Mindfulness in CVSD Schools

 

HCS students

Last year, the Champlain Valley School District announced that Inner Explorer was made available to our schools. Access to Inner Explorer comes at a critical time when supporting the mental health of students and adults in our buildings is a priority. 

This was made possible through a generous donation from Project Hoeppner. Sue and Joe Hoeppner, who established Project Hoeppner, see Inner Explorer as a research-based, school-family-community, plug-n-play solution to support kids. 

“We created Project HOePpnEr in response to our 17-year-old son Paul’s death by suicide. Initially, our goal was to prevent teen suicide by encouraging teens to ask for help. Unfortunately one of the things we realized is that help is hard to find. As we find ourselves further removed from Paul’s death, we realize that preventing teen suicide is more than identifying and addressing the crisis. It’s providing tools, teaching strategies, and creating habits that kids can access their whole lives. We see Inner Explorer as an important part of an overall strategy to promote health and wellness for kids.”

Tony Moulton, CSVD’s Director of Integrated Wellness, has been instrumental in working with Project Hoeppner and Inner Explorer to make this happen. 

“I am excited to have this evidence-based, easy-to-use tool for our students and families. We know that stress and anxiety have increased over the past year. The practice of mindfulness, when offered and applied in a structured, easily accessible format like Inner Explorer, has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety. This tool in the hands of our amazing teachers, educators, students, and families can help teach emotional regulation skills and build resilience. We are so grateful to the Hoeppners for this opportunity.”

CVSD schools have started to implement Inner Explorer and incorporate it into routines. Some of our educators using it were featured in a recent Inner Explorer blog post. 

We will share additional information and announcements about Inner Explorer soon as it rolls out to more classrooms and eventually to families for use at home. 

WCS educators

About Inner Explorer
Inner Explorer was developed in 2011 by mindful awareness teachers with more than 30 years of combined experience. Understanding the difficulty in developing a daily practice, Inner Explorer created a technology platform that delivers audio-guided practices to teachers and students. This gives them the opportunity to practice together - reducing stress, improving academic performance, and enhancing the school climate. This unprecedented offering simplifies the implementation of mindfulness in the classroom and supports the national initiative called 2-Generation Approach by bridging the classroom and home. Especially now – Inner Explorer encourages families to join in daily practices with their children, extending the wellbeing benefits into the community. www.InnerExplorer.org One-page Flyer: Why Mindfulness


About Project Hoeppner
Project HOePpnEr is a 501(c)3 organization invested in providing tools, teaching strategies, and practicing habits that kids can access their whole lives. Increasing awareness around the catastrophe that is teen suicide. Offering courage for teens to say "I need help" and for their loved ones to hear.

Wednesdays are for (Optional) Hikes!

Some educators in Williston have recently begun offering optional hikes on Wednesday afternoons to third and fourth graders. These take place in the afternoons after students have engaged in remote learning in the morning. Here's a brief report from PE teacher Lynn McClintock.


For the past 3 weeks we have been taking 3rd and 4th graders by house/team on walking and hiking adventures. The first 2 weeks we explored the Allen Brook Nature Trail in back of Williston Central School (WCS). Last week we took students from Kaleidoscope House on a hike up Five Tree Hill and down Sucker Brook Trail. What a BLAST!! We will be taking Equinox House this coming Wednesday and Mosaic House the Wednesday after that. What a life. It feels like such a smurftastic use of a Wednesday afternoon. Dustin King, Nadine Paffett-Lugassy, and me are on these adventures with Reba the therapy dog too.

I sent an invitation to each WCS third/fourth grade team with information about when it would be their turn and inviting them to come. It included a permission slip and the details for their parent/guardian. The kids have to get to school somehow. Once, I did pick up a student who wanted to go but had transportation issues. For the trip to Five Tree Hill, we all met at school. The bus dropped us off at Five Tree Hill. I called the bus driver when we were almost finished and she left school and picked us up at Sucker Brook. When we went to the Allen Brook Nature Trail everyone was invited and we were ready to take anyone who came. Close to 20 students joined us each time. For the Five Tree Hill hike, we put on the permission form that we had a limited number. We didn't reach that limit for the first hike. We had 20 and our cut off is 30. We are more likely to reach the limit on the next two trips because they are teams made up of four classes, so there are potentially more students that might be interested. This limit is a drawback because we believe that the more the merrier! We're just so happy we are doing something together and providing this opportunity for students to get outside and move.

Thank you, Lynn, Dustin, and Nadine, for making this possible. "Smurftastic" says it all!

Emotional Support Resources

We have faced many, many challenges since last March, things we never anticipated, and some that were compounded by the stresses of the pandemic. One of those is taking care of ourselves and our mental and emotional health. We must consider the toll that the pandemic is taking on all of us, adults and children alike. 

At last week's press conference with Governor Scott, Mental Health Commissioner Sarah Squirrell talked about the strain COVID-19 has placed on our daily lives. People are struggling with isolation, unemployment, financial pressure, housing and food challenges.

“My message to Vermonters today, is that you are not alone, it’s OK to not feel OK right now,” Squirrell said. “Do not be afraid to talk about it, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.” 

If you or someone you know is in crisis or needs emotional support, help is available 24/7:

• Call your local mental health crisis line.
• Text VT to 741741 to talk with someone at the Crisis Text Line.
• Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.  For more information visit healthvermont.gov/suicide.

• Visit our Coping With Stress web page.
• Get connected to Alcohol and Drug Support Services at VT Helplink.
• Get self-help tips and connect to mental health services at COVID Support VT.

Last week, CVSD's Director of Integrated Wellness, Tony Moulton, shared a 1-minute meditation exercise with faculty and staff. We thought we'd pass it along to others as well. 

1-Minute Resiliency Building Meditation

A. 10 seconds align posture: This does not require a quiet place. It can be done in a busy environment or a room where you are alone. Ideally it is done sitting but this can also be done standing. It is wonderful for waiting in a physically distanced line at the grocery store. First consider your posture. Straighten your back and neck, soften your shoulders, relax your jaw allowing a space to open between your teeth, and close your eyes if you are sitting and it feels comfortable to do so.

B. 50 seconds environment-awareness: Bring your awareness to the noises around you. Observe them without judgement or commentary. Move from one to the next with interest and curiosity. When your mind wanders, which it will, to thoughts and plans that might involve work, home or loved ones, gently invite your attention back to what you are hearing. Those sounds could include: conversations, the clattering of dishes, a fan from a heating system or your own stomach grumbling. Regarding conversations try not to focus on the words being said, but instead the sounds and tone being conveyed. Then gently move on to observe what other noises you can find in your environment.

C. Wrap Up: Take a few moments to reflect on what you heard. Take an inventory of the sounds that brought your attention back to the present moment and withdrew it from the stories, plans and internal dialogue we can all get lost in. Like other healthy habits, if you repeat this daily it will soon become a normal and welcome respite and will help build your resiliency.

Williston Teacher Wins Award

In recognition of inspirational teaching nationwide, Lyn Porter, a Physical Education teacher at Allen Brook School in Williston, has been named a recipient of the National University System-Sanford Teacher Award for Vermont on a surprise Zoom announcement.


Here's an excerpt from the press release:
Ms. Porter has taught Physical Education for three decades in the same school district. She has coached three sports at the middle school level, plays a role locally in setting standards for relicensure, and has been a leader in the Society for Health and Physical Education in the Eastern United States. She notes that social and emotional learning is more crucial than ever, because students do not spend as much time outdoors and lack opportunities to develop communications, negotiation, and problem-solving skills that came from playing hockey and sandlot games or building snow forts. To support this growth and teamwork, she purposefully organizes young people of mixed ability levels in small groups that encourage conversation and cooperation. She teaches students about the value of inclusion and being able to work with everyone. As the school year progresses, she organizes students into larger groups to help them become even more inclusive. Ms. Porter explains, “Listening and sharing also provides a great deal of learning. As a teacher I facilitate this learning but don't always drive the direction of the discussion. I also talk a lot about how the best athletes are not always the most skilled. They are the best athletes because they know how to make everyone on their team better.”

During a year of unprecedented challenges for teachers nationwide, the Sanford Teacher Award honors the top teacher in each state and the District of Columbia with $10,000 for supporting student development and achievement in inspirational and harmonious ways. The award was established in the name of philanthropist T. Denny Sanford, who is committed to supporting inspiring teaching nationwide through PreK-12 programs focused on developing the social and emotional (SEL) skills of young people. Each teacher recipient is now eligible to be named the national winner of the Sanford Teacher Award, which comes with a total award of $50,000 and will be announced at a future date.

Congratulations Lyn! 

School Counselor of the Year

We would like to extend our congratulations to Rachel Petraska, school counselor at Shelburne Community School. Rachel was selected to receive the James F. Crawley School Counselor of the Year Award from the Vermont School Counselor Association.

According to their website:

*The James F. Cawley Award*

Outstanding School Counselor of the Year so named in honor of the first recipient. It is presented in recognition of distinguished contributions to school counseling and acknowledge and honor those instrumental in bringing outstanding innovation's to the development of counseling in Vermont youth. Recognition criteria for nominating a school counselor for the James F. Cawley Award are as follows:

• The nominee must be a school counselor who is a current member of the Vermont School Counselor Association.
• The nominee must be currently employed as a full-time school counselor, in addition to practicing for more than five years in the field of school counseling.
• The nominee must hold a Master's Degree in school counseling.
• The nominee maintains high moral standards in the their personal and professional conduct.
• The nominee is responsible for school counseling innovations or further development of programs to support the academic, career and social/emotional development of all students.
• The nominee demonstrates leadership, advocacy and collaboration in their work promotes rigorous educational experiences for all students.

We are proud to share this news and thank Rachel for her many contributions to the students and families of SCS. 

Exciting Happenings at SCS on Wednesday!

We've noticed that there are many exciting things happening on Wednesday at SCS. 

First, Walking Wednesdays happens each week in October. Families and students are encouraged to meet at the parade grounds in the heart of Shelburne village to walk from there to school together. 

From the SCS blog, we learned that Ms. Stephanie’s First Graders helped prep this month’s Vermont Harvest of The Month taste test. They shredded a whole lot of kale, grated cheddar, and juiced lemons for the dressing. The taste test will be a kale and cheese salad and will be available for sampling to all students on Wednesday during lunch periods.

Thank you to Shelburne Farms for donating the cheese, the parent volunteers and Becky Mashak and her cafeteria staff for making this happen.The kale comes from Vermont’s Lewis Creek Farm and any retrieved caterpillars have been lovingly moved to the stem buckets by the 1st grade caterpillar experts. It appears that wellness is on the menu tomorrow in Shelburne! 

A Rockstar Among Us

The CVSD Central Office is fortunate to have Betsey Sessions leading the way and inspiring wellness in all. Here's a great article outlining some of the ways in which Betsey shares her talents and passions. She truly is a rockstar!