SEQUITUR|May/June 2017 More than 400 students with special needs competed in the Super Sports Day Track and Field event on May 5 at Se- quoia High School. Sequoia High School’s administration, leadership students, teachers, staff, IT and maintenance crew, helped coordinate a day filled with fantastic and won- derful moments. Read more on page 8. Photos by James Bell In this Issue: Parent Resources …. P 2-3 Board Updates … P 7 Marijuana Myths …. 4 Campus Corner … P 8-13 Parent Workshops … P 6 Lianides’ Legacy … P 14-17 May/June Newsletter Mayo es el Mes de Conciencia sobre la Salud Mental, por May is Mental Health Awareness lo que tenemos una plana de dos páginas dedicada a pro- month, so we have a two-page porcionar a los padres una visión general de los servicios spread dedicated to providing parents an overview of de salud mental del Distrito y los recursos de la comuni- the District’s mental health services and community dad. Hemos dedicado mucho tiempo y energía en el año resources. We have dedicated considerable time and pasado con los esfuerzos de salud mental, empezando con energy in the past year to mental health efforts, star- un despliegue a nivel de distrito de la Iniciativa de Carpeta ting with a district-wide rollout of the Green Folder Verde, que provee herramientas al personal para recono- Initiative, which provides tools to staff in recognizing cer signos de mala salud mental entre nuestros estudian- signs of poor mental health among our students, and tes y culminando con un entrenamiento de todo distrito culminating with a district-wide online Kognito trai- de Kognito, que tiene como objetivo reforzar las conversa- ning, which aims to bolster conversations between ciones entre el personal y sus estudiantes alrededor a pro- blemas de salud mental. staff and their students around mental health issues. It has been truly an honor to serve as superintendent Ha sido realmente un honor servir como superintendente of this District for the past seven years. I have had the de este Distrito durante los últimos ocho años. He tenido privilege of working with a talented team of world- el privilegio de trabajar con un talentoso equipo de educa- class educators. No words are adequate to express dores de clase mundial. No hay palabras adecuadas para the depth of gratitude to everyone who has helped expresar la profunda gratitud a todos los que han ayudado a hacer de este Distrito un gran lugar para trabajar. ¡Mis make this District a great place to work. My thanks gracias y aprecio a todos ustedes y una despedida afectuo- and appreciation to you all and a fond farewell! sa! —Superintendent Dr. James Lianides —Superintendent Dr. James Lianides Page 1 SEQUITUR|May/June 2017 Site-Based Resources Recursos en la Escuela El cambio puede ser desafiante para todos: El final del semestre y la Change can be challenging for everyone: The end of the graduación puede presentar algunas dificultades para algunos estudian- semester and graduation may present some difficulties for tes. Si usted es es padre/madre que está preocupado por su estudiante, some students. If you are a parent who is concerned about por favor comuníquese con el consejero de su hijo(a) o cualquier recur- your student, please contact your student’s counselor or so de la lista en las próximos dos páginas. any of the resources listed on the next two pages. During the school year, parents can be assured that each Durante el año escolar, los padres pueden estar seguros de que cada site is staffed with guidance counselors who are there to escuela cuenta con consejeros de orientación que están ahí no solo not only support students’ academic goals, but to also sup- para apoyar las metas académicas del os estudiantes, pero también port the emotional-social development and well-being of apoyar el desarrollo emocional-social y bienestar de los estudiantes. El students. Your student’s guidance counselor is the first consejero de orientación de su estudiante es el primero en ser contac- one to contact if you have any concerns about the mental tado si tiene preocupaciones sobre la salud mental de cualquier estu- health of any student. diante. That said, your student’s guidance counselor may refer Habiendo dicho eso, el consejero de orientación de su estudiante puede your student to an on-site mental health expert if addition- referir a su estudiante a un experto de salud mental en al escuela si al levels of support are appropriate. Each school also has a niveles de apoyo adicionales son apropiados. Cada escuela también professionally-licensed mental health practitioner who is tiene un profesional de salud mental licenciado que está calificado para qualified to provide high quality services to identified and para proveer servicios de alta calidad a estudiantes identificados y refe- ridos. Algunas escuelas usan un equipo de terapia compuesto de interi- referred students. Some sites utilize a therapy team com- nos que están cumpliendo las horas hacia su licenciatura mientras que prised of interns who are fulfilling hours towards their li- son supervisados por un profesional completamente licenciado. Nues- censure while being supervised by a fully-licensed practi- tras escuelas se han asociado con agencias de la comunidad tal como tioner. Our schools have partnered with community agen- StarVista, Adolescent Counseling Services, y Acknowledge Alliance cies such as StarVista, Adolescent Counseling Services, and para proveer lo siguiente: Acknowledge Alliance to provide the following: • Consejería individual • One-on-one counseling • Apoyo de entrada para estudiantes • Drop-in support for students • • Group counseling session for targeted populations Sesiones de consejería en grupo para poblaciones destinadas • Classroom and staff presentations • Presentación en el salón de clase y al personal • Crisis intervention and mental health assessments • Intervención de crisis y evaluación de salud mental These services are all free, provided at no cost to you, and Todos estos servicios son gratuitos, proporcionados a ningún costo para confidential. Once student contact is made, you will be usted y son confidenciales. Una vez que se hace contacto con el estu- notified and asked to sign a permission form to allow for diante, usted será notificado y se le pedirá que firme un formulario de autorización para que el servicio sea proveído. services to be rendered. Below is a list of mental health coordinators and their contacts. This group meets once a month with the Superinten- dent and District Wellness Coordinator, Dr. Karen Li, to provide mental health leadership and planning in the District. If you are interested in obtaining mental health services for your student in the fall or have questions about which re- sources are available to your family, please contact the school-based mental health coordinator on this list. Carlmont Woodside [email protected] Shelley Bustamante Sara Grace Vann Redwood Mental Health and SOS Coordinator Student Support Services Coordinator Laurie Karzen [email protected] [email protected] Community Schools Coordinator [email protected] Menlo-Atherton Sequoia Miki Cristerna Judy Romero East Palo Alto Academy Student Support Services Coordinator Director, Teen Resource Center Maria Jose Flockhart [email protected] Social Services Coordinator Page 2 SEQUITUR|May/June 2017 Community Resources Recursos de la Comunidad COUNTY AGENCIES 24-HR HOTLINES COMMUNITY TARGETED AGENCIES SUPPORTS Sequoia Teen Wellness Center National Suicide Prevention healthRight360 ACS Outlet (650) 366-2927 1-800-273-8255 (800) 200-7181 (650) 424-0852 http://acs-teens.org/what- 24-hours, 7 days a week www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/ www.healthright360.org we-do/outlet SequoiaTWC Rape Trauma Services Ravenswood Family Health (650) 692-7273 Center www.rapetraumaservices.org (650) 330-7400 StarVista ACS (Adolescent Counseling KARA http:// www.star-vista.org Services) (650) 321-5272 www.ravenswoodfhc.org (650) 424-0852 www.kara-grief.org Drug and Alcohol Hotline http://acs-teens.org Provides grief support (650) 573-3950 Fair Oaks Health Clinic A help line counselor will answer StarVista CHC (650) 578-7141 questions about alcohol and other (650) 567-KIDS (5437) call (650) 688-3625 http:// drug prevention and recovery [email protected] programs. or text sanmateomedicalcenter.org/ www.chconline.org content/FOHC.htm http://star-vista.org Crisis Intervention and Suicide Pre- vention Center El Centro de Libertad Al-Anon/Alateen County of San Mateo Behavior- (650) 579-0350 (650) 599-9955 (650) 592-7935 al Health and Recovery Ser- Provides assessment, counseling recov- http://al-anon.alateen.org vices (BHRS) ACCESS Team referrals, and follow-up for individ- [email protected] (800) 686-0101 uals in crisis/at risk of suicide. Planned Parenthood http://smchealth.org/mh Child and Adolescent Hotline and PHP 1-(800)230-PLAN (7526) Prevention Program (CAHPP) (Parents Helping Parents) http:// Child Protective Services (CPS) (650) 567-5437 (855) 727-5775 Toll Free plannedparenthood.org (650) 595-7922 Anyone can call regarding a child (408) 727-5775 http://hsa.smcgov.org/child- 0-18. Offers confidential support http://php.com and referral services. protective-services Page 3 SEQUITUR|May/June 2017 marijuana use and local/Peninsula teens, CHKS data shows Educating the Public on a decline among our 9th and 11th graders over time. In response to these concerns, the District hosted Dr. Marijuana Myths Tauheed Zaman, an assistant clinical professor at UCSF’s Department of Psychiatry and marijuana expert, at a Did you know that marijuana is the most com- January professional development for our mental health monly used illegal substance worldwide staff, guidance counselors, student support staff, nurses, (DuPont 2014)? In 2014, 4.2 million people 12 health aides, and special education staff. (Several of Dr. and older had a marijuana addiction problem Zaman’s take-away points are included in this article.) (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2016).