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A District That Celebrates

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COVID-19 WEBINAR RESOURCES FOR OUR SOMSD COMMUNITY

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From the Traumatic Loss Coalition of NJ…

On behalf of Nova Southeastern University’s College of Psychology, please join us for a series of COVID-19 webinars.  These informative webinars were created to assist you during this pandemic. We encourage you to share this announcement with family, friends, and colleagues.

Join us for Yappy Hour! BYOP (Bring Your Own Pet): The Benefits of the Human-Animal Bond During COVID-19
with Ariann Robino, Ph.D., LPC, NCC
Monday, April 27, 2020 | 5:30 P.M.
Register HERE

Coping with COVID-19: Mental Health Tips for Children and Families
with Scott Poland, Ed.D.
Tuesday, April 28, 2020 | 12:00 P.M.
Register HERE

School’s OUT… Why Social and Emotional Connectedness are More Essential than Ever
with Anna K. Owens, Ph.D.
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 | 2:00 P.M.
Register HERE

Responding to the Social-Emotional Needs of Youth in a COVID-19 World
with Peter Caproni, Ph.D. and Post-Doctoral Residents.
Thursday, April 30, 2020 | 12:00 P.M.
Register HERE

Humanitarian Outreach and Cultural Resiliency
with Stephen N. Campbell, Ph.D. and Oraib (Bibi) Toukhly, M.S., Clinical Psychology Doctoral Intern
Friday, May 1, 2020 | 12:00 P.M.
Register HERE

Suicide Prevention is Everyone’s Responsibility
with Scott Poland, Ed.D.
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 | 12:00 P.M.
Register HERE

Parents as Teachers: How to Keep Your Sanity
with Ralph E. (Gene) Cash, Ph.D., ABPP and Shannon Worton, Psy.D.
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 | 12:00 P.M.
Register HERE

We are excited to announce this rare opportunity never before seen or offered in the Nurtured Heart world.  18 Nurtured Heart Approach trainers from across the country in every time zone are volunteering their time to bring forth Powerful Pandemic Potion:  Heart-Centered Stress Relief ONLINE and FREE OF CHARGE to help people struggling with the stress of this pandemic.  We warmly and excitedly invite you to join us and share as you see fit.  Click here for the link for more information.

SOMSD Community Alert

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Dear SOMSD Community:
The South Orange Police Department (SOPD)  recently notified us of an incident that occurred late yesterday afternoon concerning a suspicious vehicle within the Tuxedo Park community area. They are currently investigating and no further information will be released until they are able to prove or disprove the report.  Pending their investigation, extra officers have been assigned to patrol the area as a precautionary measure.  Please know we take these situations very seriously. The safety of our students is always our absolute top priority. Once the investigation is completed and we have clearance from SOPD we will follow-up with more detailed communication.
South Orange & Maplewood School District

 

The Impact of Technology & Social Media on Growing Minds Event

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Key topics to be covered:

  •  Impact of Technology & Social Media on Children & Teens including:
  • The Latest Brain Science & Research Findings
  • What’s happening in the brain?  Is it really addicting?
  • Forward Thinking – How to set kids up for success
  • To Monitor or Not to Monitor, That is the Question
  • Apps to Keep Your Child Safe
  • Your Role as Parent – Like it, Tweet it, Pin it?
  • Creating a Healthy Balance for Your Child
Lauren has extensive experience working with children and their families. In addition to her work with Well Being Therapy Center, Lauren has worked in the non-profit sector where she supervised Bergen County’s Family Preservation Services to assist families in crisis utilizing a short-term, intensive therapy model.

Previously, Lauren was Co-Director of Omega Teen Camp, a division of the Omega Institute (the nation’s largest holistic education center). In this role she worked with more than 200 staff and teens to ensure the program was successful in providing a safe and supportive environment for adolescents to successfully manage life challenges.

PLEASE JOIN US FOR A WONDERFUL INFORMATIONAL PROGRAM!  

 

                                   

                                       

One Book One Grade Initiative for District 5th Graders

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One Book One GradeThe Parenting Center and Curriculum & Instruction department received a grant from the Achieve Foundation to fund a new initiative called, “One Book One Grade.” Since the start of January, 5th graders have been immersed in experiencing the memoir of Linda Blackmon Lowery, author of “Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom.” In this journey of “One Book, One Grade,” our students have been exploring the civil rights era through the experience of a 14-year-old who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to change American history.

Elementary-school librarians developed a study guide that pre-teaches the concepts and events of the Selma March. Working with fifth-grade language arts teachers, they have been unpacking the rich language and imagery derived from the book; ideas and thoughts generated from this experience are being explored in classroom discussions throughout January.

As a supplement, parents/guardians have received periodic updates and students were sent home with flyers that provide a summary of topics, discussion questions, and activities that they have been experiencing in their classrooms so they are able to extend the discussion from the school to home.

To culminate the book’s activities, all 5th graders will participate in an assembly featuring Lynda Blackmon Lowery. The event will take place on Thursday, January 16, 2020, at South Orange Middle School. Students will hear her first-hand account of marching with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to secure the right to vote for African Americans.

Book Synopsis: As the youngest marcher in the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, Lynda Blackmon Lowery proved that young adults could be heroes. Jailed eleven times before her fifteenth birthday, Lowery fought alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. for the rights of African-Americans. In this memoir, she shows today’s young readers what it means to fight nonviolently (even when the police are using violence, as in the Bloody Sunday protest) and how it felt to be part of changing American history. (Penguin Random House)

2019 SOMSD Parenting Center Toy Drive – December 2 – 13, 2019

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“Let me say thank you for the gifts, and more thanks because the greatest thing you gave is all the joy you brought my family.  Thank you for remembering us.” (From laid-off SOMA parent of four school-aged children, 2018)

We all know how generous the South Orange Maplewood Community is, especially when it comes to making life easier for one of our own neighbors. Never is that spirit more evident than at the holidays when the South Orange Maplewood School District Parenting Center runs its annual Holiday Toy Drive.

Now in its 22nd year, the South Orange Maplewood School District Parenting Center Holiday Toy Drive provides holiday gifts for children of families in need in our school district.  Last year our toy drive benefited over 500 children in 150 families in our two communities.   This year, we hope to provide the same and more to children in need throughout our SOMSD community.

Please feel to bring new, unwrapped gifts and toys to one of our drop-off boxes located in schools and businesses in our town between December 2 – 13, 2019.  Your tax-deductible contributions will be used to purchase books and gifts for children from infancy through age 17; no donations will be used to cover administrative costs. Unwrapped gifts will be provided to parents who, in turn,  will wrap the items themselves and give them to their children during the holidays.

If you don’t have time to shop or aren’t sure what to get, then feel free to contribute via one of the additional channels below:

  1. Buy gifts online:  SOMSD Amazon.com gift registry
  2. Make an online tax-deductible donation: SOMSD Parenting Center Holiday Toy Drive GoFundMe page
  3. Make a check to payable to SOMSD Parenting Center: Mail to – Parenting Center | 525 Academy Street | Maplewood, NJ, 07040

On behalf of the South Orange Maplewood School District Parenting Center, we offer our heartfelt thanks for your generosity. Your gifts will provide the holiday joy this year that our district’s most vulnerable families might not otherwise have.

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