Character Counts

After Hours Mental Health Emergency Contact Info:

If this communication is regarding a mental health emergency occurring before or after school hours (8:10am-2:55pm on school days) or on a weekend, holiday or school break, call 911, go to your nearest Emergency Room or Advocates Mobile Crisis Team.

Advocates Mobile Crisis Team: 1-800-640-5432

Other Mental Health Resources:

Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 24/7: call or text 988

Interface Mental Health Referal Service : Free and Confidential Mental Health Info and Referral Helpline

The William James College INTERFACE Referral Service is a free and confidential mental health information and referral helpline available to all students of Woburn Public Schools.

We recognize the importance of supporting mental health and raising awareness across all stages of life. Our clinically trained resource and referral counselors take the time to understand your or your dependent's needs and connect you with vetted, licensed outpatient mental health providers that match your concerns, insurance, schedule, and preferences.

Please allow approximately 20 minutes to complete an intake.

Call: 888-244-6843
Visit: williamjames.edu/interface

#Awareness #CommunitySupport #MentalHealthAccess #INTERFACEReferralService

2 Merrimac Street, Woburn, MA 01801
Open to Woburn and Winchester Residents
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 9:45am – 12:00pm and 1:30pm – 3:00pm
Click for more info.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) provides provides an array of benefits. Not only can it increase students’ academic achievement, but SEL activities can build students’ self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. All of these skills are important for students’ academic, social, and eventually, professional lives.

This month, Woburn Elementary School Adjustment Counselors will be teaching students about the importance of RESPONSIBILITY. We will have interactive discussions and a guided activity together. *Lessons and activities may vary from school to school*

*The intention of this newsletter compiled of some quoted information is to inform parents/caregivers about the Character Trait of the Month for October, RESPONSIBILITY, and to highlight what students will be learning during our SEL lessons. Resources and at-home activities have also been compiled for parents throughout this newsletter. SEL lessons may vary depending on classroom needs and Teacher request.

• Keeping track of your backpack, jacket, and school supplies.

• Turning in your homework on time.

• Cleaning up your workspace and taking care of classroom materials.

• Owning up to a mistake and saying sorry when you hurt someone

Whose job is it?

• Make a list of jobs that are completed at home and at school (i.e., completing homework, making the bed, organizing a backpack, getting ready for school, doing classwork, cleaning their room, etc.). Students share responsibilities with parents, teachers, and other adults in their lives. We need to be clear with them about which bits and pieces are their responsibility.

• Grow a plant or care for an animal

• Learning how to keep something alive is one of the biggest responsibilities you can teach anyone, whether adult or child. Whether at home or in the classroom, having your kids learn how to take care of a pet or a plant can teach them the most fundamental responsibility skills. Children as young as 4 can start doing this activity.

• Take responsibility for your actions

• Help students to identify what to say to take responsibility for their actions. Students need a clear understanding of how to take responsibility for a mistake. Model good apologies when mistakes involve others. Apologies should have 3 parts: the “I’m sorry,” the reason why you are sorry, and a resolution like “I won’t make that mistake again”.

• Simon Says

• Simon Says is a classic game where a leader (“Simon”) yells out commands quickly to a group. Only commands beginning with “Simon says” should be followed. Those who do not follow these rules will be eliminated from the game. What makes this game a great activity for responsibility is that it motivates kids to think before taking action. It also teaches them that not listening is irresponsible and has certain consequences, such as getting eliminated

Doing what needs to be done, being reliable and dependable, being accountable for your actions; not making excuses or blaming others, fulfilling your moral obligations, using good judgment, thinking through the consequences of your actions, exercising self-control.

A Friend to Trust by Scholastic

• But it's not my Fault by Julie Cook

• 7 Habits of Happy Kids by Sean Covey

• Ricky Sticky Fingers by Julia Cook

• Zach Apologizes by William Mulcahy

• Ready to be Responsible by Scholastic

• Clarify Roles ("Whose Job Is It?"): Discuss with kids which daily responsibilities. Help them recognize the tasks they control, such as cleaning up their things at home, making their bed, brushing their teeth and listening to the adults in the home.

• Guide Ownership of Actions: When mistakes happen, guide kids through structured reflection rather than placing blame by asking questions like:

• What happened?

• Who else was affected?

• What can you do to make this better?

• Model Self Control: Teach that kids are responsible for how they react to situations. Teach them to:

• Mind their own business

• Keep a calm body and make smart choices

• Let adults handle unexpected or unsafe behavior

• Use Responsibility Charts: Try accountability tools like responsibility charts and allow kids to experience natural consequences to reinforce dependable behavior.

MODEL RESPONSIBILITY

Build your own practice of responsibility within your home. Straighten things up, put things in order, pick things up, etc. As they say, more is caught than is taught. Children will pick up on your practices and start to integrate these practices in their own behavior.

LET YOUR CHLDREN HELP YOU OUT WITH SMALL JOBS

There are tasks that need to be done in our homes on a daily basis. Give your children the responsibility of some of these small tasks, like washing the dishes, taking the trash out, feeding their pet/s, cleaning a room etc...

BUILD IN A HOME JOB SYSTEM

This is similar to letting children help out, but creates a system for it.

PRAISE Children FOR BEING RESPONSIBLE

Hand out compliments willingly. If you praise children for being responsible all day long, you will have students rising to meet your expectations.

PROVIDE STRUCTURE SO THAT CHILDREN KNOW WHAT TO DO

Give clear directions and make sure your child knows your expectations. If they know what to do, they will know exactly how to show responsibility. Clear directions and plenty of scaffolding go a long way.

HAVE CLEAR CONSEQUENCES THAT MATCH THE LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY

Do they have a messy room? Clean it. Does your child not pick up what they drop on the floor? Clean it. Does your child leave their books out? Pick them up and a few more. If you have clear directions and the child knows the expectation, hold them to those expectations with clear consequences that align.

TALK ABOUT IT

Revisit this concept throughout the year. The more you make it upfront and central in your child's mind, the more they will realize the importance of it. Consider creating a weekly or monthly routine of revisiting some of these core character traits.

FOCUS ON ONE WAY TO BE RESPONSIBLE AND SHOW S YOUR CHILD YOU’RE LOOKING FOR

IT

Make it a challenge. Who can win a clean bedroom award? Who can pick up the most pieces of trash? Even over a period of time, who is bringing their dinner plate to the kitchen without reminders? Small challenges encompass several of the above tips and provide the ability to focus on one behavior over and over.

Responsibility means doing what you are expected to do, taking care of your belongings and commitments, being reliable and dependable, being accountable for your actions, and being willing to make things right when something goes wrong.

• “What is something you are responsible for at home?”
• “How do you know when something is your responsibility?”
• "What happens when we forget to do something we are responsible for?”
• “Tell me about a time you made a mistake. What did you do to make it right?”
• Notice it: Point out responsibility when you see it: “You remembered to put your backpack away without being reminded. That was responsible!”
• Give them a job: Have your child take ownership of an age-appropriate task such as feeding a pet, putting away toys, setting the table, packing their backpack, or helping with laundry.
• Let them experience natural consequences: When appropriate, allow children to experience what happens when they forget a responsibility rather than immediately fixing it for them.

Have each family member choose one responsibility they will take ownership of this week. At the end of the week, talk about:

What was my responsibility?
Did I follow through?
What was easy or difficult?
What can I do next week?

September:RESPECT

October: RESPONSIBILITY

Novemeber: CITIZENSHIP

December: HONESTY

January: FAIRNESS

February: CARING

March: COURAGE

April: DILIGENCE

May: TRUSTWORTHINESS

June: INTEGRITY