Family Wellness News & Resources

March 11th Screenagers: The Elementary Edition Follow Up & Resources

Thank you to the parents, students and administrators who attended the film viewing and discussion on Wednesday, March 11. We hope this event raised awareness and provided you with topics for follow up discussion and actions at home to support healthy, balanced use of technology. Whether you attended or missed this event, you may want to check out the resources below to support you as you navigate the digital world with your family.

Special thanks to Healthy KP Substance Use Prevention Coalition for funding this event and partnering with Plainville Schools and Dot Pearl, Regional Director of Wellness to provide this event.

Thank you to our panelists:

• Dr. Jennifer Parson, Superintendent, Plainville Schools

• Dr. Vanessa Beauchaine, Assistant Superintendent, Wrentham Schools

• Dr. Carolyn Kuehnel, Licensed Psychologist, Kuehnel Psychological Services

• Robin Roberts-Pratt, Principal, Wood School, Plainville Schools

We also wish to extend thanks to Stephanie Whittaker, Plainville Director of Technology and Dave Technology Team and Plainville Schools facilities staff.

Handouts and resources

Screenagers Parent Handout- Discussion topics for home, and list of other resources available from Screenagers, including Tech Talk Tuesdays podcast.

Resource shared by Kuehnel Psychological Services:

Practical Next Steps and Every Day Ways to Model Healthy Choices

Boston Children's Hospital’s Digital Wellness Lab has excellent resources.

Their 2025-2026 Family Digital Wellness Guide is “a comprehensive, evidence-based resource designed to help families raise healthy, smart, and kind kids in the age of social media and AI.” Resources and information related to developmental ages, 0-22.

https://digitalwellnesslab.org/

Common Sense Media provides ratings and reviews of movies, books, gaming, tv and social media, and other resources. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

In addition, they provide Parents’ Ultimate Guides to Social Media.

Center of Excellence on Social Media and Mental https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/media-and-children/center-of-excellence-on-social-media-and-youth-mental-health/

For other digital wellness resources, visit KP, Norfolk, Plainville & Wrentham Family Wellness Website, Digital Wellness

April break is fast approaching. Vacation week is a great time for focusing on wellness: engaging in outdoor activities, spending time with family and friends, taking a break from screens, or just having some unstructured down time.

For those staying in the area for vacation week. there are several opportunities throughout the state.

Massachusetts State Parks offer outdoor experiences and special programs.

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/april-school-vacation-week-programs

Community Kangaroo, a resource begun by a MetroWest Mom, provides calendar listings of activities taking place during April vacation. For activities in the Norfolk, Plainville, Wrentham, Mansfield and Foxborough area, https://communitykangaroo.com/foxboro/april-fun/

Visitma.com provides information about opportunities for learning, creativity, physical activity, and more.

Boston Discovery Guide is another resource for things to do in Boston during April.

More local and state activities for staying active can be found on the Family Wellness Resources Website. under Staying Active and Promoting Wellness at Home.

All parents and caregivers are welcome to join Fuller's weekly virtual parenting group led by behavioral health professionals. Topics include behavior support, emotional connection, neurodiverse parents, healthy family habits and effective community. Learn tools to support your family's emotional well-being.

Groups are held on Wednesdays at 12:30 PM, or Thursdays at 7:00 PM.

To register: email FullerServiceExcellence@uhsinc.com

The evidence- based CPS approach helps parents:

• Learn to set clear and realistic expectations and work collaboratively with their children to get those expectations met.
• Better understand why traditional discipline approaches, such as rewards and consequences, sometimes don’t result in better behavior.
• Identify specific situations or triggers that often lead to challenging behaviors and explore options for handling those situations in a more proactive way.
• Support the development of important thinking skills in their children.
• Strengthen and/or improve their relationship with their children.

• Free course with roughly 3 hours of content. Self-paced and online—this means that parents can log in and work through the material at their own pace.
• Available in English or Spanish.
• See flyer for details and registration.

Family Wellness Resources Website

Please visit the Family Wellness Website for resources related to nutrition, food access, basic needs assistance, mental health, counseling support, referral resources and other wellness topics. There are ongoing updates and additions to the site to support families from all four districts.

Family Wellness Resources

Information in this newsletter are provided as a service to support students, families and members of the school community and does not necessarily reflect cumulative views or policies of the districts. Resources, providers and links to local and national supports or websites are provided for informational purposes, and should not be used in place of consultation with physician or mental health professional when specific concerns arise.

Regional Director of Wellness

Email: pearld@kingphilip.org or dpearl@norfolk.k12.ma.us

dpearl@plainville.k12.ma.us pearld@wrenthamschools.org

Website: Family Wellness Resources
Location: 18 King Street, Norfolk, MA, USA
Phone: 508 520-7991, ext. 2312