Good afternoon,

We have had two wonderful events this week that shows the depth of the Roadrunner Spirit.  It was a true pleasure seeing our community out enjoying the Open Streets event and our Walk/Bike to School Day celebration.

With recent news events involving natural disasters, attacks, and violence, we want to take a moment to remind each of our NES families how very appreciative we are of the loving care and guidance you give your children each day to help them feel heard, valued, nurtured, and safe.

With goals of maximizing learning and having students feel secure, we are pleased that student conversations at NES have NOT been particularly elevated with regard to national/international news involving natural disasters and/or senseless violence.  (If this were a concern, we'd be implementing supports with a different lens).

For now, here are some quick reminders from the National Association of School Psychologists:

1.  Reassure children that they are safe.

2.  Make time to talk.

3.  Keep your explanations developmentally appropriate.

4.  Review safety procedures.

5.  Observe children's emotional state.

6.  Limit television (and social media) viewing of these events.

7.  Maintain a normal routine.

And one last addition from us:

#8.  If you have any specific concerns, please don't hesitate to contact your child's teacher or various support staff to talk things through and determine next steps.

If you'd like to read further about the above the recommendations, feel free to click here:

NASP Talking to Children about Violence- English

NASP Talking to Children about Violence- Spanish

NASP Talking to Children about Violence- Korean

With kind thoughts,

Cathleen Lopez and Colleen Golden