Blog Archives

STAFF HIGHLIGHT: Stacey Buenavista

9/29/2021

Name: Stacey Buenavista
Position: Assistant Director, MAC SELPA Program
What led you to your current position? During my career at Seneca, I’ve held many different positions: Mental Health Counselor, Milieu Supervisor and Crisis Intervention Specialist. I enjoyed those roles because I was able to directly support the students in achieving their goals. I love being on the public school’s campuses supporting the students during their elementary, middle, and high school years. I was hesitant to apply for the Assistant Director position because I felt like the job would take me out of the classroom and away from the students. Luckily, I had a great support system within Seneca, and I had many conversations with my team about how I could still support the kids while being an Assistant Director. Three years into being an Assistant Director, I love my job and I still get to see the kids on a daily basis.

What inspires you to do this work? My inspiration to do this work comes from seeing the students smile and hearing them laugh even though they may be dealing with difficult times in their lives.
What is a recent highlight you’ve experienced in the work or an important lesson you’ve learned in this role? The most recent highlight has been seeing and hearing about students I worked with in elementary and middle succeeding in high school. One student is on the High School football team, and another is on track to graduate at the end of the school year.
Share your life motto or something unique about yourself: “When you learn, teach. When you get, give” – Maya Angelou

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Confidence 4 Kids

9/28/2021

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As a parent and educator, I’ve come to learn firsthand how interconnected confidence and self-esteem are to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health of kids. Confidence and self-esteem are important foundational skills that support kids on their journey’s to a lifetime of mental health and social happiness.

For kids, self-esteem translates to how much they value themselves and their abilities, how much they believe they are valued in the world around them, and how good they actually feel about themselves. When you add in a layer of self-confidence, it adds extra tools into their toolboxes to help them be resilient, handle setbacks, learn from their mistakes, take chances, and try again! All great ingredients for a happy, healthy, successful life.

Some things to note about confident kids with positive Self-Esteem:
They are more likely to succeed in school and achieve personal goals.
They feel confident and capable in themselves and their abilities.
They are proud of the things they can do and want to try their best.
They have a sense of control over things in their life.
They can act independently.
They are able to take responsibility for their actions.
They are comfortable and secure in forming relationships.
They have the courage to make good decisions in various situations.
They try new things and master new skills.
And the list goes on…

Considering how important it is for kids to be confident and have positive self-esteem, I wanted to share some things to consider, which also includes some resources on various ways to support kids in boosting their confidence and self-esteem. With school in full swing, now is a good time to add some of these strategies into our parent and educator toolboxes, as I’m sure things will happen and opportunities for this type of engagement will arise.

Check out this collection of self-esteem building articles, activity ideas, and more!

If you have any other cool resources to share, please add them in the comments section below!

Blog Post Written By: Toshia Mears, Executive Director of School Partnerships

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Welcome Back with Wellness and Resilience

9/20/2021

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We hope you all had a restful summer filled with restorative activities. This welcome back edition is highlighting ways to support students, families, and yourselves with the transition back to in-person learning. As always, please reach out to your site's Seneca therapist if you need any support with school readiness and SEL strategies.

Information in this newsletter is informed by The Alliance for a Healthier Generation and resources from Kaiser Permanente's Thriving Schools RISE Initiative.

We recognize there are a lot of emotions right now as sites are welcoming students back to campus. Transitions are difficult for kids and adults. We need to practice patience and extend grace to ourselves and others during the first few months of school. Here are some tips to support with the transition back to campus:

• Validate the adjustment period: Being on campus and seeing people face-to-face will be disorienting--for students and staff alike! Some students may have a more difficult time adjusting and that is okay. Be ready to repeat the agenda, directions, COVID protocols, and other important announcements multiple times.
• Everyone will be experiencing some level of anxiety: Staff and students are stressed about safety protocols. Some students may experience separation anxiety from being away from their caregiver. All of us are adjusting to the return to campus. Incorporate calming rituals and routines, such as mindful moments and brain breaks, into the agenda.
• Focus on cultivating relationships: All students, even those who were most engaged with distance learning, need to feel they belong in your classroom and are safe. Allow for opportunities to hear from each student and for connection.
• Increase self-care practices throughout the day: You will be tired during this adjustment period. Remember to take care of yourself!
• Highlight moments of joy: Be on the lookout for acts of kindness by students. Write down things that made you laugh during the day. Practice gratitude at the end of the day.

• Get up and stretch!
• Close your eyes: You may not be able to actually take a break from your surroundings but allow your brain to take a little “mini-vacation” by thinking about a calming scene or destination.
• Gratitude: Change your focus to the positive by being grateful for something in this moment.
• Breathe: Stop what you’re doing and take a deep breath. Do not underestimate the power of a deep breath.
• Mindful eating: take a second to focus on different textures and flavors as you snack/eat.
• Technology time-out: Set a timer for 30 seconds, turn off all technology and sit in silence. This may be difficult at first and that's okay.

What are some of your favorite one-minute self-care strategies?

From Greater Good in Education: "A mindfulness practice that helps you to envision a sense of deep well-being, extend loving-kindness to yourself, and imagine how you might “show up” in the world—with greater compassion and openness."

This practice is 9 minutes long. Incorporate this practice as many times as you need during the week. Challenge yourself to try it at least one time and notice how you feel afterwards.

Click Here: Meditation for Imagining Flourishing and Kindness Audio

Conflicts in the classroom can be really stressful moments for not only those involved in the conflict, but for those observing the conflict. When our brains notice a conflict, it goes into that flight-fight-freeze response. The RELATE Model is one strategy you can incorporate in your classroom to help students regulate, stay calm, minimize punitive disciplinary measures, and ensure everyone feels safe to continue learning.

Regulate: Calm your emotions first. You cannot support a student with regulation until you are regulated. Take deep breaths, count to 5, get grounded before responding. (For students: have them step outside and take deep breaths, get some water, model co-regulation to help them get grounded).
Extend: Invite the student to talk about the situation. If they are not ready yet, let them know you will be available when they are ready in a non-judgmental tone.
Listen: Let the student share without interruption what happened and what they are thinking or feeling. Affirm what they share and use active listening skills. Use reflective statements like "This is what I hear you saying:___" to check for accuracy.
Articulate: When it is your turn to share, keep it impact focused. (Ex: "I am worried that:___"). Do not shame, embarrass, or gaslight the student for their behavior.
Talk It Out: Work together to find a mutual understanding of what happened. Remember, you don’t have to agree on everything. The goal is to find understanding.
Emerge: Decide together how you will emerge from this. What is your path forward? Identify concrete action steps, such as agreeing to leave any negative feelings behind, establishing boundaries, or making a plan to prevent this conflict from happening again in the future.

**If the conflict involved multiple students, this model can be used as part of a restorative justice circle. Ask a colleague to support in the facilitation of the space.

Blog Post Written By: Amber Keil, Outpatient Therapist, Mosaic Outpatient Program

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Rising Into the New School Year in Stride

9/10/2021

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Welcome back to the new school year! I couldn’t be more thrilled to launch into a year of in-person learning after our year of separation. While I know that this transition will be anything but predictable as we implement strict procedures for quarantine in order maintain the health and safety of our communities, it still comes with a great deal of relief that we have entered this year together. Our journey over the past eighteen months has been a tremendous one. I first and foremost want to give a big THANK YOU to all our staff, school partners and families. I want to acknowledge all that we have collectively endured and know that we all have experienced varying levels of loss that, for some of us, was quite profound. I have been humbled to witness the tremendous levels of ingenuity and perseverance across our community. So often, we have needed to call upon one of the most important interventions in our Seneca toolbox – the intentional cultivation of HOPE and persistence even in the face of immense challenge. I also know that in this past year, I have been fueled by the support of our extended Seneca Family and found purpose in our shared commitment to this work for the students and families we serve.

If nothing else, this past year has challenged many of our assumptions about education and schools, and we have done some incredible learning together. I hope that as we enter this new year, we can take some of those learnings with us to create schools that truly serve all students.

Leveraging Technology for Connection - While we are all tired of connecting only virtually, there are many ways in which we have learned to use technology to bring us closer together. Whether it’s connecting with colleagues in other geographic locations, or with clients and families in the comfort and convenience of their own homes, video technology will continue to allow us additional flexibility for collaboration and support.
The Central Role of Families – In our move to distance learning, families became increasingly central and connected to what was happening at school, and educators and practitioners have had a new insight into the lives of their students. This mutual awareness can continue to support children’s wholistic experience between home and school and increase accountability between schools and the families they serve.
Real Individualization – While many students struggled with pandemic learning, some students actually did better with new models that promoted greater flexibility and individualization. We can continue to challenge the notion of what “school” should look like to best meet the varied learning and social emotional needs of students.
Community Wellness - For the first time, we are having a real conversation on the wellness of whole school communities, including the adults within them. As a nation we have begun to reckon more broadly with racial and socioeconomic inequities upheld by our public institutions, and the ways in which community wellness interplays with systemic power, particularly along the lines of race and class. We must continue to address how both individual actions and systemic change are ongoing and build schools that engage in anti-racism work alongside a full and complete cultivation of JOY.

While we have returned to school, largely in person, the pandemic and its impacts are far from over. To provide healing spaces for students, school professionals need emotionally attuned communities and support in implementing practices that promote personal sustainability. School partner, Kyndal Easter offers these tips for administrators on How to Build Emotional Support for Teachers. In the year ahead, emphasis on wellbeing and connection will be paramount as we build on what we have learned to create schools where all students are truly welcome and can thrive.

Best wishes for a safe and happy launch to the school year and beyond!

Blog Post Written By: Robin Detterman, Chief Program Officer, Education Services

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STAFF HIGHLIGHT: Stacey Buenavista

Confidence 4 Kids

Welcome Back with Wellness and Resilience

Rising Into the New School Year in Stride

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