Psyched About School

Were you planning on taking your high schooler on a few college campus tours this spring or summer? Many of the colleges and universities located in North Carolina have ceased all in-person tours until further notice due to COVID-19. However, colleges and universities have created virtual maps, virtual tours, and FAQ videos to help prospective students navigate their college search during the pandemic. We are lucky and blessed to have so many colleges and universities located (practically) in our backyards. If you are interested in staying close to home, check out all of the virtual tours for our local colleges and universities here: Wake Forest University Winston-Salem State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Salem College University of North Carolina at Greensboro High Point University Greensboro College Guilford College University of North Carolina School of the Arts Elon University Bennett College If you would like to travel a littl...

Recently, we have been hearing concerns about whether the suicide rate may increase as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Right now, anxieties are already elevated because of this novel situation.  We all know that - more than ever before - our focus must remain on facts, not fear.  In order to help our readers consider that very complex question, let's start by reviewing facts we know about suicide. In this blog post from 2019 , we talked about the World Health Organization's latest data on suicide, which indicated that between 2010 and 2016, the global suicide rate decreased by 9.8%.  However, the WHO also found that the only region to see an increase was the Americas.  According to the  CDC's surveillance data ,  suicide is currently the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and   suicide rates have shown a steady pattern of increase in the United States: The CDC also provided a list of risk factors or characteristics ass...

Got anxiety? Got stress? At this point, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that we do. In these “unprecedented times” it sometimes hard to know how to cope with all of the changes that have happened so quickly, and in knowing how to cope with our new normal. As parents, it is important for us to know how to facilitate good mental health, for ourselves, and also for our children. We are important too, and if we aren’t healthy, how can we care for them? For people who are looking for support, NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) has developed a resource guide to helps to address many of the questions that people may have as they cope with the current situation. They are also available by phone to address questions that might not be answered by the guide. Topics include how to cope with anxiety, how to cope with feelings of loneliness and isolation while sheltering in place, or quarantined, how to help people with mental illness or even what assistance programs are available for ...

The coronavirus has completely interrupted the normalcy of our lives. While eLearning started last week and occupies a significant amount of time, families still have lots of unstructured time to fill throughout the day. It can be difficult to think of things to do, especially when you can’t even leave your house. We have compiled a list of fun activities that you may not have known about or thought of. Some of these can be done online, but others are interactive and meant for families to do together. Let us know if you think of more! Show us your activities by tweeting to us @schoolpsychws. Use #wspsychs and #wsfcslearnon. We would love to add your ideas to this list! Cultural Enrichment: Google has compiled an extensive list of museums offering online galleries. Examples include the MET, MoMA, and Musee d'Orsay in Paris, just to name a few. You can find this list at Google Arts and Culture Check out Star Trek’s Patrick Stewart reading Shakespeare online each day: Comic...

We recently discovered this article on the Psychology Today website entitled "Self Care and COVID-19: Getting Ready for the Marathon."   Planning and preparing for the long-term is such a great strategy in uncertain times.  The author, Dr. Doreen Dodgen-Magee, writes that "intentional planning goes a long way to staying mentally healthy amid a crisis." Our educators, parents and students are scrambling right now to establish a new "normal."  Support systems that may have been in place through family gatherings, religious services, athletic teams or other social opportunities have been severely limited in this new era of social distancing.  Now is the time to make sure that your self-care toolkit is well-stocked, as none of us know exactly how long this crisis may last.  As Dr. Dodgen-Magee writes, "Just as we’re washing our hands, resisting touching our faces, and keeping 6 feet between us, it’s important to tend to our mental hygiene." Th...

We want to continue to bring you resources for both academic and social-emotional learning as we enter this new era of virtual learning.  We love the new "Caring for Each Other" initiative from Sesame Street, which is described as follows: "Your friends on Sesame Street are here to support you and your family during the COVID-19 health crisis. We understand that these are very stressful times; our daily lives have been disrupted, and we are all coping with uncertainty. As we create a new sense of normalcy, it's important that we take care of ourselves, so that we can best care for our children." We first discovered the Sesame Street initiative in this article from the PBS and NPR parent company, GPB.  The article notes that PBS is working to expand offerings of free on-demand episodes of Sesame Street on PBS KIDS digital platforms .   In the "Parents" section of PBS KIDS, you'll find resources on how to manage both the physical and ...

One of our school psychologists shared this resource and we wanted to pass it along to all of our readers.  This is a challenging time for all of us and we are grateful that our colleagues at the University of North Carolina Child Development Institute Autism Team worked so quickly to develop this packet of resources for those with Autism Spectrum Disorders.  As they note in their introduction: "Individuals with autism may need additional support to process the news and adapt to the many changes. This population may face additional challenges related to comprehension, communication, difficulty understanding abstract language, an insistence on sameness, and a greater likelihood of anxiety and depression—all of which may be exasperated during this stressful period." To help address those needs, the UNC Autism Team provided a toolkit of materials aligned with these 7 support strategies: This fantastic resource from the UNC Autism Team contains social stories and visual...

You're not alone if you're feeling nervous or stressed about COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus. The Governor of North Carolina declared a State of Emergency yesterday. You can't turn on the television or radio without hearing about Coronavirus. Visiting the hand sanitizer or disinfecting wipes section of your local grocery store may reveal lots of empty shelves. Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools has added an "Information on Coronavirus" page to our District website. You'll find resources in both Spanish and English to help parents talk with their children about Coronavirus. There are also links to trusted websites and guidelines for prevention. In addition to those resources, NPR recently posted " A Comic Exploring the New Coronavirus ." Here is an excerpt from that comic: This kid-friendly explanation of the Coronavirus became so popular that NPR posted an updated article sharing that it had been translated into several other l...