Shepherd Middle BlueJay Bulletin
Students wrapped up Homecoming Week with a fun and spirited Friday! We started with our own Middle School pep rally before joining the High School for their celebration—a great way to show our BlueJay pride and build community across campuses. A big thank-you to the High School for including us in the festivities!
This is a short week for students. There will be no school on Thursday and Friday, October 9 and 10. Middle School Conferences will be held on Thursday, October 9, from 8–11 AM and 12–3 PM. These conferences are a great opportunity to connect with your student’s teachers, discuss progress, and set goals for the rest of the school year. Teachers will be in their classrooms and available without an appointment during these times.
October
- 9th & 10th- NO SCHOOL
- 9th- Parent Teacher Conferences
- 21st- Picture Retake Day
- 31st- Halloween
Anxiety is an increasing mental health concern among today’s youth. The United States Preventive Services Task Force actually recommends that all youth between the ages of 8 and 18 get screened for anxiety yearly. You and your child can both take a free, confidential mental health screen online by following this link: https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools/
“An Unwavering Warning About Teenagers and Screen Time” (NYT, Sept. 9, 2025)
Psychologist Jean Twenge of San Diego State University warns that heavy teen social media use, about 4.5 hours a day, is linked to anxiety, loneliness, and depression. In both her research and her own parenting, she stresses firm, consistent rules over negotiation.
Twenge’s main guidelines:
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Parents set the rules, not peers.
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Start with “dumbphones.”
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No social media before age 16.
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First smartphone = driver’s license.
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Support school-day phone bans.
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No devices overnight—sleep matters most.
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Create no-phone zones and encourage real-world connections.
Her message: boundaries protect kids’ mental health, relationships, and rest.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/06/well/family/jean-twenge-social-media-screens-teens.html
