MEM Wellness Team

Memorial Wellness Weekly Newsletter   Parent/Teacher/Community March 27, 2021 Habits Creating good habits or breaking undesired habits will take time. The most effective way is to start with one goal and create small systematic ways to get started. It's been said that when you stick with something for 21 days, you've mastered it. Although that may be a good initial timeline, you should consider how to keep it up for months or a year. What's your goal?  Keys to forming habits: Use a prompt that initiates you. For example, if your goal is to drink more water, then keep your water bottle out in the open to prompt you. Use a mantra, saying or quote to remind you to stay on course. Stay positive even if you miss a day. Building good habits should be viewed as a want or goal, not a have-to. Children need consistency. They need to be taught a new habit or desired behavior and the WHY behind that goal. The interaction around the teaching needs to be upbeat. Even young children can ...

      Memorial Wellness Weekly Newsletter   Parent/Teacher/Community March 21, 2021 Fear looks like... Seeking control/micromanaging Not telling people how you feel Over doing it...food, technology, busyness, etc. Settling for less Saying yes instead of no When we worry, our actions and decisions are controlled by anxiety, avoidance and anger. It's time to stop letting worry run our lives and relationships. Taking true control means finding your authentic self. Surround yourself with those who support you, those individuals who are there for you through thick and thin. Be brave, trust in your belief systems. Listen to your thoughts and feelings - take the space to heal or organize yourself.  Develop a relationship with your fear and be systematic in your management of your fears. For children, their behaviors may be a manifestation of fear. Rational or irrational, take some time to help them identify the 'why' around their behaviors. Expressing the thoughts and ...

    Memorial Wellness Weekly Newsletter   Parent/Teacher/Community March 14, 2021 Maximizer or Satisficer? Students encounter challenges and obstacles every day. We teach them resilience through approaching these barriers with flexibility. Learning to have a growth/flexible mindset is a crucial part of our educational culture. We learn through risks and mistakes. Students are asked to explain the process of their thinking more and more as they progress through the grades, rather than just answer the question.  We are challenging our student every day with academics and critical thinking activities. Learning leads our students to forming a perspective or mindset of practicing through two lenses: Maximizer or Satificer? How do we show up? For our students, workplaces, families and communities...are you satisfied with what we put our OR are you a maximizer? Maximizers = Considering whether there is a bigger, better, faster, stronger option...always wondering if there is...

  Memorial Wellness Weekly Newsletter   Parent/Teacher/Community March 7, 2021 Are you a Giver, Taker or Matcher?   Creating cultures and norms in schools, businesses, families and social groups impact productivity and success. In all of these settings, there are givers (those who help everyone), takers (those who want others to do for them), and matchers (those who give and take).  Givers are the most valuable of the group. They find large and small ways to contribute or ask for help but their vulnerability translates to success. If we understand our strengths and weaknesses, while also being brave enough to ask for and accept help to compensate for our weaknesses helps us bond with a group, creates higher productivity and overall satisfaction.  Even one taker in a group of givers or matchers can hurt the culture. It is important to recognize those who surround you and how they operate within your group. Trust isn't earned by dominance or fear, we must show res...

  Memorial Wellness Weekly Newsletter   Parent/Teacher/Community February 21, 2021 Culture   Diversity and Shaping Identity Our interactions within our communities, families, schools and workspaces influence how we identify ourselves. This includes how we communicate with ourselves and others. Our ability to decode culture and identity may or may not be easy within these settings. How often do we navigate through other cultures within our own communities?  Within everything there are influences of culture and identity. We ask children to read the room, acknowledge the setting, recognize body language - these are patterns of learning culture and understanding the environment. Because of difference of how context is learned, we all need to practice. There are so many ways culture forms identity and informs how we navigate, school, work and life.  How do we teach or embrace variances in culture? How does our culture define us and our children?  Connect with Cu...