january 11-15
Hi everyone! Over the next few weeks we will be preparing for many new changes as we transition to the second semester. This is a great time to celebrate both you and your child’s successes. It will also be a time of change for our families that are moving into Tier 2 academics and/or PLP. Please let our Counseling team know if there are any concerns for your child and their transition back to school in-person.
We also wanted to share a developing resource with our families and students for the virtual environment. On our MRHE counseling website, we have introduced a MRHE Virtual Calming Center. This is a virtual collection of resources that our students can use as a break from academics or for their social-emotional needs. This will continue to be updated as more helpful resources are added or rotated. Please reach out to Todd Byrne, [email protected], if you have any suggestions or feedback for improvement for our families and students.
Have a great week, MRHE!
-Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
We also wanted to share a developing resource with our families and students for the virtual environment. On our MRHE counseling website, we have introduced a MRHE Virtual Calming Center. This is a virtual collection of resources that our students can use as a break from academics or for their social-emotional needs. This will continue to be updated as more helpful resources are added or rotated. Please reach out to Todd Byrne, [email protected], if you have any suggestions or feedback for improvement for our families and students.
Have a great week, MRHE!
-Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
january 4-8
Welcome back, everyone! We hope that you were able to find time for self-care and and enjoy the short time away from school. We’re excited to see what 2021 has planned for MRHE and our students! From our Social/Emotional and Counseling team, we will continue to share mindful tips and activities to practice with your child(ren). We will also continue to be available through Zoom and ItsLearning if your child would like to check-in. They can do so through our Wellness Check-In Form.
This week, we encourage you to share with your child a strategy called “Object Awareness”.
-Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
This week, we encourage you to share with your child a strategy called “Object Awareness”.
- Placing a small object in your hand, like a pencil, stone, or stress ball, close your eyes and really notice how it feels to your touch. Focus on how heavy or light it is, on its texture, shape, and temperature. Spend a few moments placing your full attention on this experience.
-Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
December 21-22
Hi everyone! Last week, we parted with a message about reframing our thoughts and practicing flexibility and kindness to ourselves for the upcoming winter break. Practice this daily! We also recognize that these next few weeks can mean many different things for our families, some of them great and some of them difficult. Know that our MRHE team cares for you all and will be here to support your children when we return.
Some thoughts to consider for your children as we transition to winter break:
We wish everyone a safe and happy winter break! See you in 2021!
-Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
Some thoughts to consider for your children as we transition to winter break:
- Maintain a daily schedule and setting limits (i.e. meal time(s), monitoring screen time).
- Set time aside to check-in with your child, whether it is 5 minutes to talk about their interests and feelings and/or exploring a family activity together.
- Introduce a mindfulness series (this is an excellent time to start!) - there are tons of great resources to teach yoga and deep breathing. Here is one site I have enjoyed so far: AloGives.
We wish everyone a safe and happy winter break! See you in 2021!
-Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
December 14-18
Hi everyone! One more full week (and two days) until winter break! With the many changes in our current COVID-19 environment, many families are making decisions based on what is best for their respective families over the next several weeks. Some of these decisions can be exciting and joyous, but many can also be extremely stressful and difficult for our children (and adults!) to understand. Please continue to be kind to yourselves and know you are doing the best you can!
Inevitably, there may be some difficult conversations when plans need to be changed. This is an excellent time to practice flexibility and patience with one another. The following activity, Mind Flex, reminds us of the power of reframing our thoughts and words. As we engage in conversations with one another, let’s be mindful that our words and our childrens’ words have the power to reframe the situation for the better and to persevere. This is an excellent time to practice!
If you have any concerns or worries for your child(ren), please feel free to reach out to your MRHE Social/Emotional and Counseling team or student’s teacher. You can also encourage your child to fill our counseling team’s check-in form here: Wellness Check-In. We will follow up as soon we can.
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
Inevitably, there may be some difficult conversations when plans need to be changed. This is an excellent time to practice flexibility and patience with one another. The following activity, Mind Flex, reminds us of the power of reframing our thoughts and words. As we engage in conversations with one another, let’s be mindful that our words and our childrens’ words have the power to reframe the situation for the better and to persevere. This is an excellent time to practice!
If you have any concerns or worries for your child(ren), please feel free to reach out to your MRHE Social/Emotional and Counseling team or student’s teacher. You can also encourage your child to fill our counseling team’s check-in form here: Wellness Check-In. We will follow up as soon we can.
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
December 7-11
Hi everyone! It’s hard to believe that December is here. This time of year naturally brings out thoughts of introspection as we reflect on our 2020 year. It has been a myriad of emotions and changes, but here is one constant - we’re here for you and our MRHE students! Parents, you are doing an amazing job!
As we continue to work with your child(ren), teaching mindfulness strategies will be a priority to help each other manage our changing emotions. We do this to practice grounding ourselves in the present moment and balance our emotions. Give this following activity a try - Scribble Story. This is a wonderful strategy to encourage your child’s imagination and creativity. It can also be used to spark a conversation to check-in with your child as well.
If you have any concerns or worries for your child(ren), please feel free to reach out to your MRHE Social/Emotional and Counseling team or student’s teacher. You can also encourage your child to fill our counseling team’s check-in form here: Wellness Check-In. We will follow up as soon we can.
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
As we continue to work with your child(ren), teaching mindfulness strategies will be a priority to help each other manage our changing emotions. We do this to practice grounding ourselves in the present moment and balance our emotions. Give this following activity a try - Scribble Story. This is a wonderful strategy to encourage your child’s imagination and creativity. It can also be used to spark a conversation to check-in with your child as well.
If you have any concerns or worries for your child(ren), please feel free to reach out to your MRHE Social/Emotional and Counseling team or student’s teacher. You can also encourage your child to fill our counseling team’s check-in form here: Wellness Check-In. We will follow up as soon we can.
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
November 9-13
Hi everyone! We hope everyone enjoyed the warmer weather over the past week. As we get ready to shift into the colder months, we also want to acknowledge that many of our families will be home inside much more. In our conversations with the American Red Cross, we learned that our communities are seeing a rise in home fires this year and demonstrating an urgent need to learn about disaster preparedness and safety tips. So over the next week your child(ren) will have the opportunity during the daily morning broadcast to hear from Karla, a Disaster Program Specialist with the American Red Cross about the Pillowcase Project. She will introduce conversations about creating a home escape plan in case of a fire, reviewing your smoke alarms, tornado safety, coping skills, and creating a supply kit. We would love for you to participate in these conversations with your child(ren)!
Along the way, if you would like to inquire about installing smoke alarms, picking up a pillowcase from the American Red Cross, and/or getting access to a hard copy of the Pillowcase Project workbook - please reach out to Todd Byrne
@[email protected] and he will be happy to connect you to Karla!
As always, if you are ever concerned or worried for your child(ren), please do not hesitate to reach out to your MRHE Social/Emotional and Counseling team or student's teacher. We are better together!
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
Along the way, if you would like to inquire about installing smoke alarms, picking up a pillowcase from the American Red Cross, and/or getting access to a hard copy of the Pillowcase Project workbook - please reach out to Todd Byrne
@[email protected] and he will be happy to connect you to Karla!
As always, if you are ever concerned or worried for your child(ren), please do not hesitate to reach out to your MRHE Social/Emotional and Counseling team or student's teacher. We are better together!
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
October 26-30
Hi everyone! A spooky weekend is right around the corner and it marks almost two months of virtual learning for our MRHE students. Take a minute to take a deep breath and give yourself a moment of grace. Your child has by now learned how to navigate ItsLearning, Zoom, and many other virtual platforms on top of balancing asynchronous and synchronous learning. That is an accomplishment worth celebrating (if there are still challenges, that's okay! We are still learning and growing together!) Parents, you are doing AMAZING!
As we think about what the rest of the semester looks like, continue to check-in with your child(ren) about what is working well for them and what isn't. If they are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or any other uncomfortable feelings, this could also be a great time to model mindfulness strategies such as this - the 5,4,3,2,1 Grounding technique. Give it a shot and learn it with your child(ren). The more we practice mindfulness, the more resilient our minds become!
As always, if you are ever concerned or worried for your child(ren), please do not hesitate to reach out to your MRHE Social/Emotional and Counseling team or student's teacher. We are better together!
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
As we think about what the rest of the semester looks like, continue to check-in with your child(ren) about what is working well for them and what isn't. If they are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or any other uncomfortable feelings, this could also be a great time to model mindfulness strategies such as this - the 5,4,3,2,1 Grounding technique. Give it a shot and learn it with your child(ren). The more we practice mindfulness, the more resilient our minds become!
As always, if you are ever concerned or worried for your child(ren), please do not hesitate to reach out to your MRHE Social/Emotional and Counseling team or student's teacher. We are better together!
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
october 19-23
Hi everyone! October is our National Bullying Prevention Month where we raise awareness on bullying. Bullying can be a scary experience for our students and, unfortunately, it can be really hard to ask for help. Our MRHE team is committed to supporting your child(ren) to prevent and respond to bullying. Despite the unique environment we are in, our MRHE community can play a huge part in teaching this awareness. Here are a few tips from StopBullying.gov :
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
- Help our kids understand bullying - what does bullying look like? How can our kids respond safely and get help? These conversations help!
- Communicate often! Listen often! Use your one-on-one time with your child to ask about school, their friends, and work to understand their concerns.
- Encourage your kids! Our MRHE students are so talented, unique, and wonderful in our community - support them in their quest to find healthy interests.
- Model the Golden Rule! We have the best parents in our community and our kids learn from you every day!
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
october 5-9
Hi everyone! We miss our MRHE families and students! Over the past month, our Social/Emotional and Counseling team has been visiting Zoom classrooms and checking-in with all students. We have been so proud of your student's ability to persevere and adapt to this unique semester.
We would like to remind our students that they are welcome to fill out the Wellness Form located in their ItsLearning Guidance course (available to Virtual Academy students, too). Please feel free to use this form to reach out to our team for scheduling individual student check-ins or to let us know if you have any worries or concerns for your child.
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert
We would like to remind our students that they are welcome to fill out the Wellness Form located in their ItsLearning Guidance course (available to Virtual Academy students, too). Please feel free to use this form to reach out to our team for scheduling individual student check-ins or to let us know if you have any worries or concerns for your child.
- Mr. Byrne, Mrs. Thomas, & Mrs. Wiegert