Generation Wellness Announcements, Resources, and Spotlights

Rebecca Wenrich is an English Teacher at an Alternative High School who created a class focused on learning and practicing mindfulness in 2022.

In this episode of the GW Spotlight, Rebecca shares her insights about developing this class in hopes to inspire you and your school to implement simple tools for less stress and more success. Click play to watch the video which highlights:

• Why this class was created
• How this class was planned and launched in less than one month
• What Rebecca experienced in the first few weeks of the class
• The hardest part of creating/facilitating this class
• The highlight of creating/facilitating this class

With all of the uncertainty and constant change over the last few years, focusing on learning and practicing mindfulness and wellness in all PK-12 classes is needed more than ever. Rebecca shows us that this is possible at all levels, all subjects, everywhere.

Thank you for your...

QUOTABLE: "Childhood self-control predicts physical health, personal wealth and public safety. Self-control is more important than intelligence and social class."

This TED Talk walks through the benefits of teaching mindfulness to our students and challenges the idea of why we don't do it more often. Our focus is often on the test scores, the quality of a paper, or the ability to spell properly. The skills underneath all of those standards can be achieved through mindfulness.  Mindfulness is the foundation of all learning, it is teaching others how to pay attention, focus, attain to a task, and retain information. In turn, these skills will help students accomplish those academic tasks, and become more successful adults.

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yJPcdiLEkI

Morning Meetings are a great way to kick off the school day with success... building community, setting intentions, and preparing the brain for learning.

In this episode of the Generation Wellness Spotlight, you will:

- Understand "the why" of Morning Meetings.

- Hear how this school in Eatonville, WA begins each morning together (yes, ALL students and staff in the gym).

- Learn ideas and specific strategies for implementing successful Morning Meetings. 

For more information about Anne Malver (School Counselor in Eatonville School District) and her new book, click here.

The Generation Wellness Spotlight highlights educators around the world who have attended the Generation Wellness training. We believe in sharing the good work that our #wellnesswarriors are doing to create a better school, community, and world. If you have a story you would like to share, email us at: [email protected].

Surrounded by poverty and escalating violence, a San Francisco middle school committed to peace and embraced a program of meditation that has made students feel safer, teachers more productive, and brought unity and purpose to the school.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9-phWL8t08&feature=youtu.be

Wellness Warrior Spotlight

Name: Mallory Neuman
Occupation: High School Counselor

What skills have you focused on teaching this year?
Self-regulation and stress relief through guided relaxations and breathing exercises.

Working in a high school is busy and it seems there's a never ending to do list of standards to meet, tests and work/college to prep for and constant activities, assemblies and events. How is there time to teach these skills to ALL student at West Seattle High School?
As a high school counselor, you have to make time.  I’ll usually start a classroom lesson with a few minutes of deep breathing, before we get into the content.  We’ve also built lessons into our school-wide advisory curriculum, so even though I’m not personally delivering the lessons the students are learning about the benefits of mindfulness. Finally, I’ll work with departments who already understand the need for SEL and mindfulness (PE and World Language at the moment)...

The beginning of the school year is often an exciting time filled with decorating classrooms, collaborating with staff, meeting families, and more. Many schools and districts are also planning for daily practices that combat stress and innovative interventions that actually teach skills. Why? Take a look at these sobering statistics:

• Stress is the number one cause of disease in America. 3 out of every 4 doctor visits are because of stress. At the core, stress is America’s #1 Health Problem.
• More than two thirds of children in the U.S. report experiencing a traumatic event by age 16.
• Stress and trauma impact school performance. Research shows that students who experience chronic stress and trauma have a lower GPA, higher rate of absenteeism, increased dropouts, increased suspension/expulsion, and decreased reading ability.
• Suspensions drastically increase the chance of students dropping out, which increases their chance of going to prison. In fact, our...

This is the year of HAPPINESS in Dubai. Yes the year of Happiness! 

"We must achieve happiness for the community through government work. This is what the Executive Council's annual agenda will focus on, to ease people's lives and provide the best services, which will provide with them a dignified living and preserve Dubai's standing as a modern international city that promotes modernity while maintaining its cultural and social traditions," Sheikh Hamdan commented with regards to Dubai's overall success, which is a source of inspiration to other cities around the world.”

It was such a great experience observing an emphasis on happiness and well-being woven throughout communities and schools. We had a fabulous time teaching the five Happiness Habits, along with some stress-less techniques and connection activities.

"When you give in service to other people, you end up being happier yourself." 

Daniel Siegel, MD, is Clinical Professor of psychiatry at UCLA, Co-Director of Mindful Awareness Research Center, Executive Director of Mindsight Institute, author, and recipient of numerous awards and honorary fellowships. This talk examines how relationships and reflection support the development of resilience in children and how to incorporate some of his ideas and models into your practice.