Share & Learn! CAPP Learning Collaborative Newsletter

Share and Learn! CAPP Learning Collaborative

Newsletter for School and

School Based Health Center Partners

Welcome back Castlemont High School staff readers!

In this issue:

Welcome back!
How Stress and Trauma impact the Brain and Body
WHAT is Mindfulness, HOW do you practice it, and WHY can it help?
Healthy, Healing Learning Spaces
Mindfulness Toolkit Ideas
Request for Feedback

How Stress and Trauma Impact the Brain and Body

In our first newsletter in August, we discussed how the brain and nervous system become activated in the face of stress and trauma; over time, too much stress can cause our minds to shut down, causing difficulties with concentration, low energy and motivation.

In last week's PD, we continued to explore how we don’t have much control over our automatic, autonomic nervous system, like our heart rate, except we do have control of our breathing! Have you ever noticed how you may hold your breath when you're stressed? Pay attention to your breath right now- what do you notice? Think about terms like “waiting to exhale” or “now we can breathe a sigh of relief” – this is a natural way of signaling that a threat is over, that our parasympathetic nervous system is saying “it’s ok to rest & digest.” So, what we can do is, breathe in a long slow measured, on a count where our out-breath is longer than our in-breath, as a way to signal to our bodies and minds that we are safe, that we do not need to be on guard.

Stress-mitigation strategies listed here have all been shown to reduce stress hormones, reduce inflammation, and enhance brain neuroplasticity—key mechanisms to counteract the toxic stress response and improve overall health and well-being. Research shows that mindfulness practice (such as deep breathing) impacts the brain and neural pathways such that over time, we become less reactive to perceived threats and more able to think about how we’d like to respond.

Helpful Resources on Stress and Traumatic Stress:

https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/this-is-a-students-brain-on-trauma/

https://www.nctsn.org/trauma-informed-care/creating-trauma-informed-systems/schools

https://childmind.org/article/how-trauma-affects-kids-school/

WHAT is Mindfulness, HOW do you practice it, and WHY can it help?

Castlemont teachers, staff and administrators:

Last week's PD focused on mindfulness tools that can be practiced in the classroom, as well as how to create healing and healthy learning spaces.

Defining Concepts

Mindfulnessis being present in the moment, on purpose, without judgment.

You all identified ideas for how to practice mindfulness in the classroom, such as:

Taking your class outside to OBSERVE what they see, hear, smell, and feel when walking around the garden
Asking a student to DESCRIBE how they are are feeling as a way to slow down and reset
Playing a meditation or deep breathing script for students to fully PARTICIPATE in

You also shared how to tackle what might get in the way of mindfulness, such as:

Scheduling it in as part of a ROUTINE, such as regular Monday check-ins
MODELING full and non-judgmental participation by doing the activity alongside them
INVITING students to give it a try with understanding that they can opt-out

When practiced in the classroom, mindfulness is associated with:

Increased optimism
Improved focus & memory
Less test-taking anxiety
Improved empathy, compassion, & peer relationships
Reduced aggression, truancy and suspensions
Increased teacher feelings of productivity
Enhanced school community belongingness and safety

Healthy, Healing Learning Spaces

Another way to help students (and yourself!) feel regulated involves making our physical learning spaces healthy and healing.

We shared PRACTICES for healing classrooms, including:

Creating routines and rituals
Opening the class with a centering activity
Using music, call and response
Sharing poems, quotes, and community wisdom

We also shared COMMUNICATION TOOLS for healing classrooms, including:

"Listening with Grace"
Giving full attention
Listening for the feelings/emotions
Suspending judgement
Honoring the speakers cultural way of speaking
Praising publicly and often (5 to 1)

Video: 5 ways to make your classroom a healing space

Mindfulness Toolkit Ideas

PARTICIPATE tool to use when energy is low and you need to re-activate

DESCRIBE tool to use when emotions are high and we need to refocus or "reset"

OBSERVE tool to keep at your fingertips for easy access (e.g., your desk)

Self-Soothe Kit Scented Lotion Recipe

Ingredients:

1 C unscented lotion
1/2 tsp essential oils (for example, lavender, mint, eucalyptus, citrus, lemongrass)
1 empty jar or container

Directions

mix unscented lotion and essential oils in container
Enjoy!

Loving Kindness Meditations come from a Buddhist practice -and- everyone can draw from them! They allow us to slow down and spend time giving grace and compassion to ourselves and others. The traditional scripts guide sending good wishes to ourself and then others, such as "May I be happy, may I be safe, may I be healthy, and free from harm." You can encourage students to write their own phrases of good wishes to themselves!

Mindful Eating allows us to observe and describe the sensations we experience when eating or drinking. We suggest giving this a try with your favorite treat, such as chocolate or a cute tangerine!