Mondays with Mara and Molly

February is often known for being a month dedicated to and all about love. But February is not only about valentines and sweethearts; rather, it can also be a month for self-love and self-care as well as fostering healthy relationships with family and friends. Whether family members, friends, neighbors, or romantic partners, there are a myriad of benefits to building positive relationships.

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present aware of where we are and what we're doing and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what's going on around us.  Mara and Molly discuss how small acts of mindfulness can impact how we react to stress and positively impact how we interact with each day.

Beginning a new calendar year and a new semester lends an opportunity for having conversations with your teen around goal setting. This is a great time to explore how to set, work towards, and most importantly celebrate (even small) accomplishments by creating Spring Semester goals. Mara and Molly discuss suggestions below on how to start.

The SHS Wellness Project is led by Alex Stoller.  The project facilitates the safe and appropriate social, emotional, and biological development of Stevenson High School Students through the education and implementation of actionable evidence-based health and wellness practices.  Alex discusses the principles of the Wellness Project and how families can support a wellness initiative at home.  

Mara and Molly start 2022 talking about Self Management and how adults can help teens build habit to help  manage stress, control their impulses, and motivate themselves to set and achieve goals.

During adolescence, the way teens see themselves changes in response to peers, family, and school, among other social environments. Their self-identities shape their perceptions of belonging and include defining oneself within the world, feeling a sense of belonging, and feeling unique. Research has shown that a stable and strong sense of identity is associated with better mental health of adolescents. Molly and Mara talk about how a teen's evolving identity might impact their behavior at home and school.  Suggestions for support include being non-judgmental, asking open ended questions and providing a loving safe environment.

Being self-aware starts with building a sense of confidence and purpose.  When teens are able to recognize their own strengths and limitations, they are better able to into interact and learn in diverse settings.  Mara and Molly talk about how the classroom environment helps build teens' self awareness and how parent and guardians can support that growth at home

Molly talks a bit about the changing teenage brain.  We talk about the meaningful classroom practices that develop student efficacy environment at Stevenson High School and how Parents and Guardians can support their teen’s development.