Last 10 Days of 30-Day Meditation Challenge

30-Day Meditation Challenge Homestretch!

We're almost done with our 30-Day Meditation Challenge! Thanks to all those who have participated! If you haven't participated, it is still not too late! These last 10 days we are doing 15-minute meditations, but you can always start off with the 5 minute videos from our previous blog posts. Remember to use our calendar to show us you have been participating!

Here are several 15-minute guided meditations for you to choose from:

Meditation Challenge Continued and Resources for Teenagers

30 Day Meditation Challenge

We are heading into day 9 of our 30 Day Meditation Challenge. For all those who have participated - thank you so much and we hope you are slowly starting to see some of the benefits of sitting still for 5 minutes, practicing your breathing and slowing down racing thoughts! If you have not participated - it is not too late to join us! Just look at last week's blog post for 5 minute videos and use this calendar to enter your name for accountability purposes. On Sunday, April 12th, we will start meditating for 10 minutes a day. So use any of the videos below to guide you through a 10 minute meditation. 

Resources for Your Teenager While At Home

Spring Break is just around the corner and your student may be wondering how to keep busy without school work over the next week. Check out this list of 70 Things For Teens To Do While Stuck At Home!

If your student is struggling to cope with the recent changes in these unprecedented times, here are a few resources to help them process their feelings and emotions:

• This Self Care Journal focused specifically on a routine and mental health during the Coronavirus
• This Headspace YouTube Channel
• This Personalized Stress Management Plan
• These Effective Coping Skills to Relieve Stress
• This Breathing Exercise to Relieve Stress and Anxiety

We are wishing everyone a restful and rejuvenating Spring Break! 

30 Day Meditation Challenge

Join Chattahoochee Counseling for a
30-Day Meditation Challenge

Starting on Thursday, March 26th, we invite you to join us for a 30-day Meditation Challenge! Given these uncertain times, Chattahoochee Counseling is trying to find ways to de-stress and increase our happiness, productivity, and mindfulness. We hope you will join us!

The ask: Take this meditation journey with us and encourage your friends and family to do so as well!

The benefit: Improved physical and psychological health!

How: Follow the calendar below. For the first two weeks, you can use any of the videos below the calendar to guide you through your 5 minute meditation. We will post 10 minute guided meditation videos for the following two weeks and then 15 minute guided meditation videos the last two weeks.

Enter your name after each day of meditation on our calendar to let us know that you are participating! 

Hooch Digital Learning Week 1

Week 1 of Digital Learning

Congratulations! We are wrapping up week 1 of Digital Learning and the Chattahoochee Counseling team wants students and parents to know how proud they are of the adjustment that the Chattahoochee community has made in transitioning to online learning! Many of you probably spent the past week looking something like this: 

We know this was not an easy transition, so let us  remind you that we are here for your academic and social/emotional needs. 

We are available to you during our regular office hours from 7:55AM-3:55PM to answer any counseling-related questions.

Elizabeth Chilson Last Names: A-Deo chilsone@fultonschools.org	Curtisa Johnson Last Names: Der-Hei johnsoncl@fultonschools.org	Navina Vemuri Last Names: Hen-McD vemurin1@fultonschools.org
Deborah Blount Last Names: McG-Sa blountd@fultonschools.org	Tammy Jones Last Names: Sc-Z jonestr@fultonschools.org	Cynthia Butler Counseling Professional Assistant Butlerc3@fultonschools.org
Alicia McClung School Social Worker Mcclunga1@fultonschools.org	Dr. Najuana Lee Johnson RTI/Grad Coach leeN@fultonschools.org	Felicia Gialenios 504 Coordinator/Grad Coach gialeniosf@fultonschools.org
Solange Leonardo Registrar Leonardos1@fultonschools.org	Minjeong “MJ” Kang Korean Bilingual Liaison kangm@fultonschools.org	Maria Cabrales-Soriano Spanish Bilingual Liaison cabralessorm@fultonschools.org

• Questions regarding any current classes or online assignments should be directed to your respective teachers.
• Students who want to take a Fulton Virtual or GA Virtual class during the 2020-2021 school year will still have the opportunity to submit their online contracts to the Counseling Office once we return to school. Registration for summer online classes do not require an online contract. Simply register for the class on either Fulton Virtual or Georgia Virtual and your request will be processed.
• Most Dual Enrollment questions can be answered on the respective Google Classroom and the links shared in them as well as on www.chsmowr.weebly.com. Only Students can join the Classrooms, and you must use your FCS email address. Please check these Google Classrooms frequently, as this is where we will regularly post about changes or updates regarding Dual Enrollment. The codes to join the classrooms are:
• GA State University/Perimeter College: 25uus5m
• Gwinnett Technical College: anuma5n
• GA Tech: u36gjmt
• The application for GA Tech Dual Enrollment does not open until May 15th 
• You can also reference this FAQ link  to review possible changes to the Dual Enrollment program, which is pending the Governor's signature
• Any questions regarding the cancellation or rescheduling of the SAT or ACT should be directed to the respective organizations (www.collegeboard.org and www.act.org)

If you are experiencing emotional distress outside of our office hours please seek immediate assistance and/or call 911. 

If you or a friend are in a crisis outside of our regular office hours, please use the following resources: 

Call the GA Crisis Line: 800-715-4225  or use the FCS Tip Line, or Text COUGARS to 1-844-201-9946. 

Mindfulness is coming to Chattahoochee!

The Counseling Department is starting a series of Mindfulness workshops that will be happening once a month for the rest of the school year.

According to mindful.org, mindfulness is “the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.”

A Harvard Health Article states that the benefits of mindfulness are as follows:

•           Improved overall well-being
•           Improved physical health
•          Improved mental health

We hope to create a platform for students to practice and experience these benefits.

Our first workshop will take place on Tuesday, October 8^th during Chatt Time. We will be making mindfulness glitter jars. When using the mindfulness jar, the swirling glitter represents our thoughts and emotions. As the glitter settles and we sit still, our breath and our thoughts settle as well. 

Please also check out the video below for a quick and informative video on teenagers and mindfulness:

Our next Mindfulness workshop will be in partnership with Chattahoochee High School Yoga Club! Stay tuned for more details. 

Crisis Resources

As part of Suicide Awareness & Prevention Month, we encourage you to seek out resources if you are in need.  Do not wait to get help.  Suicide is preventable!  There are so many excellent community resources to take advantage of if you ever find yourself in the midst of a crisis.  We wanted to make sure you had all the information at your fingertips.  First and foremost, your school counselor and school social worker are available to talk through any major concerns.  However, the counseling office is not available for emergencies after hours.  If you run into any issues before or after school, please make sure you utilize one of the resources below.  We want you to get the help you need at the very moment you need it.

In case of Emergencies:
If you are experiencing an emergency, please seek immediate assistance and/or call 911.

Immediate Mental Health Resources
The following facilities provide 24-hour assistance and have shared with the Fulton County District that they will complete emergency assessments at no cost. If your child already receives support from a mental health provider, you may wish to make contact with that professional first. You may also want to check with your insurance company regarding mental/behavioral health coverage. Please note that the District does not endorse any provider, makes no representations as to the effectiveness of these providers, and makes this information available only as a helpful resource.

North Fulton	South Fulton
Wellstar North Fulton Hospital Emergency Room 3000 Hospital Boulevard Roswell, GA 30076 770-751-2500	Anchor Hospital 5454 Yorktown Drive College Park, GA 30349 http://www.anchorhospital.com 770-991-6044 or 770-991-6045
Peachford Psychiatric Hospital 2151 Peachford Road Atlanta, GA 30338 www.peachfordhospital.com 770-454-2302 or 770-455-3200	Grady Hospital Psychiatric Emergency Clinic 80 Jesse Hill, Jr. Drive Atlanta, GA 30303 404-616-4762
Ridgeview Institute 3995 South Cobb Drive, SE Smyrna, GA 30080 www.ridgeviewinstitute.com 1-844-350-8800 or 770- 434-4567	RiverWoods Behavioral Health 223 Medical Center Drive, Riverdale, GA 30274 http://www.riverwoodsbehavioral.com 770-991-8500
Lakeview Behavioral Health 1 Technology Parkway South Norcross, GA 30092 www.lakeviewbehavioralhealth.com 1-877-659-4522
Suicide Prevention Hotlines Georgia Crisis & Access Line (also available as an app called "My GCAL" on your Apple/Android smartphone).   1-800-715-4225 75 Piedmont Avenue, NE., Ste 256, Atlanta, GA 30303 http://www.behavioralhealthlink.com Chattahoochee High School  Text 4 Help Line Anonymous 24/7 Help LineText COUGARS to 1-844-201-9946 International Association for Suicide Prevention 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 National Alliance on Mental Illness 1-800-950-NAMI US Trans LifeLine (10am – 4am Eastern Time) 1-877-565-8860 The Trevor Project: Trevor Lifeline 1-866-488-7386	Fulton County Department of Mental Health Emergency Mental Health Services Hotline 404-730-1600

National Suicide Prevention Week: Warning Signs & Risk Factors

Guest blogger: Katie Beals, The Summit Counseling Center

As September is National Suicide Prevention month, it’s important to take some time to touch on this difficult topic. A big part of this is learning to be intentional about noticing things in your children and feeling comfortable having conversations with them about these things. I know that it often feels difficult or uncomfortable to do this, but talking and creating an open environment really is the most important thing you can do to keep your child safe.

Before we launch into what some of the warning signs of suicide are, it’s crucial to take some time to explain that no one thing leads to someone wanting to take their own life. It is usually many things at once that have added up to make someone consider suicide. I say this to reduce any guilt that might be felt by reading these. It is also true that many are very good at covering up symptoms or emotions and that can also make it very difficult to notice.

Some warning signs to pay attention to are a change in appearance or affect. This means that if your child or someone else usually gets up in the morning and showers and puts makeup on and all of a sudden they stop doing that for a significant period, that would be the time to check in on how they are feeling. In the same vein, if your child usually has a happy/joyful demeanor and lately they have seemed “down,” a conversation should take place. If your child has started to lose interest in something they used to love (ex. a sport, hobby,  etc), it’s time to check in. If your child seems tearful or hopeless or reports feeling “like a burden,” pay attention. If your child is sleeping significantly more or less than normal, ask them about it. Basically we are looking for significant changes in patterns of behavior. The goal here, again, is just to have some conversation starters and to let your child know that you are paying attention and that you care.

The following are some risk factors associated with suicide: a mental health diagnosis, family history of mental health issues, a significant life event (a death of a loved one, parental divorce, a breakup), exposure to suicide by a family member, friend, or someone in the community, bullying, a history of abuse, and access to lethal means. This is another reminder that no one thing leads to suicide. If any of these are involved in your child’s life, it may have had an effect on them and a conversation could be really helpful.

Now that we have helpful information about how to know if your child is at risk for suicidal ideation, we can dive into how to support your child through middle school. First, to stay on message, conversations and open relationships are everything when it comes to this. If you are intentional about checking in, asking open ended questions, and making sure your child knows you are there if they need to talk, you are doing a phenomenal job. I’ll add to that though that teaching your child coping skills is also extremely helpful. Some of these coping skills might include: planning ahead, taking a break, reading a book, taking a bath, listening to music, calling a friend, doing some deep breathing, journaling, etc. The more you can model these healthy coping skills to them, the better they will be at incorporating them in their own lives.

To sum this up,

Notice changes in patterns of behavior

Acknowledge them to your child

Attempt to have a conversation about it

Model/teach coping skills as early as possible

Tell your child that you care about them