- Increase happiness and resiliency
- Decrease depression and anxiety
- Decrease blood pressure and chronic pain
- Improve sleep and energy
- LIVE LONGER WITH HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE
- Increase self esteem, compassion, and empathy (which increases relationships with self and others)
- Gratitude has been shown to “rewire” the brain, increasing the amount of serotonin and dopamine released in the brain, these are the same neurotransmitters produced with anti-depressants (please do not consider replacing your medication with gratitude, just yet, please seek your doctors assistance)
- Expressing frequent gratitude trains/builds the prefrontal cortex within the brain, which is the area of the brain responsible for retaining positive experiences and deflecting negative ones.
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE and the Science Behind It :)
Happy November Norsemen,
We are now nearly 3-full-months into our 2018 school year, and I hope you are all adjusting well.
I know it has been flying by for me.
Last month, I focused on educating students on the “facts” of mental health. During my morning “mindful moments” I shared statistics and factual information on how mental health impacts Americans and how we can approach it as individuals. I was also provided the opportunity to present to the freshmen class on tools and techniques to help cope with stress and develop healthy time-management skills. The students were very respectful and provided insightful feedback. During my time I helped guide them through a form of meditation where we brought awareness to our body and scanned how we were feeling in the present moment. The students reported positive experiences and
shared that they felt calm and more prepared to focus after the exercise. Hopefully they will continue to implement this skill into their daily life!
Newark High School was gracious enough to send me to a social work conference in October, where I learned about trauma in schools. The information was eye opening, and extremely helpful. With the information I obtained at this conference, I am planning to present to our NCHS staff on how we as a school can approach our students with compassion and empathy, and how we can approach our students with a “trauma lens” to navigate them to success. We all need reminders that every individual has their own story, and these life experiences should be considered in all
interactions.
For November we will be shifting our focus to GRATITUDE. We will discuss cultivating an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE, and I will be encouraging students and staff to participate in gratitude exercises. Science has recently taken an interest to Gratitude, and the findings are amazing. Through research, it is suggested that gratitude
improves the following:
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Open Minded October
Happy October Norsemen!
September was a fun and busy month. Homecoming was so special! When I accepted the position I was told how homecoming was a “really big deal”- even with that information I underestimated it! HOW FUN! Newark is
truly blessed to have such a small school and community where we can have school wide games and spend school time having fun with friends. As the junior class sponsor, I had a wonderful time getting to know the students a little
better and learning their strengths as a class!
October will be engulfed with bringing awareness to mental health. Last month I discussed suicide prevention with the students during lunch. This month I will be educating the students on different mental illnesses, causes, and treatment. I am hoping that this information will help reduce the stigma that is so often attached to mental health. I would love for the students to not only understand that severity of mental health, but also grasp the normalcy of mental health. So many of us are impacted by mental health daily, and yet it often goes unrecognized or untreated.
My goal in educating the students about mental health is to reduce the judgment that is often linked with this form of illness and improve their understanding of signs, symptoms, and how they as students can help. I will be providing resources to the students; I encourage you as family members to discuss mental health with your students. I will also challenge you all to do one activity DAILY that will improve your
mental and emotional wellness!
I wish you all a peaceful and happy October. Please do not hesitate to call me with questions or concerns. I am happy to help in any way possible!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Olin, MSW, LSW
School Social Worker
Newark Community High School
“Our minds are like parachutes, they only work when open”
If we remove judgment and harsh opinions, insert curiosity and acceptance. The world would be a happier more content place.
September was a fun and busy month. Homecoming was so special! When I accepted the position I was told how homecoming was a “really big deal”- even with that information I underestimated it! HOW FUN! Newark is
truly blessed to have such a small school and community where we can have school wide games and spend school time having fun with friends. As the junior class sponsor, I had a wonderful time getting to know the students a little
better and learning their strengths as a class!
October will be engulfed with bringing awareness to mental health. Last month I discussed suicide prevention with the students during lunch. This month I will be educating the students on different mental illnesses, causes, and treatment. I am hoping that this information will help reduce the stigma that is so often attached to mental health. I would love for the students to not only understand that severity of mental health, but also grasp the normalcy of mental health. So many of us are impacted by mental health daily, and yet it often goes unrecognized or untreated.
My goal in educating the students about mental health is to reduce the judgment that is often linked with this form of illness and improve their understanding of signs, symptoms, and how they as students can help. I will be providing resources to the students; I encourage you as family members to discuss mental health with your students. I will also challenge you all to do one activity DAILY that will improve your
mental and emotional wellness!
I wish you all a peaceful and happy October. Please do not hesitate to call me with questions or concerns. I am happy to help in any way possible!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Olin, MSW, LSW
School Social Worker
Newark Community High School
“Our minds are like parachutes, they only work when open”
If we remove judgment and harsh opinions, insert curiosity and acceptance. The world would be a happier more content place.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
September, Already!
Time flies when you are having fun! At least it has for me. Newark High School, students, families, and staff, thank you for welcoming me into your community. I feel very blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people who dedicate their lives to education; they are all so driven and invested. And to the students, thank you for being so kind. My heart has been so full as I learn the culture of the school. I have seen exceptional kindness from the students and love watching them interact so genuinely. Parents, you should be proud!
In August I was able to continue “Mindful Moments” during the morning announcements, where I provided quotes, thought provoking statements, and kindness challenges. My hope with these are to allow for students to reflect on how they use kindness, life skills, and make the best out of there everyday. I will continue to provide daily “Mindful Moments” throughout the remainder of the year to promote self-awareness for the staff and students. I have also been given the opportunity to sit in on some freshman classes to observe student introductions, and let me tell you, these kids are special and funny (as if you didn’t already know that)!
This month we will be focusing on self-acceptance. I will have a bulletin board up in the cafeteria with sticky notes that will be filled with positive self-affirmations, kind words, and gratitude statements. The bulletin board will be a “take what you need, give what you can” concept. I hope that with this, we can allow our students to learn and apply some positive affirmations towards themselves in addition to handing out kind and uplifting words to peers and staff.
Learning to accept who we are, flaws, imperfections, struggles, and all, is probably one of lives hardest challenges. My goal in promoting positive-affirmations in the school is to help our students value their positive traits, qualities, and learn to love their quirks! Growing up in a society full of constant comparison is hard and draining, and can take a toll on our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. If we teach our youth to show compassion to themselves as they do others at a young age, I am hoping we can foster and cultivate a positive, uplifting, supportive, and a compassionate generation. Where they learn from their mistakes rather than beat them selves up, and where they empathize with their peers opposed to judging.
Please help me promote self-love this September! Redirect your student if you hear negative self-talk by reminding them of all their wonderful qualities. While they may not always be easily identified, we all have them (lots of them)! And to the parents and staff, you can help model self-love by showing yourself some compassion as well.
“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve with the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel” -Eleanor Brown
In August I was able to continue “Mindful Moments” during the morning announcements, where I provided quotes, thought provoking statements, and kindness challenges. My hope with these are to allow for students to reflect on how they use kindness, life skills, and make the best out of there everyday. I will continue to provide daily “Mindful Moments” throughout the remainder of the year to promote self-awareness for the staff and students. I have also been given the opportunity to sit in on some freshman classes to observe student introductions, and let me tell you, these kids are special and funny (as if you didn’t already know that)!
This month we will be focusing on self-acceptance. I will have a bulletin board up in the cafeteria with sticky notes that will be filled with positive self-affirmations, kind words, and gratitude statements. The bulletin board will be a “take what you need, give what you can” concept. I hope that with this, we can allow our students to learn and apply some positive affirmations towards themselves in addition to handing out kind and uplifting words to peers and staff.
Learning to accept who we are, flaws, imperfections, struggles, and all, is probably one of lives hardest challenges. My goal in promoting positive-affirmations in the school is to help our students value their positive traits, qualities, and learn to love their quirks! Growing up in a society full of constant comparison is hard and draining, and can take a toll on our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. If we teach our youth to show compassion to themselves as they do others at a young age, I am hoping we can foster and cultivate a positive, uplifting, supportive, and a compassionate generation. Where they learn from their mistakes rather than beat them selves up, and where they empathize with their peers opposed to judging.
Please help me promote self-love this September! Redirect your student if you hear negative self-talk by reminding them of all their wonderful qualities. While they may not always be easily identified, we all have them (lots of them)! And to the parents and staff, you can help model self-love by showing yourself some compassion as well.
“Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve with the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel” -Eleanor Brown
Friday, August 17, 2018
Hello Newark Norsemen,
As I noted in my most recent post, I was planning on creating monthly themes to carry us throughout the school year. My intention with these are to allow the whole school to participate in social emotional learning in addition to the community. My goal is to help the student body at Newark to understand and apply healthy skills to cope with everyday life stressors. These skills are intended to improve relationships, communication, coping, and organization.
For the month of August we will be focusing on "adjustment". As we return to school and change our schedule, routine, and lifestyle, we need to be mindful of how this may impact our emotional wellness. Change is stressful, as a student and adult! However, it is inevitable. Change will always occur throughout our life and without the proper skills to work with and accept change, it can be hard to cope with no matter how old you are! Therefore, lets learn these skills young. So that when we face continuous change and stress, we can face it head on and be successful in our transitions.
What will we be learning about?
Be on the look out for next months theme. I'm thinking...... SELF-ACCEPTANCE SEPTEMBER. But for now, lets be present and in the moment on our adjustment back to school.
May the rest of your August be full of peace and gratitude!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Olin - School Social Worker
As I noted in my most recent post, I was planning on creating monthly themes to carry us throughout the school year. My intention with these are to allow the whole school to participate in social emotional learning in addition to the community. My goal is to help the student body at Newark to understand and apply healthy skills to cope with everyday life stressors. These skills are intended to improve relationships, communication, coping, and organization.
For the month of August we will be focusing on "adjustment". As we return to school and change our schedule, routine, and lifestyle, we need to be mindful of how this may impact our emotional wellness. Change is stressful, as a student and adult! However, it is inevitable. Change will always occur throughout our life and without the proper skills to work with and accept change, it can be hard to cope with no matter how old you are! Therefore, lets learn these skills young. So that when we face continuous change and stress, we can face it head on and be successful in our transitions.
What will we be learning about?
- Time management
- Coping skills
- Stress management
- Organizational skills
- Sleep hygiene
- Self-care
- Mindfulness
- School involvement
- Self-advocacy
Be on the look out for next months theme. I'm thinking...... SELF-ACCEPTANCE SEPTEMBER. But for now, lets be present and in the moment on our adjustment back to school.
May the rest of your August be full of peace and gratitude!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Olin - School Social Worker
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