OMS School Counseling Newsletter

Dear families and caregivers,

We hope your student has had a smooth start to the school year. The counseling team at Ottoson will be sending out a monthly newsletter with parenting resources, book or podcast recommendations, mental health resources, community resources and updates on counseling initiatives. We meet weekly with the learning community teachers to collaborate on how to best support students academically and socially. This year we plan to offer some groups to build executive functioning skills, coping skills, social skills and more. Please feel free to reach out to your student's counselor with any questions or concerns. We look forward to a successful school year helping you student grow and learn.

Ottoson Middle School students will engage in a proactive suicide prevention initiative, known as the "Signs of Suicide" program. This program equips students with the essential skills to recognize signs and symptoms of depression in both their peers and themselves. Through this program, students will gain the knowledge and tools to respond effectively when they have concerns about the well-being of themselves or a friend. The primary objective is to empower students with the following key learnings:

• Acknowledge: any concerns they may have about their own mental health or a friend’s

• Care: show them how much you care by listening and taking their concerns seriously

• Tell: a trusted adult

In the 8th grade, students will build upon the foundation laid in 7th grade by participating in a follow-up lesson. Additionally, both 7th and 8th-grade students will undergo a mental health screening using the BSAD (Brief Screen for Adolescent Depression). Should any concerns arise regarding your student, a school counselor will get in touch with you.

For additional information about the program and access to parental resources, please follow this provided link. If you have any inquiries about the program after reviewing the website, please don't hesitate to contact your child's school counselor. If you wish to exempt your student from the program, kindly complete the opt-out form by October 17, 2024.

The OMS Counselors

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When teens are struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, it is common for them to turn to each other. This is why it is important for every student to learn Act, Care, Tell (ACT). In SOS students learn to look for the warning signs of suicide.

As parents, It can be tough to bring up the topic of depression and suicide, but these conversations are essential. Please join us in learning more about the SOS program at Ottoson.

October 16th at 11am on Zoom

October 17th at 6:30 at Ottoson

Please help us plan accordingly and RSVP HERE.

(The zoom link will be provided only to those who RSVP)

For questions related to the sessions, please contact Suzanne Hawkins, district social worker at shawkins@arlington.k12.ma.us

The following guidelines have been developed to ensure that each student’s private school application process runs smoothly.

Private School Coordinator: Cheryl Kerr ~ Administrative Assistant to School Counseling and Administration

• • Please email Cheryl (ckerr@arlington.k12.ma.us) a complete list of the schools and their application deadlines

  • Please complete the linked BRAG SHEET that will be sent directly to the school counselor

Additional Information

• Online requests for the Counselor/Administrator School Report within Ravenna, Gateway, etc should be sent to the student’s School Counselor’s email address.

• Online requests for teacher recommendations should be sent to individual teachers’ (Math, English, etc.) email addresses. Before sending an online request, students should make the recommendation requests of teachers in person.

• If online recommendations are not available, provide stamped envelopes for each teacher recommendation request (English, Math, etc.) in the folder to Cheryl Kerr.

• Sign the Release of Information section online for Ottoson to release transcript information, or fill out this release and email it to Cheryl Kerr.

• Reminder: Recommendations are confidential between the requesting school and Ottoson Middle School personnel.

For all other questions regarding the Private School Application Process, please call or email

Cheryl Kerr in the School Counseling Department at ckerr@arlington.k12.ma.us, 781-316-3744 ext 28006.

Family Learning Sessions

First Tuesday of Month, 7-8pm ET (4-5pm PT)

Dates: 9/3, 10/1, 11/5, 12/3, 1/7, 2/4, 3/4, 4/1 & 5/6

Access with this link

All parents are invited to join anonymously via YouTube Live, or watch the ​recording afterwards. There is no cost to participate.

Bryt also has Parents Supporting Parents Conversationss

Middle/High School Parents

Third Tuesday of Month, 7-8pm ET (4-5pm PT)

Dates: 10/15, 11/19, 12/17, 1/21, 2/18, 3/18, 4/15 & 5/20

Join with this link

BIPOC Parents

Fourth Tuesday of Month, 7-8pm ET (4-5pm PT)

Dates: 10/22, 11/26, 1/28, 2/25, 3/25, 4/22 & 5/27

Join with this link

Parents and caregivers play a crucial role in guiding how children and teens use social media. But starting that conversation can be hard. How can we engage young people in useful conversations and help instill healthy habits? What are some roadblocks to avoid?

Join Cartwheel and Dr. Ilan Shapiro in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health for an engaging webinar on one of the most pressing youth mental health topics today. Learn how to engage your child in meaningful discussions, set healthy boundaries, and support their well-being in the digital age.

The yearlong calendar of topics can be found here and all past webinars are recorded and can be watched at any time. These are open to all!

Friday, October 11 @ 12pm ET

Roberto Olivardia, PhD, Shares Insight Into Our Complicated Relationships With Food and Eating

Our relationships with food and our own bodies are often complex and fraught with challenges. At their best, they can help lead us to both physical and mental well-being. But all too often, these relationships become problematic, resulting in people having negative body image. In some, this has the potential to develop into conditions such as anorexia, bulimia, and body dysmorphic disorder. And while treatment is available and highly effective, it requires recognition of these conditions, which itself can be difficult.

So how can we identify when someone is struggling with an eating disorder or body image challenge? Who is most at risk of developing one? And what are the treatment options?

In this previously recorded session, Roberto Olivardia, PhD, offers educators, clinicians, and concerned loved ones a roadmap for recognizing eating disorders and body image issues, provides tips for finding appropriate professional care, and answers questions about the causes and many manifestations of these conditions.

Can’t join our session live?
Sign up anyway! You’ll receive a recording by email a few days after the webinar.

Register for the October 11th webinar here.

Thursday, October 17 @ 11am ET

Dr. R. Meredith Elkins Shares What You Should Know About Perfectionism and Related Disorders in Kids and Teens

Children grow up with all kinds of incentives to strive for perfection—from the encouragement of adults to the recognition and personal pride that can follow great achievement. There’s no question that this drive often serves kids and teens well. But, taken too far, it can also create serious mental health challenges for them, including anxiety, depression, and avoidance behavior.

So how can health care professionals, parents, educators, and others help adolescents find a balance between chasing worthwhile goals and taking care of themselves? What are the key signs of emerging perfectionism and related disorders? And when is professional help warranted?

Join us as R. Meredith Elkins, PhD, explains what sets adolescent perfectionism apart from healthy pursuits to excel, explores the short- and long-term impacts of unaddressed perfectionism, and answers audience questions about evidence-based treatment options.

Register for the October 17th webinar here.

Date & Time

Oct 23, 2024 11:30 AM

Riverside Community Mental Health's Diversity & Inclusion Committee invites you to this virtual event to explore the nonlinear paths of healing and personal growth. The event will feature guest speaker Michelle E. Dickinson, a passionate mental health advocate, a TED speaker, and a published author of a memoir entitled Breaking Into My Life. Expect a rich discussion of how to move forward through adversity and embrace transformation.

Register for Riverside's webinar here.

Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) is pleased to announce its new MPY Parenting Solutions Library. The MPY Parenting Solutions Library is offered at no charge, in partnership with Peace At Home Parenting Solutions, a non-profit located in Mansfield, Connecticut. Peace At Home Parenting Solutions is a dynamic hub of trusted knowledge and compassionate support that inspires parents to create positive change for their children, their families and themselves. Through this new partnership, MPY is pleased to offer proven resources to help students’ families thrive.

Peace At Home Parenting Solutions specializes in empowering parents with evidence-based strategies to foster nurturing connections that safeguard their children's mental well-being. The trainings are presented by experts with advanced degrees and the trainings focus on child and adolescent development, including difficulties in school, mental health challenges, neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ identity formation, racism, and grief. These trainings present easy-to-use strategies for long-lasting change

APS Family Support Request

The District invites you to complete the APS Family Support Request Form. It is designed to give families an avenue to request support and helps the District and schools understand the needs and concerns of families in order to provide the most effective support and resources. Once you complete this form we will share your responses with the family engagement department and/or school social workers or counselors to support your child(ren)/ family.

Youth, Media, and Well-Being Research LAb in Wellesley is hosting a free virtual afterschool club for middle school girls about designing healthier social media experiences, hosted by researchers from the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab and Wellesley College students. The club meetings are drop-in sessions (students can come for just one meeting or attend the entire series!) with our first session on March 14. Any middle school girl is encouraged to apply on a first-come, first-serve basis. We are especially interested in reaching under-resourced girls in the Metrowest area. Interested students can apply using this link (https://bit.ly/DigitalWellbeingClub) up until the day of the club sessions.

The Dan Kelly Foundation

Financial assistance for youth sports. (DK4) is committed to helping kids thrive by providing athletic opportunities for children of all ages, skill levels, and diverse backgrounds. We believe that sports can harness the power in kids by building character and confidence, teaching perseverance and teamwork, which ultimately fosters the development of skills needed for responsible citizenship

Sanborn Foundation

Financial assistance for Arlington residents living with cancer

Parent Support through PPAL (Parent/Professional Advocacy League) They offer workshops on a range of topics from navigating your child's IEP, to active parenting. The also have a series in Spanish.

Winter Brochures

Arlington Center for the Arts

Arlington Recreation Department

Arlington Boys and Girls Club

Fidelity House Fall Program

Join us on Wednesday Oct 9 for an informative panel with Sarah Boyer, author of “Coming Out, Becoming Ourselves,” and Joan Ilacqua from The History Project! Whether you’re joining us in person or virtually, it’s time to celebrate and learn from the stories that shaped our community.

Join us in person at the Arlington Senior Center (27 Maple St) or virtually via zoom (link included in the registration link below) from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.

Arlington LGBTQIA+ History Month Panel Registration

APS does not endorse any of these practices specifically and we are sharing things as resources for Arlington families.

Association for Autism and Neurodiversity (AANE) - has immediate openings for Parent Coaching. Click Here for the link to AANE Parent Coaching.

The Concord Center is excited to announce that they are now running an Accelerated Outpatient Program (AOP) for adolescents with moderate to severe anxiety disorders and/or obsessive compulsive disorders. For more information, please use this link.

McLean Hospital Child and Adolescent Outpatient Supports. Their Group and Bridge services are insurance based, while their Anxiety Mastery Program and DBT Program are hybrid insurance and fee for service

Looking for child psychiatric services? This practice is new in Lexington and accepting new patients. They are out of network for most insurance carriers. ReThink Minds

Ottoson School Counseling- many great resources are linked here, including previous newsletters.

Massachusetts Launched a new Community Behavioral Health Centers (CBHCs) to serve as an entry point for timely, high-quality and evidence-based treatment for mental health conditions and substance use disorders, including routine appointments, urgent visits, and 24/7 community-based crisis intervention as an alternative to hospital emergency departments. CBHCs receive enhanced state funding through alternative payment models to support flexible, person-centered treatment.

Community Supports (Food, Mental Health, Housing, etc.)

Greater Massachusetts Special Needs Events

Cartwheel Care

Services are available to all Arlington Public Schools students and families.

Services are virtual and include short-term individual and group therapy, parent/caregiver

consultation. Following an initial session, additional services may include medication evaluation

and prescription, and longer-term outpatient referral support.

Referrals to Cartwheel Care go through your student’s school counselor

Parent Support Groups are offered through Child Therapy Boston.

Their therapists understand the unique position that parents are in. Parenting kids with anxiety, dysregulation, ADHD, Mood Disorders, and challenges with school or peer relationships can be hard. Traditional advice, books, and parenting “methods” don’t always apply to the unique situations you might find yourselves in.