Archive for the ‘Health & Wellness’ Category
Join the Student Emergency Response Team!
Middle School students: You are eligible to apply for the Villa Student Emergency Response Team (S.E.R.T.). Team members are trained to help support faculty and staff in responding to emergency situations, help maintain emergency supplies, and help promote health and safety awareness throughout the school. We will meet the first Tuesday of every month after school for emergency preparedness and first aid trainings, for special guest speakers, and to plan community outreach projects. Community Service hours are offered for attendance at meetings and activities.
To apply to be a part of this elite group, download an application at http://njenner.thevilla.org/
Bike to School Month
As announced during Earth Week…Villa Academy’s Green Team and SERT, together with the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation invite you to join our team for Bike to School Month, May 2012
May is Bike to School Month, designed to encourage bicycle commuting, mentor new riders and foster a love of bicycling. When you bike to school with your child you:
- Help your child become a safe, knowledgeable and independent cyclist.
- Create daily exercise habits that help keep your child active and healthy.
- Reduce car traffic and air pollution.
We envision participation in Bike-to-School Month as a family project, one that may also introduce parents to the fun of cycling with their kids! Everyone who rides at least once wins a prize! *
So, how do you participate? It’s easy!
Download the Bike to School packet. Send in the Bike to School sign up to coordinator Ms. Jenner before May 7st. Once it is filled out and turned in, read through the information and start tracking your trips on the Bike to School calendar. For more information check out Cascade’s website at http://www.cbcef.org/bts/index.html.
* Because every child cannot cycle safely to school, and because the “work” that kids do also includes sports, music lessons, trips to the library, play dates, etc., trips for Bike to School Month can include any trip made by bicycle somewhere he or she needs to go, one round-trip per day. Other traffic reducing alternatives such as walking or carpooling with another family are also welcome if bicycling is not possible.
Lice Knowing You
Think your child’s head is lice free? You might be surprised!
Not sure what to look for when checking your child’s head?
Wish someone could demonstrate thorough combing techniques?
Come and learn from the experts! Wednesday, December 7, at 2:15-3:15pm in the Theater.
Lice Knowing You, a local lice removal company, will be in the Villa Theater after dismissal and will check your child’s head for signs of lice*, or demonstrate to you the right way to comb through your child’s hair to check for signs of lice. And they will answer your questions about various lice treatments. We encourage you to meet your child at 2:15 on Wednesday, December 7, and stop by the Theater for a demonstration or conversation, or head check, with Nancy Gordon and her team! Thank you Nancy for donating your time and expertise!
* If you would like your child’s head checked please comb out the hair first so hair is tangle free.
Lice are a regular, unavoidable part of the environment, and as a community, we can all help prevent the spread of by checking heads regularly throughout lice season.
“Combing is a scientifically reliable method to remove all lice and nits – which is another way to say it can end an infestation – literally. Combing is the safest and most cost effective approach that accomplishes what chemicals cannot. It enables families to be self-reliant, proactive, and preventive. It allows for regular screening and early detection which makes the combing approach even more practical and realistic.
While chemical treatments, pediculicides, and broad spectrum antibiotics develop resistance and potentially adverse health effects, nothing compares to the kindness of a comb.”
-The National Pediculosis Association, Inc.
We hope to see many of our families take advantage of this opportunity. Students must visit the Theater with a parent. EDP counselors are not available to supervise or accompany students to the Theater. Thank you!
WashYourHandsingTon
The state’s new flu education campaign starts this week to remind people of the importance of getting vaccinated against the flu.
WashYourHandsingTon is a cute play on words being used as the campaign’s slogan to remind everyone to wash their hands, covers their cough, and gets the flu vaccine.
WATCH the Video and remind your family members to do everything they can to stay healthy this year!
Have you Seen Sydney on Komo-4?
Sydney, a Villa Academy 3rd grader, will be featured in a special program, “Saving Kids with Science” on Komo-4 this Friday night, September 17th.
Sydney was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was about 2 months old as a result of her inability to gain weight due to an obstructed pancreas. Sydney and her family are fighting to keep her healthy as long as possible and are active participants in Cystic Fibrosis events and fundraisers.
Several members of the Villa community have taken up this fight too. Last year, first grade students chose to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as the charity for their tooth drive and several of the faculty participated in the Cystic Fibrosis Stair-climb.
The StairClimb is coming up again. Click here to learn more and look for Sydney on T.V. this Friday!
“Saving Kids with Science: Stories from Seattle Children’s Research Institute,” Sept. 17
Friday from 8 to 9 p.m. on KOMO-4 TV
Join KOMO-TV anchor, Molly Chen, on a one-hour journey from the petri dish to the patient as we explore the world of science at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Meet the people behind the lab coats and hear how they are finding new ways to look at and treat diseases, such as cancer and arthritis. Get to know some patients who are benefiting from discoveries made at the institute, and hear how children around the world stand to benefit from others. See how some researchers are using music, humor, and a one-of-a-kind mobile lab to introduce science to young people across the state.
Save the Date: Seattle Archdiocese Safe Environment Program
Save the Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010, 7:00 PM, Villa Parlor. Come Learn about the Seattle Archdiocese Safe Environment Program, including the following components:
Called to Protect, for Ministries: Training for all clergy, employees and applicable volunteers, including all CYO Sports Coaches.
Called to Protect, for Parents & Families: Training for parents, families and all interested in learning how to protect children.
Called to Protect, for Youth: A three-part series that teaches 7th grade students about boundaries, how to respond if someone tries to violate their boundaries and how to tell someone if they or a friend have been abused.
Talking About Touching: A research-based, age-appropriate, personal safety curriculum designed for children in Kindergarten through Third Grade.
Come learn about all of these programs, and how they are currently being used, or will be used at Villa. The evening will be hosted by Polly Skinner and Jody Elsner. We hope you can join us!
A Pat Preib Post
Occasionally, unpleasant aspects of our students’ social lives are brought to my attention. Recently, I have seen a string of missives among our students and their friends from a new social networking site called “Buzz” that works through Gmail. While it is not surprising to find inappropriate language and topics bandied about on these sites, every once in a while a topic is raised to which we should pay close attention.
One such topic appeared in the string I have seen recently. A young person—unknown to me and NOT a Villa student—mentioned suicide as a result of feeling very bad. The responses from our students and others were very heartfelt, positive, and supportive of the young person. That is good news. It seem our students know that suicide is a serious topic and are kind in response to those who mention it.
Nevertheless, a conversation with your child about the topic generally and how to respond to feelings of hopelessness and depression in themselves or others may be in order. It may also help to discuss with your students who they can go to if someone they know expresses feelings of hopeless or depression.
Middle school is often the first time when deep feelings assert themselves in a student’s life; talking with your youngsters, before it is an issue, can help them and their friends manage their feelings better and potentially avert a serious situation.
Thank you very much for your attention and support.
Pat Preib
