Mead Middle School Weekly Update:
Year End Information:
8th Grade Continuation
May 25, 2016 at 5:30
Reminder that all fees, fines and overdue library books need to be taken care of before they can participate in continuation.
Lunch Money:
The last day for students to borrow lunch money from the office was today. Please check your student’s lunch account as we have many kids who owe money.
Yearbooks:
YEARBOOKS have arrived and will be distributed the afternoon of May 23. Hurry and buy yours now in the office for $37 before they sell out. They MUST be completely paid for before we can give them out.
Fees and Fines and Overdue Library Books:
Please make sure you have paid your child’s fees and fines. Failure to pay fees and fines could lead to your child missing out on some end of year activities.
May19th – iPads Collected and Library Books Due
On May 19th all iPads will be collected and all library books are due. If you know your child will be absent on this day please have them turn in these items prior to the 19th. If your child’s iPad is lost or damaged please report this to the school immediately. Do not wait until the 19th. The following links will provide specific information for 8th grade parents and for 6th and 7th grade parents.
Middle School Students at the Elementary:
Due to recent concerns around disruptions at Mead Elementary School, all middle school students need to remain off of the elementary campus until 3:30. After 3:30 any middle school student that needs to pick up a sibling at Mead Elementary School are welcome to wait for their sibling on the east side of the building. Middle school students are welcome to stay outside on the middle school campus until 3:30, however outside supervision is only provided until 3:00.
Transportation and Bus Pass Information:
Attached you will find a MS Word Document that reiterates to parents that student bus passes are required to be stored and kept in a safe place over the summer to avoid their loss, and the subsequent cost of a replacement pass. In addition, the letter also talks about the implementation of Zpass+, a notification system which sends time and location messages via phone text to parents when their student scans on and off the bus. This is a great program that provides another level of safety and security for the students of SVVSD. Parents are truly going to love this new functionality. The system is currently active and ready for parents to sign up for an account and begin receiving these valuable text notifications. Please get the word out!
Learning Technology Plan parent survey
Mead Middle School Summer Choir Camp
Open to all incoming 5th – 8th Grade Mead Students
Monday, August 8th through Wednesday, August 10th
9:00am – Noon
Please see the Flyer and fill out the Registration Form and return the registration to Mead Middle School Office by June 23rd.
Follow Mr. Barnett on Twitter:
@MeadBulldogs
Mead Middle School has a new and active Facebook page. Please like us on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/MeadMiddle
We do collect Box Tops for Education as well as Milk Caps from Longmont Dairy. Please turn those into the office.
Mead Middle School PAC News:
Hey Bulldogs,
-Apparel is available for ordering online at shop.fishesstreetwear.com. You can find a link to our school in the menu.
For Clubs and Athletics, please check out the calendar of upcoming events.
Kim’s Corner:
Counseling Corner with Kim Styles, LCSW
Mental Health Counselor, MMS
Anxiety and the Brain Part I: What’s up with all the anxiety?
As the mental health counselor, I hear more and more about this from students these days. What does this typically look like in our youth? And more importantly what can we do to help? We also need to reflect on how young people describe their experience, and help them provide the most accurate “labels”. Using the right language helps one figure out what they need to do to address the emotional state they are having.
There are different causes of anxiety and stress. The symptoms that students often report when they say they are feeling anxious are very similar. Physical symptoms such as stomachaches and headaches are pretty common, and may bring your student to the health office without realizing what is causing the symptoms in the first place. When students are feeling intense anxiety, they often report things like increased heart rate/pounding heart, trouble breathing, sweating, worrisome thoughts and sometimes dizziness or even loss of vision. Worrisome thoughts can “spin” in their heads, causing anxiety all on their own, and typically lead to physical symptoms.
When someone is experiencing anxiety, or an anxiety attack, the most important thing is for the person to calm down the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for things like heart rate and breathing. Often times, we may need to help guide and support someone through this process. Once the anxiety is reduced, it is easier to process through what may have led to the rise in anxiety in the first place.
There are many ways to reduce the intensity of the anxious thoughts as well as the physical symptoms. One of the most effective things to do is to slow one’s breathing, which in turn will alleviate symptoms like a racing or pounding heart. This can be done simply with focus on lengthening the duration of breath going in and out through the nose (in 1, 2, 3. Hold. Out 1, 2, 3). The intent is to lengthen each breath, while continuing to focus on ONLY the breath. Breath should fill the chest so you are able to see the chest rising and expanding. Using some sort of cadence can be helpful to keep time for the breath, such as gently patting one’s leg while counting or having someone count for you. Starting with about a 3 or 4 count is usually manageable for most people, and many can get up to counts of 8 or higher as their system restores to a calmer state. When one does this, it is amazing how quickly other systems in the body can return to a more comfortable state.
Practicing breathing exercises at a time when one is not experiencing anxiety helps to increase mastery over the skill. We often take breathing for granted, but we really do need to focus on it purposefully in order to increase its benefits for our mind and body. The simple act of breathing can be our simplest, easiest to use tool to reduce anxiety and stress…
Like the Anna Nalick song says….JUST BREATHE.
Next: Anxiety and the Brain Part II: How we can help our brain respond to stress, and how the movie Inside Out has helped youth understand brain chemistry.
Kim Styles is our Mental Health Counselor and Interventionist. Periodically she will be sharing information about mental health issues facing middle school age students.
Summer Science Opportunity:
Please see the flyer.
Please look at the district website for any flyers for sports, fundraisers, etc that are approved by the district. Here is the link to the flyers.