Holistic Approach | Support & Wellness | Upper School | Friends Select School

Holistic Approach | Support & Wellness | Upper School | Friends Select School
Holistic Approach | Support & Wellness | Upper School | Friends Select School
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Upper School Holistic Approach
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Upper School Holistic Approach
At Friends Select, we work to support “the whole” of every student. As such, a broad program is offered incorporating academics, activities, athletics, service, and other areas. In addition, areas of student support are available covering students’ learning and social-emotional needs. Upper school is a time when students grow and develop from mid-adolescence to emerging adulthood. Students in the upper school have more choice and agency with regard to their academic programs, and more responsibility for governing their own behavior and interactions. With the shifts that happen and approaching the “next steps” of their lives, students benefit from services that support their success while allowing for the emergence of their independence and autonomy.
Learning
Support
Social-Emotional Support
Wellness
Program
Learning Support
Academic support is available in a variety of ways. Our advisory program allows students to check in with their advisors weekly. Additionally, study hall/free periods are available throughout the week where we encourage students to catch up on assignments, seek out support from teachers, and/or schedule time with the learning specialist. Office hours are embedded in the upper school schedule to provide students an opportunity to meet with teachers.
Our middle school/upper school learning specialist supports students in a variety of ways, such as meeting with students during study help time, connecting students with peer tutors, and providing support to students, families, and faculty in the area of learning differences. Consultation regarding student support is available on an ongoing basis with an effort to help students develop compensatory strategies and assist in implementing necessary accommodations for students with documented learning differences. Professionals from Cora Services provide additional academic support.
Social-Emotional Support
The developmental span of upper school is quite broad, marked by the shift from most 9th grade students still presenting very much as adolescents (and sometimes young adolescents) to a time of entering emerging adulthood by the time they graduate at the end of the 12th grade. During this time, students grapple with who they are, who they want to be, how they are seen by others, and how they interact with the world. Additionally, students are accomplishing the critical development task of asserting their independence and autonomy. All of these shifts, coupled with some level of uncertainty about the “next steps” after high school, call for robust opportunities for students to engage in learning and self-direction around their overall emotional health and well-being.
Friends Select’s counseling team attends grade-team meetings to consult and advise about student issues that may arise and to provide details and considerations on supporting individual students in the classroom and the wider school community. Additionally, the guidance team, comprised of learning support, counseling support, and administrative staff, meets weekly to review student progress, assess areas of need, and plan action steps to support students.
The counseling support staff at Friends Select are available for conversation and consultation with families of students as well as professionals who may be providing students with outside-of-school support. Additionally, topical groups and discussions are offered to parents and caregivers.
In school, Friends Select students receive and have access to a myriad of social-emotional support services, both planned and on an as-needed basis. These services include lessons that are implemented in students’ advisory groups, joining classroom conversations/lessons, small group counseling sessions focusing on particular topics, conflict resolution meetings, topical classes delivered during health class, and one-on-one counseling.
Wellness Program
The Friends Select Wellness Program, now in its eighth year, engages the school’s community and the general public about mental health and other wellness issues. It is spearheaded by Natan Gottesman, Ph.D., the school’s psychologist, and Chris Singler, upper school director. The program provides information, strategies, support, and resources to students, faculty, and families in the Friends Select community and beyond. Through speaking events, presentations, and participatory activities, the program increases awareness of issues that can affect student learning and well-being, such as mental health challenges, learning styles, peer relationships, social media and internet use, academic pressures, the college application process, and current events.
During the 2023-24 school year, Friends Select offered access to a series of Child Development and Parenting Webinars, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS) and the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS). Friends Select’s Wellness support team followed these webinars with a series of companion conversations, each one customized to provide parents, caregivers, faculty, and staff an opportunity to gather, discuss, and process the learning from these lectures.
Wellness Meetings
As an ongoing foundational aspect of the program since its inception, Natan meets with small groups of upper school students throughout the school year for “Wellness Meetings.” Issues such as mental health, academic successes and struggles, stress and stress management, navigation of upper school expectations, and time management are discussed.
Past Wellness Program Events
2017-18
During the 2017-18 school year, the Wellness Program brought Kenneth Ginsburg to speak about his book, Raising Kids to Thrive: Balancing Love with Expectations and Protection with Trust. The program continues to expand, with events intended to increase conversation about the connections between stress, overall mental health and well-being, and academic engagement.
2018-19
The Wellness Program hosted a screening and panel discussion for Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety, an IndieFlix documentary that explores the multilayered effects of anxiety on our society. This film was screened for Friends Select parents, caregivers, and the wider community, as well as for faculty and students in the upper and middle school. In addition, speakers were brought in from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), who presented information about mental illness to upper school students, with one speaker candidly sharing her own personal experiences with mental illness, treatment, and recovery.
2019-20
The Wellness Program presented adolescent mental health expert Anthony Rostain and family therapist B. Janet Hibbs, authors of The Stressed Years of Their Lives: Helping Your Kid Survive and Thrive During Their College Years. They discussed their book, which is intended to help students and parents cope with the stress and anxiety associated with college.
2020-21
The Wellness Program hosted two virtual events: Youth Suicide Risk: What You Should Know with Dr. Terri Erbacher, and Helping Students Thrive During Pandemic Schooling with Denise Pope, Ph.D.
2021-22
The Wellness Program hosted an event in the fall titled Kids and the COVID-19 Vaccine: Addressing Your Questions and Concerns. This virtual event included a multi-disciplinary panel discussion featuring Dr. Susan Coffin, Dr. Paul Planet, Dr. Tina Scott, and Kathryn Snyder. In recognition of the designation of May as Mental Health Awareness Month, Friends Select psychologist Natan Gottesman and school counselor Gabby Kenny offered a virtual Wellness Program event titled Suicide Prevention and Education: What You Should Know, to inform caregivers and other community members about warning signs, coping skills, and action steps related to suicide prevention.
2022-23
The Wellness Program invited Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary to speak to the Friends Select community and the public about her book, The Anxiety Paradox: Why Helping Kids Feel Bad Can Help Them to Feel Good. As the Molly Patterson Wellness Speaker for the 2022-23 school year. Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary provided a new model for ways to think about and deal with anxiety and address how parents and guardians can best support their kids.
The Wellness Program is made possible by the generous and thoughtful support of Jeff Abrams and Margaret Barry P ’15, ’16. They continue to support the Wellness Program for students, faculty/staff, families, and the community, in recognition of the creative and compassionate energy that Molly Patterson Ed.D. and Natan Gottesman, Ph.D. have brought to the program since its inception to help it grow and respond to the needs of the Friends Select community.
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