Monday Moanin Thoughts #333 It’s A New School Year, Your Students May Be Anxious

Happy late August 2019 Monday Moanin to all of you. For many of you in the Midwest your initial staff meetings will be this week while some of you have already started the 2019-20 school year. Usually your opening meeting focuses on your staff and celebrating their return and welcoming your new members. This is so essential to getting the new year off to a positive start and setting a tone for good things to happen. It is also equally important  for all of the staff to be prepared for their students and what they may be experiencing as they arrive for the beginning of school. I recently read an article about what students and families may be feeling as they transition from summer mode to school mode. It may be helpful to share with staff as they prepare to  greet their students and families. In the article from APA.org, Psychologist Lynn Bufka shares;

“The end of summer and the beginning of a new school year can be a stressful time for parents and children. While trying to manage work and the household, parents can sometimes overlook their children’s feelings of nervousness or anxiety as school begins. Working with your children to build resilience and manage their emotions can be beneficial for the psychological health of the whole family.”

The theme of the article is to help parents as they prepare for the transition to a new school year. However, as educators we can use some of the same strategies in our classrooms. The article includes suggestions on routines,  simply talking to your child, empathizing with them, and being able to ask for help.  It certainly is critical that as educators we look through the lens of our students and their families to help make the new year be less stressful. The link to the article is below;

https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/school-rush

Have a great opening and pay attention to your students. They will need your help!