NFTH: February 3, 2020

Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD) Educational Specialist Eduardo Torres will be on campus working with Middle School students the week of February 10 - 14.  He will spend one day working with Form 8 students and four days with Form 7 students. He will also present during a Parent Coffee on Wednesday, February 12 at 8am in the Remmert Theater.  SMH strongly encourages you to attend to hear current research information and parenting guidelines on supporting your student in making healthy choices about drugs, alcohol, and vaping.

On Friday, February 7, the Middle School Sports Council host a Movie Night for all Middle School students! The movie will start at 6pm in the Remmert Theater with drop-off at the Upper School Circle. During intermission, pizza will be available for $2 a slice and drinks will be provided free of charge. There will also be entertainment provided during intermission that the students won’t want to miss! Pick up from Movie Night is at 8:30pm sharp in the Upper School Circle. Hope to see you there!

Some days are too beautiful to stay in the classroom. Last week when the sun came out, Kindergarten Teacher Jenny Graf took her students outside to read them a story. At Saint Mary’s Hall, the classrooms are not defined by four walls.

Last week, Caleb Miller (Form 12) performed for students in Forms 1-5 during Morning Moments.  Recently, Caleb auditioned for the All-State Band in Orange Grove, Texas. Competing against the top French horn players in South Texas, Caleb finished first overall! As a result, Caleb will be performing at the All-State competition.

Caleb is a member of the Upper School Jazz Band, under the direction of Band/Chamber Orchestra Teacher Trevor Docwra and studies French horn privately with musician and Prentice Huntington Miller & Reid Huntington Miller Endowed Chair in World Languages and Cultures Laura Renard. Caleb’s claim to fame in the Lower School is that his mother is Form 4 Math Teacher Natalie Miller.  It was so much fun for the Lower School students and faculty.

Check out the Fine Arts Instagram page. This account is a great way to get an up-close and personal look at the day-to-day excitement in these amazing, ever-buzzing programs. In addition, check out Saint Mary’s Hall main social media channels for more Fine Arts news
on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Middle and Upper School students received two challenges. The first was to say something kind to someone every day. The second was to practice looking at things from a mindset of positivity. We look forward to hearing how these challenges affected students in the weeks ahead. If parents have an opportunity to discuss them with their students, it would be good reinforcement.

For those that enjoy seeing the science behind the positivity challenge, please see this article by researcher Barbara L. Frederickson on how positivity promotes wellbeing and human flourishing, The Broaden-And-Build Theory Of Positive Emotions.

Saint Mary's Hall offers Chapel services for Christian-based traditions and ceremonies like Ash Wednesday in light of its strong historical ties to the Christian faith as stated in our Statement of Religious Expression. This year's schedule, dress code, and other important details for each division are below.

Lower School

Ashes will be offered for all Lower School (Montessori - Form 5) students and families on Ash Wednesday, February 26 in the Eleanor Duncan Sarratt Memorial Library as follows:

• 7:30am - 7:50am
• 3:15pm - 4pm

Please note: Students must be with a parent so that we know that the child may receive ashes. Also, Lower School students will wear their normal uniform on Ash Wednesday, and will wear their dress uniform as usual on Monday, February 24.

Middle and Upper School

Ashes will be offered for Middle and Upper School students and families during Chapel on Ash Wednesday, February 26 in the Coates-Seeligson Theater/Chapel as follows:

• Upper School: 11:30am - 12:05pm
• Middle School: 12:10pm - 12:45pm

Please note: All Middle and Upper School students will wear their dress uniform on Ash Wednesday, February 26. Also, Middle and Upper School students will wear their normal uniform on Monday, February 24.

Middle and Upper School students whose families are of a faith other than Christianity, or who do not practice a particular faith, are welcome to attend the service to observe this important Christian tradition. They will not be expected to participate in receiving ashes.

Middle and Upper School students from families who do not wish for their student to attend this service can attend an alternate Chapel on Ash Wednesday and will still need to wear their dress uniform. We ask that a parent/guardian notify the relevant division office if you are sending your student to the alternative Chapel. Both alternative Chapels will include reflection on values and/or character related topics.

Learning to handle stress is a skill beneficial to people of all ages. This week, students took a closer look at their feelings and reactions to stressful situations.  

To open class, Health and Wellness Educator Amelia Teodosio led students in a “group juggle” activity. Students gleaned life lessons, like “focus on the goal” and “lean on to others for support.” 

Then, students identified specific examples of situations that made them stressed, angry, and sad. After, they decided if their initial, instinctive reactions were helpful or hurtful. Finally, they came up with new coping skills that would replace the non-helpful habits.   

You can see from the examples below how helpful this exercise is for the students: 

• “Instead of stressing out about assignments I don’t understand, I can visit my teacher to feel more confident in my work.” 
• “When my parents bring up my grades, it makes me mad, instead of saying nothing, I can tell my parents how I feel about constantly getting valued based on grades.” 
• “When being left out makes me sad, instead of isolating myself, I’ll talk to my friends to see why I feel like that.” 

Big kudos to all the students for such deep and thoughtful insight! 

If you live a primarily sedentary life style where you spend much of your time on screens, please consider switching your screen time for exercise time to better model for your children. To learn more about the significance of screen time on our lives and on our parenting, please join other members of the Saint Mary’s Hall community for a Parent Coffee and viewing of Screenagers from physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston. Saint Mary’s Hall will host the event on Wednesday, February 5 from 8am - 9:30am in the Remmert Theater. The film’s run time is 67 minutes and will be followed by a brief discussion. Unfortunately, there is not currently an option to watch the film separately. If there is enough interest, we will certainly consider bringing Dr. Ruston’s new film next year (Screenagers Next Chapter: Uncovering Skills for Stress Resilience). Below is the Screenagers synopsis:

Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew all too well.

In Screenagers, as with her award-winning documentaries on mental health, Delaney takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, Screenagers reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults can empower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance.

View the trailer.

Please contact Wellness Director Dr. Sandra Lopez-Morales at slopezmorales@smhall.org with questions.