Week 6/1-6/5

Joyful June

Happy June, Grizzlies! Check out this Action Calendar: Joyful June to help us look for what's good even in difficult times:

Wellness Focus: Healthy Living
Childhood obesity affects children's physical health, including increased rates of asthma, sleep apnea, bone and joint problems, Type 2 diabetes, and risk factors for heart disease. Psychological functioning may also be affected, including depression, lower self-esteem, bullying victimization, and social isolation. 

Factors that contribute to obesity include: 

1. Biology: genetics and metabolism
2. Behavior: eating, drinking, and physical activity
3. Environment: the communities where children live, learn, and play

Click here for more information regarding Healthy Living. In addition, please watch Prince Ea's "A Message From Your Body" which discusses how to destress and take care of you below: 

Our District has developed a Wellness Policy that is focused on improving the health of students. The policy was developed by the Wellness Committee, which includes teachers and administrators of various departments. The Wellness Committee has a goal to expand to both students and parents in the future with the following goals:

1. Increase participation in the school breakfast program by five percentage points.
2. Study the impact, through the Curriculum Council, of offering a formalized health course at each high school.
3. Increase the percentage of students in the “Healthy Fitness Zone” on the Physical Fitness Test for 5th, 7th, and 9th by 5 percentage points.
4. Increase the number of students who show growth in one or more areas on the Physical Fitness Test given tri-annually to 50 percent. 
5. Increase the number of students participating in extracurricular physical activity as measured by a question on the School Effectiveness Survey.

In addition, children will be able to receive food from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. each weekday during closures at the following schools:

• Fairview Elementary - 830 1st Street, Fairfield
• Grange Middle - 1975 Blossom Ave, Fairfield
• Suisun Elementary - 725 Golden Eye Way, Suisun City

You can also click here for more food resources. 

App Spotlight: MyFitnessPal

Click here for MyFitnessPal (Apple and Google Play). MyFitnessPal helps you to achieve your goals whether you want to lose weight, tone up, get healthy, change your habits, or start a new diet.  Also, check out "How Exercise Makes you Smarter and a Better Student" by Med School Insiders which discusses the benefits of self-discipline and self-regulatory behavior:

Week 5/25-5/29

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Grizzlies!

I hope you are enjoying this long weekend--remember, there are no classes on Monday, May 25. Last week, we had our first Wellness Week, albeit virtual, and I hope you enjoyed the topics, learned a lot, and most importantly realized that #MentalHealthMatters and #MentalHealthAwareness helps to fight the stigma. 

Wellness Focus: LGBTQIA+
As a Grizzly, it is important to remember the following:

1. BE RESPECTFUL. Treat Everyone with Respect: Refuse to discriminate and celebrate differences.
2. BE RESPONSIBLE. Stand Up for Others: Speak up if you hear hate speech and spread positivity. 
3. BE SAFE. Speak Up If You’re Not Feeling Accepted: Talk about how you are feeling with a trusted adult!

The It Gets Better Project is a nonprofit organization with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth around the globe. Growing up isn’t easy, especially when you are trying to affirm and assert your sexual orientation and/or gender identity. It can be a challenging and isolating process – but, the good news is, no one has to do it alone. Click here to watch one or more of the 60,000 stories that are shared with It Gets Better, along with our original content series! They hope the diversity of the community inspires and empowers you because you are not alone!

Next month is Pride Month! Pride Month is celebrated every June in tribute to those involved in the Stonewall Riots. Click here to read about the Stonewall Riots and click here to watch "How the Stonewall Riots Sparked a Movement."

San Francisco will celebrate its 50th Pride (#Pride50) on June 27 and 28th virtually this year. Click here to check out their website to learn more about their "Generations of Hope" theme this year.

App Spotlight: Happify

Click here for Happify (Apple and Google Play). Happify helps you to overcome negative thoughts, stress, and life’s challenges by breaking old patterns and forming new habits. According to Happify, there are "6 Skills That Will Increase Your Well-Being":

1. Savor: Practice being mindful and noticing the good around you
2. Thank: Being appreciative
3. Aspire: Feelings of hope, sense of purpose, and being optimistic
4. Give: Giving creates happiness for both the giver and the receiver
5. Empathize: Caring about others
6. Revive: Physical health and wellness, including eating, exercising, and sleeping

Click here to watch "How to Be Happy", which explains what it means to be happy, and how to be happy by using the science of happiness:

Week 5/18-5/22

Virtual Wellness Week

Hey, Grizzlies! It is Virtual Wellness Week at Grange Middle School. In each of your core subject classes (English, Math, Science, History, and PE), you will learn about a wellness topic. You can also click here or check out the presentation below:

In addition, please make sure you check out the Grange Virtual Wellness Center--it has some awesome tools for you and your family to check out!

Wellness Focus: LGBTQIA+
In the United States, an estimated 3.2 million youth (ages 8-18) are LGBTQ. Among older youth, approximately 8% or 1.6 million youth (in grades 9-12) identify as LGB, and nearly 1% or 150,000 youth (ages 13-17) identify as transgender.

Click here for more information regarding LGBTQIA+. Check out this video "A Living History of the LGBT Movement Since the 1800s" that shares the history of the LGBTQ+ that honors the past, present, and future heroes of the LGBT movement:

In addition, please watch "Every Teenager NEEDS to Hear This" which shares the message that you are enough below: 

App Spotlight: Emotionary

Click here for the Emotionary app (Apple devices only). Another cool way to build emotional intelligence is to use the traditional feelings chart. These will not only help you come up with the right word to identify how you feel, but it will also build your emotional intelligence:

Check out the article "‘Feelings Wheel’ Will Help You Better Describe Your Emotions", which explains the wheel in more detail and its origin.

Week 5/11-5/15

Meaningful May

Hey, Grizzlies--Happy Mother's Day! I hope you are continuing to make this a Meaningful May and celebrating the amazing mothers in your life! Remember to check out the Action Calendar: Meaningful May:

Have you checked out the NEW Virtual Wellness Center?!?! It is pretty awesome and has some cool activities for you and your family to check out, and to make this May even more meaningful. From Sounds and Music to Animal Cameras to Workbooks, it is all there! Check it out and let me know what you think about it.

Wellness Focus: LGBTQIA+
School Supports for LGBTQIA+ Teens

• Adopt, implement, and enforce policies that protect students from harassment, violence, and discrimination for any reason
• Provide professional development opportunities to district staff and board members on issues affecting LGBTQIA+ students
• In accordance with the Equal Access Act, support the formation of extracurricular student-led clubs in middle and high schools

Teacher Supports for LGBTQIA+ Teens

• Encourage respect for the human and civil rights of all people, including those who are LGBTQIA+
• Designate a school staff member who is conversant in issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression
• Provide developmentally appropriate information about LGBTQIA+ issues
• Seek support and education for yourself

Home Supports for LGBTQIA+ Teens

• Love your child unconditionally
• Collaborate with school personnel to ensure that your child and family are supported appropriately
• Seek support and education for yourself
• Advocate for your child.

Click here for more information regarding LGBTQIA+. In addition, please watch "Advice for LGBTQ+ Teens" which shares general advice for LGBTQIA+ youth below: 

App Spotlight: Daylio Journal

Click here for the Daylio Journal app (Apple and Google Play). Another cool way to track your moods is to use tracking journals. In order to use a tracking journal, you must do the following: 1. Download and print the mood tracker; 2. Fill out the key with colors to correspond to moods or feelings. Some ideas of moods to track are: excited, happy, grateful, calm, angry, stressed, bored, worried, and exhausted; and, 3.  Color each day with your dominant feeling that day. Check out one of the following mood tracking journal pages or do a Google search to find one of your own:

Week 5/4-5/8

Happy May

Welcome to May, Grizzlies! Typically, May is filled with all kinds of assessments from CAASPP testing to MAP testing, but our "new normal" of distance learning means this will not happen this year. Whether you are disappointed or rejoicing, remember to continue to stay on top of your studies and assignments, read, and exercise! This will keep your mind, body, and soul happy and contribute to a Meaningful May! Check out this Action Calendar: Meaningful May:

Wellness Focus: LGBTQIA+

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, asexual and/or ally, along with all other sexualities, sexes, and genders that aren't included in these few letters, youth are among the most vulnerable individuals in schools, experiencing bullying and harassment at disproportionately high levels. In addition, there are significant stressors at home and in the community. This puts students at risk for negative mental health outcomes, reduced academic success, and diminished well-being throughout their lives. 

Click here for more information regarding LGBTQIA+. In addition, please watch GLAAD's "I Never Thought It Would Be OK To Be Me" which discusses how to show support for LGBTQIA+ youth below: 

To learn more about the acronym LGBTQIA+ in detail, please watch the following informative video "LGBT 101: An introduction to the Queer community" below:

In addition, click here for  LGBTQIA+ Support Lines. These toll-free lines are staffed by either trained LGBTQIA+ youth or adults, or by trained youth or adults that are LGBTQIA+ friendly. Below are the two most utilized by teens:

Trevor Project (ages 25 and under)
The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.
Number: (866) 488-7386
Click Here for the Website

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help-now/

LGBT National Youth Hotline (ages 23 and under)
​​Free and Confidential peer support for the LGBTQ and questioning community ages 25 and younger.
Mondays to Fridays from 1 pm – 9 pm PST
Saturday from 9 am – 2 pm PST
Number: (800) 246-7743
Click Here for the Website

App Spotlight: notOK

Click here for the not OK app (Apple and Google Play). You can also click here to meet the two teen developers that explain how and why they came up with the idea for the app: