3rd Edition

As our 22-23 school year comes to an end we take time to reflect on the progress we have made and count the fruits of our labor. The work has not always been easy and we have had many obstacles in our way but, it is finished. Our times of celebration and joy have created everlasting memories. Our successes and failures have helped us to grow, adapt, overcome and achieve. Students, parents, faculty, and staff all can breathe a sigh of relief as we close our doors on one chapter of our lives. But so many more doors have now opened. Many will be attending a new school next year and with change comes the unknown. Don't let uncertainty overtake the long-awaited, happy experience of the new.

Take comfort in knowing that although the academic year has ended, learning is never ending. Tallassee City School "administrators, teachers and support staff understand how each professional and instructional tenet continues to works collectively moving our district toward success," says Dr. Brock Nolin, Superintendent. Fundamentals for TCS success are true regardless of the month in the year.

So many new experiences to be had in the future. Let our eyes be opened to opportunity, hearts open to kindness, words speak progress, and minds be clear for positive collaboration.

Cheers to a great school year and a 'whoot-whoot' to so much more to come!

~Mrs. Jen Bafford, TCS Mental Health Services Coordinator

Thanks to the Family Engagement Educators Team (F.E.E.T.) for putting on the end of the year Family Engagement Night! It was out largest turnout yet. Although the rain cause a delay, students, families, and community members showed up and had a blast learning and playing together. Keep looking out for our future events next year as we continually strive to increase family engagement within our schools. Success starts in the HOME!

Another BIG thank you to our local businesses who provided our BINGO Scavenger Hunt Prizes:

• Shear Grace Salon
• Tiger Laundry
• Grove Station
• Tallassee Nutrition
• Limelife- Mandy Thomas
• Baked Goods- Cheri Wiggins

Check out the photos of our Mental Health Awareness Month activities throughout the month of May! We've been busy learning about how to "TACO-bout' it, mental wellness, self-care, emotions, support systems, trauma & grief, resources for help and even stomping out stigma!

Thank you for all of your participation.

Negative thoughts, or negative self-talk, can be troubling and influence your mood.

Students can easily learn their feelings and emotions put them in a mood and that their mood influences their choices. Four essential concepts form an understanding of mood:

1. Mood (along with recharge) is a key influencer of fit choices.
2. Mood is your motivation. Mood can be "I will make a healthy choice," or "I won't make a healthy choice."
3. Self-motivation strategies can help you motivate your mood.
4. Your mood can change throughout the day.

We used the book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst to start the conversation at TES.

Researchers have found that working out in a group lowers stress by 26% and significantly improves quality of life. At Healthtrax, our fitness classes are led in a group setting by a certified instructor. Group exercise classes offer a great way to socialize and have a little bit of fun, all while pushing you towards your health goals.

Group activity is not a new concept, but it has seen massive international up-trends over the last few years with rising numbers in spin cycling, dance-based classes and Hiit workouts. Nearly 40% of regular exercisers participate in group fitness classes. Being a part of this type of community can provide a huge boost of motivation beyond what already comes with the physical benefits of a workout.

1. Social Health Benefit- Whether that journey is to better your health and wellness or improve your strength and endurance, there will always be someone who has your back.
2. Motivation And Inspiration- Other people influence your attitudes and emotional responses to exercise.
3. Accountability- Studies have shown that supportive accountability measures help people achieve their fitness goals and even life goals.
4. Improves Confidence- Working out with people of varying levels of experience helps improve this confidence further by providing you with inspiration and support for reaching your next goal.

Spirit days are be a great way to have fun, improve school community, and inspire conversation about meaningful topics such as mental health. While it’s important to celebrate and take care of mental health every single day, it’s helpful to have somewhere to start. Our hope was that participating in daily awareness activities served as a catalyst for students, families, faculty and staff to learn more , seek help, offer support , and open our hearts and minds to vulnerable conversations.

A Wellness Room, can be an effective way to provide students and staff with opportunities to focus on self-care and developing healthy coping strategies while reducing stress and anxiety. Typically, the design of these spaces allows students and staff to experience a quiet atmosphere and have a chance to “reset.”

Students and staff alike need these moments to prepare their minds to learn- these spaces focus and restore attention. These spaces can also serve a critical role in supporting neurodiversity by providing a soothing atmosphere for calming moments.

​Self-regulation is the ability to manage our thoughts, emotions and behavior.

​We all have an emotional temperature. We tend to like comfortable emotions: joy, surprised, excited, happy, and prefer to stay in our comfort zone. When we begin to feel sad, afraid, frustrated, or angry our emotional temperature goes up, activating our sympathetic nervous system, and we feel less comfortable. Therefore, we want to do something to return to our comfort zone, aka self-regulate, by activating our parasympathetic nervous system. The things we do to regulate our emotions can be healthy or unhealthy, determined by the long-term impact they have on our health and well-being.

Wellness rooms teach healthy coping skills to regulate our emotions, calm our nervous system (bring our emotional temperature down) thereby allowing us to access our prefrontal cortex so we can choose how to respond rather than react.

Take a moment to interact with the NEW Virtual Wellness Rooms and Virtual Check Ins!

Able to be accessed both in and out of school these, age appropriately designed "rooms" engage our students, faculty & staff in mental wellness activities.

You don’t need special training to have an open, authentic conversation about mental health – and often, just talking about it can be the first important step in understanding where someone is with their mental health, and helping them get support or treatment if needed.

Prevention works!

Prevention and early intervention strategies can reduce the impact of substance use and mental disorders. Prevention activities work to educate and support individuals and communities to prevent the use and misuse of drugs and the development of substance use disorders. Substance use and mental disorders can make daily activities difficult and impair a person’s ability to work, learn, interact with family, and fulfill other major life functions. Mental and substance use disorders are among the top conditions that cause disability in the United States. Preventing mental and/or substance use disorders or co-occurring disorders and related problems is critical to behavioral and physical health.

Creating a fun, comfortable, safe space for youth and families to engage together is one of the most effective ways of igniting meaningful conversations.

One in six children is experiencing a diagnosable mental health condition. Many others are affected by short term stress and trauma that may have lifelong consequences if not addressed.

So what can we do to nurture children’s mental and emotional health and give them the tools to cope with life’s stressors? The answer may surprise you. READ! A growing body of research shows that reading to and with your children on a regular basis has a significant and positive effect on their mental health.

There is a well-established link between children’s early language and literacy skills and school success. We know that children who are read to often have more extensive vocabularies and more developed cognitive skills than those who aren’t read to. Those same skills can be applied to mental and emotional health.

Continue reading article...

Experiencing symptoms associated with trauma and grief are common for several weeks after experiencing the trauma or loss, and are not necessarily a sign that anything is seriously wrong. It’s how our brains and bodies respond when something horrible and shocking has happened.

But if trauma or grief symptoms persist for months after the traumatic event or loss and make it hard for you to work or function in your relationships, it may be time to think about reaching out for professional help.

The first contact with a helping professional is often a difficult step. Auburn University's Marriage and Family Therapy Center is happy to help. To learn more about their affordable services www.mftcenter.auburn.edu or call 334-844-4478. Hablamos Espanol!

• Couple Conflict
• Divorce
• Child-Teen Problems
• Effective Parenting
• Child Abuse and Neglect
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Bipolar
• PTSD
• Substance Use Disorder

Many factors come into play when it comes to your mental health. We challenged the teachers and students at SMS during the month of May, take some time to LOOK AROUND at their surroundings and LOOK WITHIN to see how they are affected. Look around, look within – from your neighborhood to genetics, many factors come into play when it comes to our mental health. Learning about the impact of our surroundings on our mental health is a valuable way to take control of our own well-being.

They took what they learned and created classroom door decorations with the top classes winning a sweet treat! Congratulations to our winners!!

1. Lettuce 'TACO-bout' it, Mrs. Burton, 5th
2. Just Bee Yourself! Ms. Hughes, 5th
3. Take What You Need, Mrs. Turner, 5th
4. Mental Health Matters, Mrs. Smith, 6th

Emotions are going STRONG... I know all of us are exhausted. Many of us are overwhelmed and overstimulated all at once too. The reality is...we need each other this week. We need to show grace, love, and support as each of us approach the end of this chapter and prepare for the next. The chapter may look similar next year for you, but it is still new with new students, new colleagues, and new beginnings! For some of us, the next chapter looks radically different.

I challenge all of you to soak it all up this week! Every ounce of the feeling described here. We've all felt it. We've all endured the school year. We're all entitled to grow through our exhausterwhelmulated state! :)

Love to you all!

~Mrs. Brittany Spencer, TES Vice Principal (New SMS Principal '23-24)

Tallassee City Schools

Mental Health Services Coordinator

Email: Jen.Bafford@tcschools.com
Website: https://www.tcschools.com/
Location: 901 E B Payne Sr Dr, Tallassee, AL 36078
Phone: 334-415-4125
Facebook: facebook.com/MrsJenBafford