Weekly Communications

As remote learning begins for our students, we want you to know that the Counseling and PBSES Departments at PCMS are here for support. Each week we will be sending out a newsletter to help guide students and their families through these unprecedented times. Should you have questions or need additional support, please reach out. Our contact information is below.

As your PCMS counseling team, we are committed to supporting our students and families during this unprecedented time. We are available by email to hear your concerns, offer ideas to help you move forward, and work on providing information for social/emotional support. Please don't hesitate to reach out and we will do our best to help.

Each week, we will be offering a simple mindfulness practice students and families can use to help alleviate stress and increase coping skills. Here is a simple 3 minute guided meditation on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEfs5TJZ6Nk

Other apps that are easy to use for mindfulness and meditation are Calm; Stop, Breathe, Think, Headspace, Simple Habit, Insight Timer, and Happify.

As the days and weeks stretch on at home, here are five straight forward tips for managing your student’s (and your!) mental health, from King 5 and adapted with our students in mind. Click here for the full article. (Also, even if you do none of these things, you are still doing a GREAT job!)

• Keep Your Routine. Write one out with your kids to help keep some normalcy and consistency to your days. (Include eating and sleeping at your regular times).
• Stay Active! This is trickier with our weather, but a family walk or even just five minutes of breathing fresh air can make a world of difference. Try to build it into your written schedule.
• Limit Social Media. Tough for teens, but it will help them monitor the information they are exposed to online, especially around COVID – 19. Keep in mind social media is what is keeping them connected to friends, so removing it completely is not recommended.
• Stay Connected! Set up a daily or weekly family Zoom (www.zoom.us) or FaceTime call to stay in contact with family and friends. Make it a fun theme each time! (Hats, fancy dress, crazy hair day, etc.)
• Be Flexible and Realistic. A schedule that may have worked last week may not be as effective this week. That’s OK! Adapting and adjusting to what works best for you and your family is the best you can do.

At PCMS we ask our students to be Safe, Respectful, and Responsible. Talk with your students about what those expectations look like at home. Sit together to create a list of three specific points that fall under each of the three expectations. Post them in a place where they can be referred to while your student is "in school". Feel free to use the blank template attached below to match the ones displayed around PCMS.

One way to build a consistent routine at home is to mimic your student's routine at school. Starting their day off with a Lynx Life activity is one way to do this. Throughout this school closure we will be providing lessons from the CharacterStrong 30 Day Kindness Journal. Here are the journal entries for week #1.

Day 1 - Wednesday, March 25

Day 2 - Thursday, March 26

Day 3 - Friday, March 27

Sit together as a family and see if you can brainstorm a list of 25 things you want to do together this year. Get creative and collaborative! Make sure the items range from totally doable in a day to something that may seem silly or impossible. Work together to check things off each month.

If you or someone you know needs support urgently, contact the crisis text line by texting "hello," to 741-741. You will be connected to a 24/7 hour live crisis counselor or you can call the Crisis Connections 24hr Crisis Line at 866-4Crisis. You can also use this link to be connected to a crisis counselor https://www.crisistextline.org/get-help/coronavirus. If you think someone is in immediate danger, call 911.

· Crisis Text Line – text START to 741741 www.crisistextline.org

· King County Crisis Connections 206-461-3222

· Trevor Project 1-866-4UTREVOR (488-7386) (specific toward LGBTQ youth)

· National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

· Teen Link 1-866-833-6546 www.teenlink.org

· Children’s Crisis Outreach Response Services (CCORS) through the Crisis Clinic 206-461-3222

As instances of cyberbullying may increase during this time, here are some ways to help at home. Please know that you or your student may email their school counselor (contact information below) as well if they need support.

https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/prevention

Laura Greening, LICSW, is our School Based Mental Health Counselor at PCMS. The ISD has partnered with Swedish to make mental health counseling available to students at school. During the school closure, Ms. Greening is available to provide you support and guidance as you help your family to navigate this difficult and stressful time, connect you with outside community mental health providers, and continue to provide telehealth support to students she has previously been working alongside. If you have any questions for Ms. Greening, please do not hesitate to reach out at laura.greening@swedish.org.

Each week, Ms. Greening will also be offering a tip on ways to connect and engage with your family during a time of heightened anxiety and stress.

This is an extremely unprecedented time, and there are a lot of unknowns for all of us. It is normal to experience heightened anxiety and stress during this time, although the best way to manage that stress is to talk about it, and connect positively with your support system.

Laura Meserole, 6th Grade Counselor

Jessica Morrison, 7th Grade Counselor

Miranda Williams, 8th Grade Counselor

Tiffany Stephens, Counseling Intern

Laura Greening, Swedish Mental Health Counselor

Amy Butson, PBSES Coach

Website: https://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/pacificcascadems
Location: Pacific Cascade Middle School, Southeast Issaquah-Fall City Road, Issaquah, WA, USA
Phone: 425-837-5900