We are very excited to announce that BHS is starting to offer weekly Mindfulness sessions for all students (and staff!). These sessions occur every Tuesday in C134 at 3:45. During these sessions, you will learn simple breathing and movement practices to help keep you in optimum mental health.
An added bonus is that you can have unverified absences cleared by attending these sessions! Ask the instructor for a form and make sure you fill it out!
MEET stands for Mental and Emotional Education Team. It is a team of caring and passionate BHS students who want to raise awareness around mental health and teach practical mental and emotional skills to their fellow Berkeley High students.
MEET was founded by Berkeley High students who saw a need for empowering their peers with mental and emotional knowledge and skills.
FOLLOW THEM ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/bhs.meet/
VISIT THEIR WEBSITE HERE: https://sites.google.com/view/bhs-meet/home?authuser=0
If you are a Junior or Senior at BHS, Berkeley Technology Academy or Independent Study and you are interested in learning more about or joining MEET, email Michael Ceely: MichaelCeely@berkeley.net
Berkeley High has some amazing resources for every student to enjoy but this one has to be my favorite.
Therapy dogs are visiting Berkeley High on multiple occasions this school year and I’ve got that information for you!
LOCATION: Campus Green (on rainy days these events will be held in the C-Gallery)
TIME: During Lunch
September 18, 2019
October 23, 2019
November 20, 2019
December 18, 2019
January 22, 2020
February 19, 2020
March 25, 2020
April 22, 2020
May 20, 2020
My school email account: isabelanderson@students.berkeley.net
Please do not be shy! I would love to hear from you and hear about what you want to share with everyone else!
FUN FACT: If you know the IB English Teacher, Mr. Kaku, the reporter of this article is his wife!
Teachers and parents all over the country are noticing an increase in mental health issues, including anxiety, among students.READ THE FULL STORY FROM MINDSHIFTHow Can Schools Help Kids With Anxiety?
In 2004, the National Institute of Mental Health estimated that about a third of adolescents (ages 13-18) have been or will be seriously affected by anxiety in their lifetimes. More recently, a study published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics concluded that more than one in twenty U.S. children (ages 6-17) had anxiety or depression in 2011-2012. And a UCLA survey of college freshman conducted each year, found in 2017 that close to 39 percent frequently felt “overwhelmed by all I had to do.”
Parents and educators are scrambling to understand why kids seem to be more anxious and how to help them.
This week, The California Report Magazine welcomes Katrina Schwartz to share findings from her recent time spent reporting on student anxiety for the MindShift podcast.
Sasha Khokha: Why did you guys decide to focus on anxiety?
Katrina Schwartz: This season we asked our audience what they were interested in and what mattered most to them, and anxiety kept coming up over and over. Teachers and parents are genuinely confused about why so many kids are struggling with anxiety. They want some tips on how to deal with it. It seems like the problem is growing.
SK: I’m married to someone who’s a teacher, who comes home all the time with stories about how anxious high school kids seem to be these days. Do we know why anxiety seems to be such a problem for kids?
KS: It’s really hard to say. Adults love to blame it on social media – and I’m sure that that does play a role – but it’s worth noting that there are all kinds of reasons that kids experience anxiety no matter what socio-economic situation they come from.
SK: So whether it’s violence in the home, or struggling to have enough food to eat, or AP tests or stress about college applications?
KS: Yeah, totally. One thing we do know is that anxiety is way more debilitating than just plain old stress. It’s actually a condition that can get in the way of relationships and stuff like work and school.
SK: This high school you visited for your story, El Cerrito High School, it sounds like they actually have a lot of resources to help students dealing with anxiety?
KS: They have this center called the James Morehouse Project. It’s their wellness center. They’ve been trying to look at the problem holistically and support students with all kinds of problems. One way they’re able to do that, is they host a clinical social work internship program, which gives them a lot more adults in the building to be doing therapy, and running groups.
SK: So what are some specific things they’re doing to help kids with anxiety?
KS: There’s some big macro things. Stuff like giving kids more time between classes, so it’s a little less frenetic, or changing up the way the schedule works, so kids are on a block schedule and only have four classes instead of seven. But then, at a more specific level, they’re doing things like running these anxiety groups where they’re giving students specific strategies to cope with their own anxiety.
SK: Is mindfulness part of it? I know that’s a big push now in schools these days.
KS: Yeah. With anxiety there’s this bodily response, this physical response, and then there’s what’s going on in your head. So the mindfulness stuff really helps ground students, get them to calm down, so then they can challenge their thoughts. Many students describe [anxiety] as overthinking or negative thinking. Social workers are trying to get them to tell themselves a different story about what’s going on.
SK: What can parents do to help kids who are dealing with anxiety?
KS: The first one is kind of obvious, but hard to do — try not to put a ton of pressure on your kids. They’re probably already feeling it, so don’t add to it. If they are struggling, don’t be judgmental. I think a lot of times parents see the behaviors that come from anxiety, like procrastination or not doing their work, and they jump in and get on a kid’s case without stopping to think, “Where is this coming from?” And if you can approach it with a little more curiosity and ask your kid whats going on, they might be more willing to share what’s at the root of the problem.
SK: So back off. Easier said than done!
KS: If you do that work up front you can do the hardest part, which is helping kids face their anxiety. It’s trying to control them. Sometimes the role of the parents is to push back against the anxiety and ask kids to face it.
Hear the stories of two students working through their problems with anxiety by pressing play at the top of this page. Or, read the full web story from MindShift, “How Can Schools Help Kids With Anxiety?” You can also subscribe MindShift on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Need Counseling? The Berkeley High Health Center is a wonderful resource to know about. If you ever need to talk to anyone or need help, feel free to visit the Health Center. Below you will be able to find all of the information that you might need about the Health Center:
Learn about a recent health information privacy breach that took place at the Berkeley High School Health Center.
Call or drop-in for an appointment:
HOURS:
Monday 10:00am – 4:00pm (closed 1:00pm-2:00pm for lunch)
Tuesday–Friday 8:30am-4pm (closed 12:15pm-1:15pm for lunch)
Phone: (510) 644-6965
Location: Room H105
SERVICES OFFERED:
| FIRST AID |
| · Treatment of minor illnesses & injuries · Immunizations · Referrals to on-going care |
| MEDICAL |
| · Screening & treatment of STD’s · Reproductive & sexual health services · HIV Prevention & Testing · Referrals to community providers |
| HEALTH EDUCATION |
| · Reproductive and sexual health education · Healthy relationship counseling · STI/HIV education, testing, and prevention · Alcohol, tobacco, and drug prevention |
| COUNSELING/THERAPY |
| · Individual & group counseling · Crisis intervention · Relationship counseling · Family counseling · Stress management · Depression |
| You might want to come to counseling if you… |
| · … want a space that’s safe and confidential to talk (about anything) · …are feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, or nervous about things going on in their life, or are just feeling down · …have had a difficult thing happen to them or someone they know or love · …are questioning their sexual orientation or gender expression · …are experiencing racism or any other form of discrimination |
*If you are experiencing a crisis, you can call Crisis Support Services at 1-800-309-2131 or the Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255. In case of a life threatening situation, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room*
Mission: The Berkeley High School Health Center empowers teens to take responsibility for their physical, emotional, and social health by engaging their strengths, experiences, and knowledge. The Health Center provides access to culturally appropriate care through a combination of direct services, partnerships, and referrals to community resources.
Welcome to our meditations. Our meditations are perfect for beginners as we will walk you through the process. The first 5 meditations are guided and once you feel comfortable enough to do your own meditations, you can listen to the rest of our meditations with just music.
Although we do not have any meditations in other languages, we are currently working on Spanish and French meditations.
We have put all of our meditations on SoundCloud so feel free to stop by and listen to the rest of them: https://soundcloud.com/user-stressless
We are a group of Berkeley High students in the Mental Health Support Leadership Team who have a goal of reducing stress for all students. Trust us, we know and have experienced how much stress can affect you. While we were brainstorming ways to reduce stress in students, we thought of creating a website that was made specifically to share resources with you to help reduce stress.
On this website, you will be able to find: articles, meditations and, simple steps that you can follow to live a life with less stress!
Spend as long as you would like to on our website and remember that you will always have this website to come back to if you are experiencing too much stress.
Visit us anytime!
Berkeley High Mental Health Support Team
Berkeley High Stress Less 