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Meet the Social Worker
Ms. Sybert
Introduction
Hello, I am Ms. Sybert, the Social Worker at Nantucket Intermediate School. I recently moved to the Island from Connecticut but have been summering here since I was little. I previously worked as a clinician for a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility providing comprehensive and intensive behavioral health treatment for children ages 6-12 who present with significant emotional or behavioral difficulty and are transitioning from psychiatric hospitalization. I am so excited for this school year which will be filled with lots of fun, learning, and new adventures.
What to Expect from School Social Workers
Elementary school is where children develop their competence and confidence as learners, as well as their attitude toward school, self, and peers.
School social workers play a crucial role in helping students reach their academic potential. My role is to help students develop academic, social, and emotional skills that serve as a foundation for success I am here to support all the wonderful children here at Nantucket Intermediate School and their families!
Specific Services Provided:
- Participating in special education assessment meetings as well as individual Educational Planning Meetings
- Working with those problems in a child's living situation that affect the child’s adjustment in school. (home, school, and community)
- Counseling (individual and small group focusing on conflict resolution, mediations, anger management, anxiety, self-control, executive functioning, social skills, etc.
- Assisting in developing positive behavioral intervention strategies.
- Providing crisis intervention.
- Developing intervention strategies to increase academic success.
- Working with parents to facilitate their support in their children's school adjustment.
- Linking family members to appropriate resources to provide support and alleviate family stress to enable the child to function more effectively in school & community.
- Providing staff with essential information to better understand factors (cultural, societal, economic, familial, health, etc.) affecting a student’s performance and behavior.
- Providing direct support to staff.
- Consult and collaborate with staff to promote academic success.
What is normal behavior for children/teens right now?
The following reactions are common, but if they continue for 2 weeks or more, or are very significant changes from their normal behavior, it may indicate that your child or teen could use your help to manage what they are feeling.
Grades Pre K - 2
- Excessive energy/ hyperactivity
- Frequent crying/tearfulness
- Separation anxiety Increased whining
- Developmental regression (for example, toileting accidents)
Grades 3 - 6
- Excessive energy/hyperactivity
- Excessive worry/repeated questions
- Frequent crying /tearfulness
- Separation anxiety Increased whining Boredom
Grades 7 - 12
- Excessive worry/repeated questions
- Poor concentration
- Irritability/anger
- Difficulty sleeping
- Fatigue
- Boredom
Tips for Supporting Student Wellness
Helps children to know what to expect. Knowing what comes next helps to ease anxiety and helps children get through the day easier.
Some ideas:
- Try to provide structure/routine.
- Create schedules and help your child stick to them.
- Review schedule with children.
- Allow for children to help create their schedules.
- Incorporate times for movement breaks, lunch, and screen breaks.
Social interactions and supports are critical. Children should have opportunities to connect with classmates, friends ,and family members.
Some ideas:
- Engage children in virtual playdates (vide chat, Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meet).
- Allow students to eat lunch together virtually.
- Allow for children to write letters to relatives or penpals.
- Allow for children to connect with peers through phone calls or appropriate games online.
- If it is not possible for children to interact with peers, one strategy is to talk to them about the connection they have with millions around the world. (We are all in this together- sense of connection).
Stay physically active:
Staying active is one of the most effective ways to stay mentally healthy and to cope with worry, sadness, and isolation. During this uncertain time, physical activity is especially important for all children and teens.
Some ideas:
- Going outside for a walk/run.
- Nature scavenger hunt.
- Playing a game of soccer, volleyball, football, basketball, baseball, etc.
- Trying a fitness workout with a friend over the phone/video chat.
- Going for a bike ride.
- Family dance party.
- Yoga
Make time for mental rest:
Everyone around the world is experiencing increased worry right now, including children and teens. You can help your child take mental breaks by practicing a few minutes of relaxation or mindfulness together or teaching them how to do this on their own. Research shows that even 5 minutes a day of relaxation practice can help reduce stress, decrease inappropriate behavior, boost concentration, and improve sleep.
Some ideas:- Animal yoga: Pretend to be different animals, and shape your body into curled up and stretched out positions. Imagine being that animal feeling cozy in places of safety, or relaxing in nature.
- Slow breath: Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 2, breathe out for 4 seconds. Repeat 3-5 times while lying down or sitting comfortably.
- Tighten & Relax: Move through each major body part, slowly tightening (10 seconds) and relaxing (10 seconds) the muscles in each one.
- 5 Senses: Spend 30 seconds focusing on each sense (sight, smell, sound, etc.) and observe what you notice.
- Imaginary vacation: Close your eyes and pretend you are in a favorite place – a beach, your room, a hot air balloon – and imagine, tell, or write about what it is like there.
- Mindful eating: Hold a piece of food in your hand (raisin, M&M, etc.) and look at, feel, and smell, it. Then put it on your tongue and notice its smell, taste, and texture before chewing and swallowing.
- Body Scan: Mentally observe your whole body, one part at a time. Note where you feel tension, pressure, pain, or calm. Try to spread the calm throughout your body.
- Loving Kindness: Create a statement of forgiveness, kindness, wellness, or love and send it to yourself. Then in your mind send that message to loved ones, friends, family, neighbors, your community, and finally, the whole world.
- Tolerating Emotional Waves: Focus on the image of difficult emotions being like waves that come and go. You can ride the wave of each emotion, just tolerating it when it’s present, and trusting it will eventually roll on and give way to a moment of calm afterwards.
Coping with big thoughts:
When faced with stress or uncertainty, our brains are designed to focus on warning signs of danger. This “fight or flight” response increases our heart rate and makes us feel uneasy and tense. One way to feel better is to identify the source of our anxiety, and use careful thinking skills to calm back down. You can help your child or teen learn to recognize worried thoughts and focus on more helpful thoughts instead.
Steps:- Step 1: Help your child identify their thoughts (Ask: If you were a cartoon, what would your thought bubble say right now?)
- Step 2: Help your child figure out if this thought is fully true, somewhat true, or not really reasonable (Ask: How do you know this is true? Let’s find out more about this. How likely is this?)
- Step 3: After discussion, help your child come up with a believable, but less worried thought (Ask: What could you tell yourself instead that would help you feel less worried? What would you tell a friend who was having the same thought, to help them realize it wasn’t fully true?)
https://trailstowellness.org/materials/resources/covid-19-resources#for-everyone-covid-19-resources
Full PDF will be linked below in Both English and Spanish.
Tips for When Children are Misbehaving
English
Spanish
Portuguese
Contact Information
Email: Syberte@npsk.org
Location: 30 Surfside Road, Nantucket, MA, USA
Phone: (508) 228-7290 4113