Advice from LEAD on the Orlando Shootings and our Children In response to the Orlando Nightclub shooting, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network has developed resources to help families and communities respond.  We have chosen a select few below that we thought would help you make sense of this tragedy with your own children. Tips for Parents on Media Coverage Parent Guidelines for Helping Youth after the Recent Shooting Talking to Children about the Shooting Age-Related Reactions to a Traumatic Event LGBTQ Issues and Child Trauma We hope you find these to be helpful.  If there is anything LEAD staff can do for you or your family, please let us know.  If you have any additional resources that you have found to be helpful, please let us know and we will add them to our website.  Source: http://www.leadingefforts.org/

Glenbard Parent Series Announces 2016-2017 Events

Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016

Parent and Athlete Meeting

Defining Character On and Off the Field: Who Are you When No One is Watching?

Glenbard North  6:00pm

Glenbard South 7:30pm

Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016   

Parent and Athlete Meeting

Defining Character On and Off the Field: Who Are you When No One is Watching

Glenbard East  6:00 pm

Glenbard West  6:30pm

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Common/Family Read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Speaker: Rebecca Skloot

Glenbard West   7:00pm  Auditorium

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Coping Strategies to Regulate Anxiety: An Introduction to Distress Tolerance

Speaker:  Laura Koehler PhD Linden Oaks Behavioral Health

CCSD District 93 Administration Center    noon

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Different ...Not Less

Speaker: Temple Grandin, PhD

Temple may be the most famous person with Autism; Advocate/Author/Animal Rights Activist

Glenbard East  3:00pm and 7:00pm   Auditorium

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive (and Survive) in Their Digital World/ Raising Digital Natives

Speaker: Devorah Heitner PhD

Glenbard West   7:00pm Auditorium

Monday, October 10, 2016

Pre -Meeting 6:30pm Columbus Day Holiday Dinner

Motivating Teens

Speaker: David Yeager PhD  Auditorium

Practical Strategies to Navigate the Anxieties, Moods and Emotions of Young People

Speaker: Stephen Feifer EdD  Little Theater

Glenbard South  7:00pm

Wednesday November 16, 2016 and Thursday, November 17, 2016

How to Raise an Adult; Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Child for Success by Julie Lythcott-Haims

Speaker:  Julie Lythcott-Haims

Glenbard West   7:00pm (November 16) Auditorium AND

Thursday, November 17 Marquardt Administration Center noon

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Develop Executive Functioning Skills to Plan, Organize, and Self-Monitor for School Success

Speaker: Sarah Ward

Glenbard South 7:00pm  Auditorium

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Tweens,Teens and the Tech Trends of Today: Creating a Safe Digital Culture

Speaker: Liz Repking Cyber Safety Consulting and

Melissa Hemzacek LCSW Illinois State's Attorney's Office

CCSD District 93 Administration Center   noon

Tuesday, January 24, 2017  and Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Beautiful Boy: A Fathers Journey Through His Sons Addiction by David Sheff

What happened to My Beautiful Boy

Speaker: David Sheff

Glenbard North 7:00pm Auditorium  AND

Wednesday, January 25, 2017  Marquardt Admin Center noon

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Social Emotional Learning and Restorative Justice: Teaching our Children the Skills of Building Peer Relationships for a Safe School Climate

Pamela Randall-Garner, EdD

Senior Staff Advisor at CASEL:The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning

CCSD District 93 Administration Center  noon

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Life Life Well Week Speaker  

Everyday Leadership: Celebrating the Simple Actions that Improve Each Other's Lives

Drew Dudley

College of DuPage MAC Arts Center 7:00pm

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Special Order: Discovering what Provides Academic Success for Your Unique Child

Speaker: Carol Ann Tomlinson PhD

Glenbard West  7:00pm  Auditorium

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Tough Teen Topics: Anxiety, Parties and Depression

Hon.Judge Chris Stride, who presided over the landmark Hutzell case

Patrick McGrath PhD, Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital

Justin Wolfe, Linden Oaks Behavioral Health

Glenbard South  7:00pm  Auditorium

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

An Evening with Andrew Solomon: Love No Matter What

Speaker: Andrew Solomon

College of DuPage MAC Arts Center 7:00pm

Thursday , April 27,  2017

 Educating for Happiness: A Blueprint for Schools

Speaker: Susan Engel PhD

Glenbard East  7:00pm  Auditorium

Wednesday, May 3, 2017 and Thursday, May 4, 2017

Film Screening Screenagers

Followed by a discussion with Delaney Ruston MD movie producer/director

Glenbard North 7:00pm Auditorium  AND

Thursday, May 4, 2017  Marquardt Admin Center  noon

GPS Navigating Higher ED

Saturday, Sept 17, 2016

Frank Palmasani - Conquering the Challenges of College Costs in English

Ercilla Jonas,   Illinois Student Assistance Commission in Spanish

Glenbard West  10:30-noon Library

Monday Oct 17, 2016

FAFSA  (Bring Necessary Forms) Spanish and English

 Financail Aid Completion Assstance

6:30pm-8:30pm comp lab, faculty cafe, Little Theater

AND Study Skills Seminar and Strategies to Succeed:

The 4 Key Study Skills for School Academic Accomplishment

7:00pm-8:30pm

Patrick Donohue, Little Theater  in English

Janet Reece  Faculty Cafe in Spansh

Glenbard North

Saturday, October 22, 2016

FAFSA  (Bring Necessary Forms) Spanish and English - computer lab

10:30am-1:30pm

AND The College Admission Test: Tips to Prepare For the New SAT   

10:30am-noon

Library in English,

Large study hall room in Spansih

Glenbard East

FUSE Families United for Students Excellence/African American Parent Committee

Thursday, August 25, 2016  

Kick-Off for School Success Family Picnic

Young People Have the Power to Succeed

David Swope, College of DuPage

Glenbard West  6:15pm cafeteria

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Celebrating Our Gifts and Talents: Holiday Party

Ray McElroy

Glenbard North  11:30am-1pm  Faculty Cafeteria

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Secrets to High School Victory

Ray McElroy

Glenbard South  11:30am-1pm  Library

GPS Programs in Spanish with Dr. Lourdes Ferrer

Friday  October 14, 2016 - Parents

In the Drivers Seat

6:30-8:00pm Parents

Glenbard East Library

Saturday, October 15, 2016 - Students

Grooming for Excellence Academy and SAT Review

10:30am – 3:00pm

Glenbard East Library

Friday, April 7, 2017 – Parents

In the Drivers Seat

6:30- Parents

Glenbard East Library

Saturday, April 8, 2017 – Students

Grooming for Excellence Academy and SAT Review

10:30am – 3:00pm

Glenbard East Library

Mental Health Series in Spanish with Mariana Proske

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

How to Talk to Your Teen About Healthy Adolescent Dating Relationships

Glenbard East Library

Thursday, January 19, 2017

The Special Education Process Step by Step: Practical Guide to Special Education: Everything Parents Need to Know

Glenbard East Library

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

A Survival Guide to Parenting Boys :Raising a Healthier Generation of Boys and Young Men

Glenbard East Library

Glenbard Parent Series Announces Upcoming Events   

Wednesday, June 15

Dr. Michele Borba

Unselfie: The Empathy Advantage the Real Secret to Success

7 pm at Glenbard South  

Thursday, August 25

Rebecca Skloot

Common Family Read: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lachs

7pm at Glenbard West Auditorium

Wednesday, September 21

Temple Grandin

The Autistic Brain Helping Different Kinds of Minds Succeed

3pm and 7pm at Glenbard East

Glen Ellyn Public Library Book Discussion Thursday, August 18, 2016 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Glen Ellyn Public Library has partnered with  Glenbard Parent Series.  Discussions are held at the Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane Street, Glen Ellyn IL.  All are welcome.

Christine Carter on "Focus on One Thing at a Time"

At this very busy time of year former GPS speaker Christine Carter's Tuesday Tip seems especially timely-focus on one thing at a time.

Source:  http://www.christinecarter.com/ 

Tuesday Tip: Focus on One Thing at a Time

Photo by Mark Hunter via flickr

In his awesome book The Organized Mind, cognitive neuroscientist Daniel Levitin has quantified how overwhelmed by information the poor human brain is:

"In 2011, Americans took in five times as much information every day as they did in 1986 -- the equivalent of 175 newspapers. During our leisure time, not counting work, each of us processes 34 gigabytes or 100,000 words every day." How do we deal with this overwhelming amount of stuff and information? We multitask. 

But multi-tasking is the enemy of focus. It stresses us out and prevents us from doing our most meaningful work. The human brain did not evolve to focus on many things at once; it evolved to focus on one thing at a time. And so the brain does not ever actually multitask. It can't run multiple apps at any one time; it can only switch rapidly between tasks. This rapid switching is a giant energy drain for your brain. 

When we just focus on one task at a time, we're actually more productive in the long run, and we're less exhausted at the end of the day. This is because multitasking exhausts more energy and time than single-tasking does. 

The first and most important step to finding flow is to build yourself a fortress against interruption, so that you can single-task instead of multitask. If you can't concentrate, you can't be in your sweet spot. Period. This week, find a way to single task -- to just focus on one thing, without interruption. 

Join the Discussion: What do you need to do so that you are able to really focus on one thing at a time? Share in the comments here.

May you be happy,

Christine Carter, Ph.D.

More Great Tips from The Family Institute at Northwestern University

Questioner-in-Chief - January 2016

”How was school today?”
“Fine.”
“Did you do anything interesting?”
“No.”
“How did that test go that you were studying for last night?”
“Okay.”

Sound familiar? You’re interested in your child’s experience, but you’re shut out. All you get are one-word responses and then there’s silence, or the conversation moves on to other things.

It’s a culture of engagement many parents try to foster, hoping to hear about a youngster’s school day or their time spent with friends or just their latest daydreams. It’s contact we seek, a sense of connection — and we rely on questions as a way of drawing them out. But for them, we’ve morphed at those moments into an annoying Questioner-in-Chief, putting them on some witness stand where they feel vulnerable and over-exposed. That’s when they shut down or turn away.

We forget that the behaviors intrinsic to a culture of connection can be modeled by us. We can take the initiative and share with our children — no matter what their age — tales from our own life. Tales of conflict are particularly likely to engage them — our own disagreements with friends or family or co-workers. Conflict gets attention. It’s what the Greek dramatists knew 2,000 years ago, and it remains true today. Our children live their lives regularly experiencing conflict, whether with siblings or friends or often with us. And your stories will carry a particular punch when you include your emotions: I felt upset, I felt angry, I felt frightened. Emotions are universal; the kids will relate. You might even embellish your narrative a bit if you think it will make your story that much more engaging. Tailor your stories to their level of understanding and edit out what you think might be for grown-up ears only, including the names of people they may know.

By sharing interesting moments from our day, we set a tone that makes it easier for our kids to do the same. If we’re willing to be vulnerable by emotionally self-disclosing with them, they’re more likely to reciprocate with us. But when they do open up, we must listen neutrally and accept what we hear without judgment or criticism. That’s not always easy, especially when they reveal their uncomfortable emotions. Our knee-jerk inclination to protect and solve and admonish and correct will remind them that we’re not easy to talk to — why even bother? Then we’re back to square one, floundering ineffectively as Questioner-in-Chief. (See The 5:1 Ratio, October 2011, below).

The 5:1 Ratio - October 2011

Many of us have it backwards. With our kids, we emphasize talking rather than listening. We believe that good parenting means explaining, reminding, correcting, admonishing, instructing — it's no wonder a lot more words come out of our mouths than theirs. In time, all our gab tends to turn them off. By adolescence, many tune us out.

Better to listen than to speak. When we listen more than we talk to (or at) our children, they come to believe that we're truly interested in their lives. They grow willing to seek us out and share what's on their minds. It's a way that trust develops.

In an August, 2011 presentation before the American Psychological Association, California State University professor Larry Rosen, Ph.D. said, "Communication is the crux of parenting. The ratio of parent listen to parent talk should be at least five-to-one. Talk one minute and listen for five."

Experts may not agree on the numbers, but there's consensus that skillful listening is invaluable.

• Show undivided attention. Don't answer the phone or check email, and maintain eye contact when your son or daughter talks to you.
• Encourage talking. Many kids need help to begin. "Tell me what was good/bad about your day."And if they've offered you a morsel, try, "That's interesting. Tell me more about it."
• Listen patiently. It can take kids longer to put their words together than we'd like. Hang in.
• Refrain from commenting. Don't cut them off before they've finished a sentence, or correct their thinking because it doesn't match your own. Show curiosity, no matter what you hear. There's always time later to question or challenge an idea.
• Listen for feelings and deliver empathy. The way a child says something — tone of voice, body posture, facial expressions — can tell you plenty. When you detect feelings, ask about them. "I sense you're upset. Can you tell me about it?" "You seem frustrated with your teacher, is that it?"

If your children know you to be a good listener, they'll approach you more often to share a problem when something's troubling them, or just to enjoy the pleasure of your company. Imagine that!

Keep the 5:1 ratio in mind.

Source: http://www.family-institute.org/about-us/tip-of-the-month/family-tip-of-the-month

Josh Shipp speaks to Glenbard Students and Parents

as part of Live Life Well Week

Students and staff celebrated Live Life Well Week February 15th-20th at the Glenbard schools. Live Life Well Week seeks to develop emotionally intelligent learning environments which are foundational to helping students lead productive, healthy, and fulfilling lives.

The  goal is to help students recognize and understand their emotions, advance positive relationships, and develop responsible decision-making skills. It is designed to raise awareness and assist students to face challenging situations constructively, manage stress, and increase their emotional and physical well being.

A highlight of the week was a presentation by author and television personality Josh Shipp.  He shared his personal story as he motivated students to “Be Your Own Best Self",  which was this year's Live Life Well Week theme. 

Glenbard West senior Justin Chhoeun enjoyed Shipp's  humor and his ability to move on from the hardships of his early life. "What a great message for all students.  Just because you failed doesn't mean you are a failure. This inspiring talk made me laugh and think"

Parents had the opportunity to hear Shipp at the Glenbard Parent Series workshop on February 18th at 7:00pm when Shipp presented "Helping Adults Understand Teens and Teens Understand Themselves".

Scott and Cyndi Chalus Glenbard North  parents shared their away from  the Josh Shipp presentation on Feb 18 entitled Understanding the Human Teenager.

Every kid is one decision away from being a statistic, and  one caring adult away from being a success.  Be that caring adult for your child and any other child that might need you. As parents of a teen shift your role to that of a coach.  Be human, we don't need to be perfect. Avoid repeating yourself, you are teaching your child not to listen.  To build trust with your child spend-TIME with your child.


Caroline Andres, Glenbard South parent shared the following: 

"I want you to know that my sophomore, Maggie Andres who goes to South, came home yesterday and first thing she told me "Mom, we had this awesome speaker today who was simply amazing! We have lots and lots of speakers who usually give you depressing information and it is good that they are sharing this awful thing that happened to them, but it ends up being so sad. Josh was really upbeat and just focusing on the positive--you should go to hear his talk tonight for the parents!!!"

And then we talked about it at dinner too. She was telling our 8th grader all about him.

Thank you so much for providing so much social and emotional learning for our kids. It is essential, so essential that our kids are hearing from these experts so that they can have these conversations on their own as they learn how to solve problems,  how to reach out, how to interpret emotions and relationships."

Josh Shipp's "Every Kid is One Caring Adult Away from Being a Success"

Resources:

Josh Shipp Website
Josh Shipp Twitter
Josh Shipp Facebook
http://Freeteenhelp.com  free resources to help parents.

Today is a perfect day to examine the work of Sherry Terkle an MIT professor  who has been studying the psychology of online connectivity for thirty years. Her focus is on the state of face-to-face conversation in a world where so many people say they would rather text than talk.  Terkle notes the work of previous GPS speaker Dr  Katie Davis author of the App Generation in the linked article "Stop Goggling. Let' Talk".

Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.

By SHERRY TURKLESEPT. 26, 2015

Photo

Parent Take Away and Resources from 
Gloria Mueller "The College Transition" 
on February 6, 2016

Debbie Ruggiero provided the following Take Away from Gloria Mueller's February 6 presentation: "The College Transition:  Movin' On/The Road to Adulthood:

- read up on as much as you can about the college and campus, before you leave in August.  Orient yourself with the layout of the campus and where to find all the available free services, like tutoring.  It will help you feel more comfortable by knowing more up front.

- understand the importance of self discipline, knowing how to budget all this extra free time when you have only 2 classes a day and nothing else required to do.  Big change from high school where your day is basically structured until evening.

- try to eat healthy, knowing that fast food/junk food are quick easy options, but probably will cause you to gain extra weight the first year.  Take advantage of fitness centers to relax, relieve stress, hang out with friends

- it will be surprising to find out how expensive textbooks are and to budget for that

- she talked about roommate issues and different ways to resolve

- know when the drop date is for classes, if you miss it, that's an automatic F which can ruin your GPA

- school bills will be sent to student's email, there is a form to sign to make sure school sends bill notices to parents

- they should sign a health form giving school medical center permission to give info out to parents.  If they get sick, no information can be released to parents without it.

- practice doing laundry before going off to school

- do not open free credit cards that you will be offered on campus

- the way you studied in high school does not work in college

- no one is going to tell you to study

- teachers don't monitor your attendance

- go for help when you need it

- do not post things on the internet, can have negative effects when interviewing for a job later

- call home for good and bad things, not just bad, stresses out parents

- look into internships in college, best to have 2 before graduating

- arrange classes to help you succeed, ie. if you're not a morning person, schedule classes later so you won't blow them off

- know that it usually takes until November to really feel at home and a part of the school environment

- get involved in clubs, activities, etc to help you feel at home.

Handouts: Gloria Mueller - College Transition Tips

These books are recommended reading from Gloria Mueller:

1. Letting Go: A Parent's Guide to Understanding the College Years by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger
2. Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be by Frank Bruni (GPS speaker April 8, 2015)
3. Don't Tell Me What to Do, Just Send Money - The Essential Parenting Guide to the College Years by Helen E. Johnson and Christine Schelhas-Miller
4. How to Raise An Adult: Break Free of the Over Parenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success by Julie Lythcott-Haims (GPS speaker Oct 8, 2015)

Laurence Steinberg speaks at two GPS events 

on Jan. 26 & 27, 2016

Parent takeaway and Resource Links

Glenbard South parent Eva Schuchardt shared the following takeaway from last night's Glenbard Parent Series event with Laurence Steinberg, author of "The Age of Opportunity: Lessons From the New Science of Adolescence:" "Self-control is the best predictor of success in school and life. To enhance self-control, practice authoritative parenting (provide warmth, be involved, have high expectations and support autonomy). Know that what we do matters. We influence our children much more than their peers or social media.  You can't love your child too much. Attend school functions.  Know their friends. Be the hangout house. Adapt your parenting style to fit your individual child's needs - each child will be different.  Kids need rules and boundaries that are set and consistent. Be clear on the consequences.  Avoid harsh discipline and yelling. Be respectful, always."

Resource Links

Parent Notes from Janury 26, 2016 event

"Age of Opportunity", notes from Chapter 7

YouTube: Steinberg Presentation on January 27, 2016

Dr. Laurence Steinberg's Web Site

Drug Facts Week begins this week, Jan. 25-31

 Drug Facts Week will be observed from Jan. 25 to Jan. 31 in DuPage County with educational events for parents, educators and other community members. Among the highlights will be speeches (all free) by a national expert who will explain teen behavior and what takes place in a teen’s brain.

The focus of Drug Facts Week is educating youth and parents (using science) and shattering the myths that surround teens who are tempted to use drugs and alcohol.

Sponsoring the events are the DuPage County Prevention Leadership Team (PLT), the Robert Crown Center and the Glenbard Parents Series.

PLT and Robert Crown are partnering to develop and market a drug facts conversation guide for parents. A copy of this guide is found HERE

The PLT is also partnering with the Glenbard Parent Series (GPS) to bring in a national behavior expert, Dr. Laurence Steinberg, to speak to parents, educators and health professionals about myth-shattering research-based information on the capacity of the teenage brain. Steinberg will also provide insights on the links between brain development and decision-making and risk-taking in adolescence.

Steinberg will speak on Jan. 26 and 27. All presentations are free:

•  Jan. 26—Steinberg speaks at 7 p.m. at the College of DuPage McAninch Arts Center. No registration required. Info found at Glenbard Parent Series web site
• Jan. 27—Steinberg speaks at 8 a.m. at the DuPage County Health Department, 111 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR THIS EVENT. Register by visiting www.dupagePLT.org and clicking on the events tab.
• Jan. 27—Steinberg speaks at noon at the Community Consolidated School District 93, located at 230 Covington Drive, Bloomingdale.
• For more information on Drug Facts Week and the Drug Facts Week conversation guide, please visit Robert Crown (website) or www.dupagePLT.org

 In line with Drug Facts Week, an interesting article that was published on CNN.com titled, “The New ‘Just Say No to Drugs’”. You can view this article by clicking this link;  http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/15/health/addiction-schools-education-prevention/index.html 

A free webinar will be held on Jan. 28 or Feb. 2  titled, “Emerging Teen Drug Trends and Treatment Options”. You can learn more and register for this webinar by clicking this link:  http://recovergateway.org/professional-resources/CEU-Webinars/?hq_e=el&hq_m=961683&hq_l=4&hq_v=fe51b7cb49