatrist, Stewart Brown, who has dedicated his career to championing the
transformative role of play throughout the lifespan. Researchers have
discovered play is a vital element of life for both animals and people. Play
is correlated with reduced levels of stress as evidenced by lower levels of
cortisol. Increased levels of dopamine, critical for healthy brain functioning,
have also been linked in studies to the presence of play. “The conditions of
play—the generation of signals that enhance learning without an accompanying
stress response—allow the brain to explore possibilities and to learn from
them” (Wang & Aamodth, 2012). The right dose of play provides a type of
nutrition for us, no matter our age—fueling critical thinking, social skills,
new connections, problem-solving, and stress reduction to name a few benefits.
One father taught me a powerful lesson about play and
academics. He noticed his child dreaded reading and would do anything to avoid
it. One day, he tried something new. Every few pages, he did some rough-and-tumble
play with his child, who was a very active and energetic 6-year-old. Then, they
would sit back on the couch and read some more. Soon, his son began to run to
him with books—“Dad, dad! Time to read!” Through his relationship-building, playful
moments with his son, the dad brought new and positive associations to an old
area of struggle.
What is one of your favorite playful memories from your own
childhood?
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