The coronavirus pandemic with the subsequent closure of schools and other dramatic changes in life has created a mental health crisis among our children. The governor of Washington State recently declared a state of emergency for childhood mental health. As our students and teachers get ready to go back to school for in-person learning, it will be imperative to provide supports for student mental health and well-being.

Staff at Westhill Elementary use the Zones of Regulation framework which is designed to support emotional awareness and self-regulation in students grades K-5. Recent materials have been developed by the author of the Zones to complement and support this curriculum. These tools will provide much-needed support for the teachers to continue to implement this vital program. 

*The Road to Regulation and The Regulation Station. These books provide engaging social scenarios and strategies to help children at developmental ages 5-11 explore how lessons from The Zones of Regulation curriculum book can be used at school and at home. Kids love stories and will identify with the characters and the everyday situations as they learn about their feelings and emotions and how their bodies help show and tell them what they are feeling. Readers will also learn along with the characters that they can manage and control how they feel by using tools—such as movement, activities, and art—to relax, focus, and stay calm so they can meet their goals and needs of the day. 

*Tools to Try Cards for Kids includes 4”x 6” tool cards and is an easy, user-friendly way to introduce over 50 self-regulation strategies to kids ages 5–10 and empower them to make choices toward figuring out what works best for them. 

*Zones Poster: Adapted from the colorful 2-page layout in The Regulation Station storybook, this 24” x 18” poster summarizes lessons taught throughout The Zones of Regulation 2-Storybook Set. The poster is an in-the-moment reminder of the four steps needed to (1) recognize your feelings, (2) identify your Zone, (3) choose a tool, and (4) use the tool to help regulate your feelings experienced across different situations.

Thank you for your support! 

Bridget Sachse | Occupational Therapist | Westhill Elementary

We are welcoming students in person to our brand-new building for the first time. Our community of learners have had a very unique situation this year. On top of managing remote learning during a pandemic, our learners and staff were also trying to build community and relationships without ever having seen each other in person before. Our staff has worked creatively and tirelessly to develop relationships in this remote setting, and students are expressing strong connections to the caring adults and peers they have met remotely. To celebrate the opening of our building to our eager students and families, we would love to provide a mask with our school logo to each student. Our mission and vision for the school centers on inclusivity and belonging. We want to ensure that each student has some Ruby Bridges River Otter gear as we transition to the hybrid model to ensure they feel connected and a part of the community, even though it will be looking different than it has thus far. This is yet another transition for our students and staff in a year that has brought a continuous stream of new challenges. It is likely that some students will be working with new teachers and see different peers. Masks capturing our school spirit will be one way our children can stay unified as a family of River Otters.

Comics Plus is an expansive digital collection of comics and graphic novels. Students frequently request graphic novels such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Babysitters' Club, and Bad Guys and those books just fly off the shelf! They are so disappointed! There is often a weeks' long wait to borrow a popular title through SORA or Overdrive but this digital collection is available 24/7 with no wait time. Students may read a book for 7 days before returning it and they are available to multiple users.

This would be a wonderful way to encourage students to read and I think they would really like it. Students of all ages ask for different graphic novels and comics nearly every day and I would be so excited to be able to give them a chance to read them and to discover new titles, too.

Comics Plus has thousands of titles! It would also be something they could access through the library website at school and at home. The Comics Plus collection is leveled so that our elementary students would have access to a collection that is appropriate for their age and reading level and that is frequently updated to include new titles.

Your gifts to this campaign will build a fun and creative addition to the ebooks currently offered by our library.

https://comicsplusapp.com/