Coronavirus Break, Day 1

Dear Parents,
"We are living in unprecedented times!" I bet you have been hearing this phrase a lot, lately. What our community, country, and world are going through right now is just...surreal. It's hard to believe this is all happening. It's confusing and scary and packed with a whole lot of uncertainty. No one who is alive now has been through anything like this. If you're like me, you've probably got a lot of thoughts swimming through your head, so let's break them down.

Here's what we know so far:

  • There's a brand new virus that's got some scary symptoms that's going around the entire planet.
  • There are some cases of this virus in the United States, including in Illinois.
  • Illinois Governor Pritzker has ordered public and private K-12 schools to close from March 17-30, in hopes of slowing the spread of the illness.
As of now, here's what we're doing to move forward:
  • Pekin Public School Dist. 108 is closing school March 17-30 to follow Gov. Pritzker's directive.
  • Pekin PSD 108 will be provide remote learning packets to students to help keep students' brains sharp. 
  • I, Mrs. Heilman, will try to post more frequently on this blog about how to handle the anxiety of all that's going on and activities that students can do while at home.
In search of a resource that would be helpful for parents in explaining to kids all that's happening, I found this video, which was created and posted by one of my favorite school counseling bloggers. Check it out: Talk to Kids About Coronavirus


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Responsive Classroom

For the past few years, Pekin Public School District 108 has been gradually implementing the practices of Responsive Classroom to bolster social-emotional skills and academic learning.  "Responsive Classroom  is a student-centered, social and emotional learning approach to teaching and discipline. It is comprised of a set of research, and evidence-based practices designed to create safe, joyful, and engaging classroom and school communities for both students and teachers." - from responsiveclassroom.org  You many not have heard of it because we often refer to the different parts of Responsive Classroom or we just work them into the day. The students probably won't hear us talk about Responsive Classroom directly. What you may hear about is Morning Meeting, Quiet Time, or Closing Circle, all things that we do to build community and transition to different parts of the school day. Each school and each classroom implements Responsive Classroom differently. Ther
Read more

Identifying and Diagnosing ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that is discussed in may schools and in many classrooms. Many parents and teachers wonder if a child, who can't seem to sit still or pay attention in class, has ADHD. It's a delicate topic between parents and their children's teachers, especially at the primary age because normal behaviors for these young children can look like behaviors seen with children who have an ADHD diagnosis. Honestly, it can be hard to tell the difference between normal social-emotional development, delayed social-emotional development, and ADHD. Today, I want to connect you  to information that will help you understand ADHD and the behaviors of the children who have it.  Because ADHD is such a complex disorder this blog entry will cover identifying ADHD and how it's diagnosed. Statistics from the Center of Disease Control (CDC) In 2016: Approximately 9.4% of children 2-17 years of age (6.1 million) had ever been diagnosed
Read more

Catching some Zzzzzz's

Image
Sleep and Your Student's Behavior One of the Cardinal Rules at CB Smith is "Do your best learning." Both Starke and Willow have a rule about taking care of ourselves. One very important way we can do our best learning and  tkae care of ourselves is to get a good night's sleep. Good sleep habits, or sleep hygiene, can help us bring our "A Game" to school. Not enough sleep for our students can lead to learning difficulties, thorny behavior problems, and mood managing issues. Teachers and support staff have often noticed that individual students struggle more with choose good behaviors on days when they don't get a good night's sleep. (The day after Halloween is universally difficult at school.) Sometimes, we suspect that chronic thorny behaviors are a result of poor sleep or not enough sleep over many days and/or weeks. To help your student get a good night's sleep throughout the school year, follow these tips. Tips for Good Sleep Habit
Read more