School Lunch Hero Day!
It’s School Lunch Hero Day, and we’re proud to honor Mr. Reyes for his faithful service as part of the Academy meal program team!
On May 5th we celebrate School Lunch Hero Day! School Lunch Hero day was started in 2013 by the School Nutrition Association. It is a way to celebrate those who make meals possible to students all across America!
Every day at the Academy we have a host of different people involved in ensuring our meals take place. Lunch Hero Day is a special day to recognize those who are involved in this process. We also love to highlight that we have a wonderful staff that includes both parents and grandparents and siblings of Academy students. Our students love seeing familiar faces of their family members in the cafeteria and we think it makes meal time extra special!
For this Lunch Hero Day we are proud to honor Mr. Reyes who has been with the Academy meal program since 2017. He has 20+ years experience as both a chef and working in food service. Mr. Reyes manages the daily meal service and ensures all our workers and students have a fantastic experience. Even through the pandemic Mr. Reyes continued to work tirelessly, delivering meals to families in our neighborhood. He helped facilitate almost 6,000 meals to our community during that time. It was no small feat!
If you visit our cafeteria, you may even catch Mr. Reyes greeting students in Spanish and helping them work on their Spanish salutations. We are so thankful for the years Mr. Reyes has dedicated to meals for our students. He is not only a fantastic chef but he strives to ensure everyone has the best quality service possible!
May God bless you for your service, Señor Reyes. You are a true School Lunch Hero! ¡Muchas Gracias!
Tools to Help Children Handle Anxiety
Academy social worker, Ms. Liz Kalama-Kagay, LMSW, reflects on a training put on by the same counselors who have been helping families from the Covenant School move through their tragic experience. Read her thoughts on helping children deal with anxiety.
My name is Liz Kalama-Kagay, LMSW, and I work as the licensed school social worker at the Academy. I recently attended a training put on by the same counselors who have been helping families from the Covenant School move through their tragic experience.
Sissy Goff is a LPC from Daystar Ministries Counseling, and David Thomas, a LMSW who works with kids and families in counseling. The seminar at Christ the King school was geared towards helping parents raise worry-free children. A study by JAMA Pediatric showed that one in five youth worldwide now struggle with anxiety symptoms. This is not limited to teens; according to Mental Health of America, the average age of a child being diagnosed with anxiety is 6 years old. Sissy and David spent the evening educating the audience on what anxiety is, effective tools to help students name it, and grounding exercises to address it.
This year I had the opportunity to teach SEL lessons to our Ugandan International students. We discussed the coping skills we use to weather the storms that life throws at us, in a way that we can find the peace that the LORD promises.
The scripture they shared was John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” According to Ms. Goff, simply put, "anxiety is an overestimation of a problem." We learn from the Bible that anxiety is something that we all will contend with in this life, however the way we deal with it matters. We do not have to be overcome by it.
Children present with anxiety on a continuum from ‘exploders’ to ‘imploders’. Exploders tend to be boys who will act out angrily and aggressively when feeling anxiety. Imploders (typically girls) tend to internalize the anxiety. They try to be perfectionists and instead report more somatic symptoms like headaches, stomach aches and other physical ailments. If you can view all behavior as communication, you can help your child recognize when they are feeling anxiety. Then you can then help them to develop the coping skills necessary to face their anxiety rather than just try to manage it. Some valuable tools are Box Breathing, 5-4-3-2-1, and Naming a Color.
These are all very effective tools for helping the brain and body respond in a more helpful manner during an episode of anxiety. When a child is feeling big emotions like anxiety, their brain shifts into survival mode. Their body sends more blood to their bigger muscles and their heart starts beating faster as a way for them to prepare to fight or run away. However, our brains can be tricked to respond in a survival manner when there isn't a reason for that response. Therefore grounding exercises are very helpful in getting your brain to turn back on rationally, and think and reason through a situation. (see Dan Siegel on how the brain reacts to anxiety)
Another tool the presenters offered as a way to deal with anxiety is to help students increase their emotional vocabulary. Children need to develop appropriate language to express themselves. The last tool was giving the students the opportunity to make social connections - essentially to learn how to have strong relationships.
I was so happy to reflect on how Academy students are being taught all of these SEL skills on a daily basis. Each morning in Beginnings class, Academy students get a theme to help root them in biblical perspectives on how to be a friend, how to maintain peace, and how to deal with conflict. Their classes help them with a developed vocabulary and they have learned about their brain and how to address emotions with breathing and grounding exercises.
Anxiety is real. In life we will be hit with different challenges and we will respond emotionally. However, we do not have to let anxiety rule us. The way we walk through challenges should be different because we know God. He's given us each other and he’s given us his Word.
There are many scriptures that address this concept but I really like Philippians 4:4-7 in that it starts with a reminder to rejoice.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to everyone. The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
When we are anxious it can be very challenging to see or feel anything other than our moment. This scripture is helpful because it makes us pause; grounding exercises make us pause. They allow us to connect with our very real human bodies and breathe. This verse starts with rejoicing, which is a tool to help us remember. We must reflect on what is going well, which helps us reframe our moment.
This text goes on to communicate that we are engaged in relationships which is also a helpful tool in dealing with anxiety. When I am alone in my anxiety it can feel overwhelming but when I pause, take time to breathe, take time to rejoice and then take time to ‘let my gentleness be known to EVERYONE’, I know I have to engage in social relationships. I have to put myself near another person and together we can deal with my anxiety. Kids need to learn how to communicate this need and reach out to others. They need to know they are not alone, and the gift we have in a community of faith is that we don't have to walk through any storm alone.
Finally, the text continues to say with "prayer", making your requests known to God and God will give you peace. Peace is the opposite of anxiety, and our LORD promises that to us.
In attending this seminar it was helpful to hear that what our students are getting throughout their education at The Academy is the best practice to help them navigate the inevitable storms that life throws at them. I hope these tips are helpful for parents and educators, in equipping our kids and helping them to walk in peace.
Can Enough Sleep Really Improve Grades?
While we may sometimes complain about teenagers being lazy and sleeping too much, studies reveal how important sleep actually is for optimal brain function.
To wake up or sleep in? That is the question. Of course, if your teenage student has class, they better not be sleeping in too late. However, you should be making sure they are getting enough sleep, as research shows it can make a big difference in classroom performance. Lack of sleep contributes to poor concentration, which is an essential component if one expects to excel academically.
While we may sometimes complain about teenagers being lazy and sleeping too much, studies reveal how important sleep actually is for optimal brain function. After all, the brain of a teenager is still developing. In fact, it typically doesn’t even reach full maturity until the mid-twenties. Thus, sleep for teenagers is not just for their growing bodies, but also for their developing brain. Sleep deprivation is a hindrance to healthy brain development and could potentially be a contributing factor if you notice a decline in your teen’s academic performance.
In 2023, the Sleep Foundation found that later school start times support the biological needs of adolescents; they increase the amount of sleep adolescents get. Other benefits of later start times include: improved attendance at school, decreased tardiness, fewer occurrences of falling asleep in class, reduced irritability and depressive symptoms and fewer disciplinary issues.
Studies have shown the sleep patterns of teenagers differ from children and adults, and in most cases, they need more than those who are in other stages of life. Also, when it comes to sleep, teenagers experience phase delays which cause them to more easily stay up later than younger kids or adults. The levels of the sleep hormone melatonin usually don’t decline until later in the morning as well, which goes to explain why they may sleep later.
It can be difficult to make sure a teenager gets enough sleep, but with too little sleep, it could negatively impact a student’s grades. Whether it’s implementing bedtimes or curfews, making sure gadgets are turned off a while before going to bed, or developing a “pre-sleep” routine to help your body prepare for resting, there are rules we can try to teach our teenagers to implement to ensure they are sleeping enough. Cognitive function, attentiveness, and memory are improved by getting enough rest, and it has the possibility to significantly help their classroom performance. For more information on this topic, check out some of the sources below:
Sources:
“The Teen Brain: 7 Things to Know.” National Institute of Mental Health.
Sifferlin, Alexandra. “Why Teenage Brains Are So Hard to Understand.” Time. 8 September 2017 (visited 15 September 2022).
https://time.com/4929170/inside-teen-teenage-brain/
“Poor sleep can negatively affect a student’s grades, increase the odds of emotional and behavioral disturbance.” American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Updated 7 Nov. 2017 (visited: 5 Sept. 2022)
“Sleep and Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed 29 May 2019 (visited 5 Sept. 2022)
Walton, Alice G. “7 Ways Sleep Affects The Brain (And What Happens If It Doesn't Get Enough). Forbes. Visited: 16 September 2022.
Okano, K., Kaczmarzyk, J.R., Dave, N. et al. Sleep quality, duration, and consistency are associated with better academic performance in college students. npj Sci. Learn. 4, 16 (2019). Published 1 October 2019 (visited 5 September 2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-019-0055-z
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41539-019-0055-z
Merriman, Kate. “School performance can be improved with a good night’s sleep.” WMBF News. 19 Feb. 2021 (visited: 5 September 2022)
https://www.wmbfnews.com/2021/02/19/school-performance-can-be-improved-with-good-nights-sleep/
Suni, Eric. “How Lack of Sleep Impacts Cognitive Performance and Focus.” Sleep Foundation. Updated 29 April 2022 (visited 5 September 2022)
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-deprivation/lack-of-sleep-and-cognitive-impairment
Locker, Melissa. “Let Your Kids Sleep More For Better Grades.” Time. 13 January 2015 (visited 5 September 2022).
https://time.com/3663796/for-better-grades-let-your-kids-sleep-more/
7 Benefits of Enrolling Your Child in Elementary Sports
Playing a sport offers more for a child than simply developing a skill. Here are some reasons we think athletics are beneficial for even young children and how we incorporate them into the Academy experience.
With the early morning games, commutes to practice, and trying to remember which kid is playing at which location on which week, you may be wondering if elementary sports is worth the hassle, especially when you could just enroll them in Saturday morning cartoons instead. But don’t worry, the benefit is worth way more than just the participation trophy they’ll get. There are plenty of great reasons to sign your kids up for athletics, even when they are still young.
1. Physical Fitness
Academy students can begin participating in the Phoenix soccer program as they reach upper elementary school. Developmental teams allow for students to progress in their skills through practices.
Obviously, one of the first benefits that pops into most people’s minds is the physical training they receive. Kids involved in sports are given opportunities to improve their balance, coordination, and agility, all of which have benefits that exceed far beyond their time on the field or court. It begins helping kids get in tune with their bodies, which is advantageous for setting them up for a healthy lifestyle in the future.
2. Develop Friendships
Sports are a great way for kids to deepen their friendships with their peers. It provides fun, structured activity which allows them to add a new dynamic to their relationships as they bond over a shared interest.
3. Learn Teamwork
Outside of developing friendships, sports often include elements of teamwork which help kids learn how to better collaborate with others. Organized sports give participants a chance to work together to meet a common goal (by scoring a goal).
4. Observe Personal Growth
Another reason sports are good for a kid's development is because it allows them to see their growth. Whether it is comparing their past and current cross-country meet times or noticing how much further they can kick the ball than during their first practice, athletics allows children to better understand how hard work can pay off as they recognize the progress they make. It encourages them to try and to look for potential in themselves.
The elementary boys cross-country team took home a first place team championship along with several individual runner awards.
5. Prove You’re Their Biggest Fan
As their parent, you already are their biggest fan, but athletic events give you an appropriate venue to cheer for them as loud as you want. It allows you to see how they act in a different environment, which can help you learn them better, and it also gives you and your kid shared experiences which they will remember as they get older.
6. Learn a Skill
Learning a skill not only boosts one’s self-esteem, but can make participation in that activity all the more enjoyable. Their knowledge and skills connected with that sport can be a source of confidence for them as it helps build a part of their identity.
7. Life Lessons
We know it's cliché, but sports really do teach kids life lessons. It can be used as an analogy to help children understand certain concepts which they may not be able to fully grasp detached from an immersive experience. Whether it’s trusting and obeying your coach, enduring through tiredness, training to overcome, or learning to work as a team to accomplish what you couldn’t on your own, there are a plethora of lessons you can communicate to your children through the use of sports, and what better way to teach them than to let them play.
Our Read-a-thon is Coming!
Our elementary Read-a-thon begins on February 13th! Read why we chose a Read-a-thon this year and how you can be involved to support our school.
Read-a-thons actually get students excited about reading and it gives friends and family the opportunity to encourage your child to read even more. Our Read-a-thon will run from Monday, February 13 through Friday, February 24, 2023. We’d love to see 100% participation from our elementary students. There will be prizes for each reader based on their participation. We will even be offering more opportunities to read to gain Read-a-thon minutes while at school!
In the United States, 14 percent of the adult population—a staggering 32 million adults—cannot read. “What’s more shocking is that we haven’t moved that needle in 10 years. We know that literacy helps people escape the bonds of poverty and live longer. We know that people who are literate are more inclined to vote, take part in their community, and seek medical help for themselves and their families. They’re also better equipped to take advantage of knowledge jobs, which are growing at explosive rates.” – Marcie Craig Post, Executive Director of International Literacy Association, in a panel discussion at the Institute of International Education in New York City, April 2015.
Academy parents, please see your parent email to help get your reader registered and reading! This Read-a-thon will promote a beneficial skill for all students while raising funds for our school. Teaching students to read books is only the beginning. As they grow, their ability to critically think and put into play the literacy skills they’ve learned at a young age will bless their family and community. We hope you’ll join us in this exciting fundraiser!
Readers play a more active and involved role in their communities. The decline in reading, therefore, parallels a larger retreat from participation in civic and cultural life. The long-term implication of this study not only affects literature but all the arts – as well as social activities such as volunteerism, philanthropy, and even political engagement. – Dana Gioia, Chairman, NEA, “Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America,” June 2004.