WELLNESS COMMITTEE

wellness@ms54pta.org

RESOURCES

What Did We Learn from the High School Application Process?
Here is a summary of our unrecorded conversation of the January 25, 2023 Wellness Workshop.

How to Communicate Our Expectations to Our Children While Managing Their Stress Level
MISSED THE WORKSHOP? WATCH THE VIDEO!
March 29, 2023: MS54 parent alum and psychotherapist Dr. Elizabeth Cohen looks forward to talking with our parent/guardian community about how to communicate our expectations to our children while managing their stress level.

Wellness & Equity Workshop: Cultivating our Children as Givers

December 14, 2022: MiaLisa McFarland Millares, Executive Director of Doing Good Together, shared many ways we can celebrate and encourage our children as givers. Missed it? Catch the recording here and MiaLisa’s helpful activity links below:

Dr. Elster’s Making the Most of Summer
June 13, 2022
Dr. Elster shared her observations and wisdom about how to help our children have a healthy, happy summer that sets them up for academic—and life—success in the Fall. And, as structure is a vital part of Wellness, it also helped us to resist that “summer slide.”

EFT Tapping 101 for Parents and Teachers
April 13, 2022

MS54 Launches a Mindfulness Movement
We are excited to share the launch of our Mindfulness Movement at MS54. Since Fall 2021, in response to the growing mental health concerns in adults and children alike, MS54 parent alum and Clinical Psychologist Dr. Vijayeta Sinh has been creating weekly Mindful Minute videos for Booker T. students, staff and faculty. Many teachers have shared these videos in their homerooms to help students center and focus at the beginning of the day. Parents/guardians are encourage to submit their own video tips to wellness@ms54pta.org.

Every Wednesday, we will be featuring a new video on our MS54 Wellness YouTube Channel, where you can go and try a new mindfulness technique. Share them with your children, partners, neighbors, coworkers. It takes very little time to feel more grounded and it can make a BIG positive difference in your day.

In Memoriam
In March 2022, beloved MS54 educator and parent alum Ms. Susan Trout passed away. We remember her with gratitude for all she did through the years to instill love and curiosity about the Mandarin language and Chinese cultures. We shall carry her in our hearts and memories. If you would like to share a memory of Ms. Trout, please write wellness@ms54pta.org.

Wellness Committee Workshop with Dr. Vijayeta Sinh
What Does a Growth Mindset Look Like in a Pandemic?
February 9, 2022. Our very own parent alum psychotherapist Dr. Vijayeta Sinh helped us understand how to achieve a “growth mindset,” even during a pandemic. She also spoke about social anxiety and acting-out behavior in school.

Wellness Committee Meeting with Dr. Terri Bacow
January 12, 2022. CBT expert Dr. Terri Bacow, psychotherapist and author of Goodbye Anxiety: A Guided Journal for Overcoming Worry, shared practical coping skills that can be used whenever you feel anxious. Drawing from her just-released book, she explained how to identify anxiety triggers, change unhelpful thinking patterns and develop healthy mental habits such as self-compassion.

Healthy Kitchen Hacks for the (Middle School) Family, December 8, 2021

Fundamentally rooted in the concept that a healthy life begins with a healthy kitchen, Dr. Dara Huang will demonstrate that simple kitchen skills and adopting a choice mindset are the only ingredients for creating a healthy and more joyful cooking space for the whole family.

Workshop with Dr. Vijayeta Sinh

November 10, 2021

Too often we think we don’t have the time or money to take care of ourselves. But if our own energy is depleted, how can we show up for our children? Psychologist and Booker T. parent alum Dr. Sinh showed us that self-care does not have to depend on time or money, but can be as easy as committing to a few simple strategies.

Family Healing Ambassadors Presentation Panel: How Can We Help Our Children Take Care of Themselves Socially, Emotionally and Physically?
November 3, 2021
Join MS54 panelists Social Worker Nicole Miller, Physical Education Instructor Frank DiPasquale, Parent Coordinator Anne McIntosh Pejovich, and Family Healing Ambassador and Wellness Lead Alison Gardy to discuss a topic of importance to all of us.