Winter Health Tips

Can you believe the switch in weather?  As beautiful as it is, it also means cold and flu season is upon us.

We all know what to do, but sometimes a few friendly reminders are needed.  This year we were able to vaccinate 132 students here at the Middle School.  This is a service provided to NH schools through the Department of Health and Human Services and the Public Health Department.  While we can’t be 100% positive that this vaccine will prevent the prevalent influenza strain this season, it does decrease the chances of becoming infected. 

Of course we don’t willingly hang out with sick people, but sometimes it is just not avoidable.  Public places like schools, work, grocery stores, gas stations are Petri dishes with an assortment of germs that may, or may not make us sick.  Fortunately, our immune system helps protect us, but we have some leg work to do as well.

            #1: Vaccinate against the Flu.  Ask your family Medical Provider about vaccine clinics in your area.  This is a safe and easy way to help prevent the virus.

            #2: Stops Germs!  Limit exposure to sick people.  Stay home and rest!  If you can, stay home at least 24 hours after your fever is gone without fever-reducing medications.  Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue, or ‘sneeze in your sleeve’.  Throw tissue away and WASH YOUR HANDS.  If soap and water is not available, an alcohol based hand sanitizer may be used. Soap and water are best. Avoid touching your nose, mouth and eyes.  This is an easy way to transmit germs. Clean and disinfect surface areas when needed. 

          

#3: Stay hydrated.  Water is a miracle…we need it to survive.  When we are ill, we need more to prevent dehydration and flush out our systems.

This is a tough time on the calendar.  We are run down, stressed, tired, not to mention the weather is dark and cold and we have 2 major holidays before the end of the year.  This is a perfect storm allowing germs to settle in and take over. 

Take time for yourself and your family.  Care for one another, and stay healthy.  

For more information, please use this link for the CDC:  https://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm

Alphabet Soup: RUP versus AUP

Have you noticed how often acronyms are used in education?  It’s a language all its own and it can cause confusion or make someone who doesn’t know the "code" feel left out.  For this post, I want to offer an explanation on two of these as they relate to technology.

The two alphabet soup items I want to discuss are the RUP and AUP.  RUP stands for Responsible Use Policy and it is an upgraded thinking from the older philosophy of AUP or Acceptable Use Policy.  Both of these policies are about computer and technology use such as how computers are handled, how the Internet is used and how a person behaves online.  The RUP serves as the document that guides these technology practices.

The AUP was written in what is referred to as negative language.  It would make statements such as “don’t do this or you will lose access” for example.  It was long and wordy and tried to cover every possible issue that might arise and address it in advance.  The RUP is written in more positive language discussing what the expected behaviors are to be when using various forms of technology.  Check out the Kearsarge RUP here.  

The Kearsarge RUP expects that each teacher will have ongoing conversations and instructions on how to be a responsible user of technology.  Our policy even has a “call to action” charge because we believe our students should be creators of valuable content and not just consumers.

We believe that the RUP serves as a guide for moral character development for the digital realm but is grounded in common sense training such as “what is the impact to others” by your actions.  We expect students to push the boundaries and to make mistakes.  The RUP allows for education to be the first line of discussion instead of consequences being the first option for infractions.  We do have consequences for infractions, however, as sometimes it is warranted.

Parents sign the RUP once during the elementary school timeframe and once during the MS/HS timeframe.  Students no longer sign the actual policy but are involved in annual contracts with their teachers.  These contracts are written in a grade-appropriate language and allow for the ongoing discussion and education that signing the policy one time did not afford.

In the hopes of initiating dialogue, I am asking that you read the RUP.   Then I am asking that you use the comments box below to ask questions about it or share your strategies on how you handle the moral character development regarding digital etiquette in your home.  Parents and guardians often feel isolated when trying to manage technology access outside of school.  This blog was created for this very reason.  This is the symbiotic relationship that we hope to foster between home and school.

I am looking forward to engaging in a conversation about this very important topic that will be at the forefront for our students as they move forward in life.  They will need to have the self-discipline to stay off social media at work, to not have a negative digital footprint if their name is searched online by a college or a future boss, and to keep a healthy self-esteem by not getting their identity from likes and follows.  The RUP is a guide for this important work.

Photo Credit

Here We Are

The fact of the matter is:  we need one another.  Life is full of unexpected challenges, and single-handedly navigating all of the twists, turns, and storms that come our way is, while perhaps possible, really hard.  And when you throw the well-being of children into the mix, it can feel completely overwhelming. So, we work together, we lean on one another, we support and encourage each other, and when we hit a wall, we share further resources to get around, climb over, or tunnel under that wall. This is the idea behind our Symbiosis blog. My name is Kara Byrne, and I am one of the School Counselors here at the middle school. I am also a parent and step-parent of three boys, two in high school, and one in college. I feel incredibly lucky to be working with your children -- believe it or not, middle school age kids are my favorite. Working with these students is clearly a large part of my job, but so is working collaboratively with teachers and parents, as well as raising awareness of the different roles of a School Counselor. This blog fulfills part of my role - that of a resource to parents. But, to be honest, I feel like a forum like this, where we can share our collective expertise and experience as educators and parents, is much more valuable than anything I could offer on my own. Additionally, having a more interactive give and take allows us to address issues, concerns, and resources as they come up, or as we learn about them. This idea is particularly relevant when it comes to issues around social media and technology. In fact, technology concerns were the original impetus for creating this blog. How do we keep up with all that is happening with technology in order to educate our children so they can be safe, responsible digital citizens? How do we know what to look for? We don’t know what we don’t know. So - let’s help each other. As far as technology goes, a fantastic resource that I’ve been using since last winter is the site www.screenagersmovie.com. Last spring we showed the film, Screenagers, at the High School, and followed it with a discussion panel. It was a great experience, was well attended, and generated some lively discussion. One of my takeaways from that event was utilizing the Screenagers site as a go-to source for things like Screen Time Contracts, Parenting Apps, and info about Digital Citizenship and Anti-Bullying Campaigns.  There is also up-to-date research about sleep and screens, internet addiction, and other digital media issues. I also subscribed to the weekly blog, Tech Talk Tuesdays. Highly recommended!!  I would love to hear about the ideas and resources you have found to be invaluable in your parenting journey. My next blog contribution will continue with parenting issues, as a follow up to the first (which was on Oct. 26) in a series of four Parenting Classes that we are holding here at the Middle School. Please share your concerns and resources so that I can address and share them in the next post. Thank you, so very much, for reading! And please join in the conversation. We are in this together, and for that, I am grateful!