OMS School Counseling Newsletter
May 2025
School Counseling Team
Dear Families and Caregivers,
As we step into May, we want to share a few updates from the counseling team. In April, we successfully wrapped up our small group interventions focused on managing stress and anxiety. It was a meaningful time of connection and support, and we’re proud of the progress our students made.
Behind the scenes, we’re already hard at work preparing for next year—collaborating closely with Gibbs, Arlington High School and Minuteman High to ensure a smooth transition for all of our students.
Looking ahead, May will bring classroom lessons on coping skills in select classes, where some teachers have invited counselors to support students during this particularly busy season. With MCAS testing underway, we know that some students may feel additional stress, and we’re here to help them navigate it with confidence and care.
The OMS Counseling Team
How to help your child with anxiety: SPACE workshop
The Arlington Public Schools counseling team is excited to offer another parent workshop series on the SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) treatment model. SPACE is designed for families who find themselves struggling to navigate and support their child's anxiety. The next round of workshops will take place in April. More details in the link below!
- Do you have a child struggling with anxiety?
- Do you find yourself modifying daily routines, avoiding certain places or activities, or doing things for your child to prevent their distress?
- If yes, this workshop might be a great fit for you...
Click the link to learn more and see if SPACE could support your family!
Webinar: How Trauma Affects Youth & Family Mental Health
Thursday, May 15th, 12-1pm ET / 11-12pm CT
How Trauma Affects Family Mental Health, Plus How to Support Yourself & Your Kids
Register hehttps://cartwheelcare.zoom.us/webinar/register/5017436055654/WN_ASaSwBdqQT6GiKuc1TOQew?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_13096808#/registrationre
Trauma doesn't just affect the individual – it ripples through families and communities, influencing physical health, relationships, communication, and mental wellbeing. By understanding trauma's impact and recognizing common responses, you can develop effective strategies to support healing for yourself and your loved ones. Join Cartwheel and guest speaker Chris Smith, LCSW for a webinar on how trauma affects youth & families and what you can do to support yourself and your kids. Learn how to break cycles of trauma and improve family functioning. This virtual event is part of Cartwheel's free webinar series for parents, caregivers, and school staff. Meet our speaker Chris Smith is a licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist and Director of the Entertainment Community Fund’s Looking Ahead program, which supports the mental health and well-being of child actors and other professional young performers. Chris has worked with youth and families for over twenty years in after-school programming, crisis mobile outreach and hospice. He is passionate about promoting mental health and wellness, especially for youth and young adults. In addition to his role with Looking Ahead, he maintains a private therapy practice in Los Angeles and also provides trainings and talks on topics such as suicide prevention, healing from racial trauma and group facilitation.
The Teen Mental Health Playbook: Tips Every Parent Needs
Join Us Online – Friday, May 2 @ 12pm ET
Parenting a teenager can feel like navigating uncharted waters, especially when it comes to mental health. In this engaging and practical webinar, we’ll dive into the most effective strategies for supporting your teen’s emotional well-being in today’s fast-paced, high-pressure world.
Learn how to recognize early warning signs of mental health struggles, foster open communication, and create a home environment that nurtures resilience and confidence.
In this previously recorded session, Holly S. Peek, MD, MPH, shares actionable tips and insights to help you better understand your teen’s needs while balancing boundaries and independence. Whether your teen is thriving or facing challenges, this playbook is designed to empower parents with tools that truly make a difference.
“The First Year Advantage: Monday June 23rd for 8th grade students.
SAVE THE DATE!
Dear 8th Grade Students, Parents, and Guardians,
We are pleased to inform you that Arlington High School will host rising 9th grade students for “The First Year Advantage” on Monday, June 23, 2025 from 8:30am-11:30am. The students will report directly to Arlington High School and will be dismissed from there as well.
This is an exciting opportunity for students to:
--See AHS’ beautiful new building.
--Hear tips from AHS students about how to be successful in high school.
--Learn how to make their way around the building, use lockers, passes, etc…
--Understand who are the “go to” people.
--Hear opportunities to get involved in Clubs and Athletics.
--Get some Arlington SWAG.
--Lunch will be provided. Please bring your own water bottles--bottle filling stations are available
An email with a link to sign up will be sent in early June.
If you have any questions or need specific accommodations, please email Jessica Klau: jklau@arlington.k12.ma.us or Kathy Hirsch: khirsch@arlington.k12.ma.us.
3rd Annual Pride Celebration
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
Community Resources
For a fairly extensive list of summer camp opportunities in MA put out by Boston Medical Center click here. There are a variety of camps for students with disabilities and camps for students without a need for extra support.
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.
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
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.
Enrichment Opportunity
Dive In is a tuition-free academic program for high-achieving current 6th and 7th graders from low-income families. You can read more about us here.
They have an upcoming info sessions on February 20. The application is now open until March 15, 2025Summer Camp options:
UNAGB's 2025 Summer Institute in Global Leadership programs for middle and high school students.
Program Summary: Each summer, UNAGB runs our Summer Institute in Global Leadership, which is a series of week-long leadership development programs for middle and high school students focused on global issues. During these programs, participants do a deep dive into the week's focal topic, hear from impactful guest speakers, work on their public speaking, negotiation, and problem-solving skills, and participate in Model UN simulations.UNAGB is committed to ensuring that this opportunity is available to any interested students, regardless of financial background. We have full, partial, and significant scholarships available and the scholarship application process is simple. More information can be found under "Financial Support" here.
The Summit STEM Fellowship is a virtual summer program taught by Harvard, Stanford, and MIT graduates. Through the program, students explore different opportunities and diverse career pathways in STEM. Students are expected to commit 10-15 hours each week and may participate alongside other summer programs. Admissions are rolling, and students are encouraged to apply early. For more information, please visit the fellowship website: www.summitstemfellowship.org. For any inquiries, please contact info@summitstemfellowship.org.
Camp Starfish is a therapeutic summer program located in Rindge, NH that uses a 1:1 staff-to-camper ratio to support children with a variety of emotional, behavioral, and social challenges including:
- Autism
- ADHD
- Anxiety
- Developmental Delay
- Depression
- PTSD
- And Many More
We have a variety of programs available for Summer 2025 including 5-day programs for first-time campers, 2-week traditional summer camps, 5-day teen programs, and a transitional living program for young adults.
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University is the only vet school in New England and we offer the opportunity for middle school learners (as well as high school and college students) to explore veterinary medicine in a highly interactive and hands-on environment here on our North Grafton campus. The middle school program is designed and reserved for current 7th and 8th graders and available both during the April break and in late June.
Each middle school session is a week-long, in-person, full-day, commuter experience led by our faculty and students in our veterinary labs and classrooms - including our new state-of-the-art simulation lab - and on our farm. Students will learn and gain exposure to things like how to suture and palpate, be introduced to handling small and large animals, as well as learn basic animal CPR and ultrasound, AND even practice a variety of skills on our near life-like and animatronic simulation models; the same ones our students use!
Camp Kesem is a free overnight summer camp for children 6-18 who are impacts by a parent's cancer. More information about Camp Kesem can be found here.
There are a variety of summer camp options for students impacted by the death of a family member. Please see The Children's Room website for the options.
Winter Brochures
Arlington Recreation Department
Mental Health Resources
Mental Health and Parent Supports
APS does not endorse any of these practices specifically and we are sharing things as resources for Arlington families.
Autism Grown Up is an online non-profit organization that creates and shares resources and education to support Autistic individuals & their support networks across the lifespan.
Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders (CIMAID)
Are you worried about your child or teen’s internet use?
If you think your child or teen’s online activities are causing problems with sleep, school, relationships, or other aspects of their physical, social, and mental health, we can help.
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. They also have monthly free parent workshops which can be found here. In addition the adolescent DBT group will be starting in March.
The McLean Anxiety Mastery Program (MAMP) has openings for kids (6-19) with primary anxiety and/or OCD to be seen in our intensive group-based outpatient program. We treat kids with a range of symptom severity, from those with mild symptoms, have never had treatment before, and can get momentum sooner, as well as those with more acute symptoms. If you know of any youth experiencing anxiety and/or OCD and think the program might be a fit, please have children's families submit applications found on our website:
https://www.mcleanhospital.org/treatment/mamp. Here is a link to the application for your reference: https://www.mcleanhospital.org/sites/default/files/2022-11/MAMP-Application-11112022.pdf.
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
iLearn Wellness Group - iLearn is a relatively new clinic offering partial hospitalization, half day psychiatric treatment (like IOP - coming in February!) and outpatient treatment services for adolescents in Newton. They accept many major insurances.
Advocates Crisis Team If you are wondering if you should call the mobile crisis team to assess your child. This slideshow may help you with the process.
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
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