With Great Anticipation

Head's Message By Dr. Jenn Milam,

As you read this message, we are just two short weeks away from the 2024-2025 school year! We’ve been busy planning for your return for a few weeks now with class schedules, new activities and field trips, fresh paint and welcoming classrooms, and all of the eagerness that comes with a new school year - a fresh start, a new beginning, and a chance to write a new chapter. 

And while we might be counting down the days to the start of school, parents and caregivers, it's important to acknowledge that our young people may be feeling a mix of emotions with this transition. Whether they are taking their first steps through the Kindergarten door or looking toward their last first day of school (we see you Class of 2025!), with anticipation can come anxiety, worry, reluctance, and some unexpected emotional twists and turns as you shop for uniforms, pick out new pencil bags and backpacks, and begin organizing your family planners for the upcoming year. Dr. Chiappini at Johns Hopkins recommends a few things to ease the worries and bolster the wonders for our young people at the start of a new school year:

• Prepare for new routines and the transition to school schedules by practicing going to bed earlier, getting up a little earlier each day, and creating more structure around dinner times and evening bedtime. Summer months bring a freedom in our evenings that is often hard to come by during a busy school year as we juggle long-school days, after school activities, sports, therapies, and family commitments. Starting now, with some gentle structure and scaffolds helps to make the start of school feel more familiar.
• Reconnecting with school friends and families is a great way to get back to a school-mindset. It’s likely that summer travel, camps, and simply logistics may have kept you from scheduling playdates or time for your big kids to simply hang-out with their buddies over the summer. This would be an ideal time to reach out, schedule a sleepover, invite a friend for shopping and ice cream, or visit a local park for some outdoor play time. This small gesture can ease worry and create reconnection that helps to nurture feelings of safety and belonging, before young people ever come to campus. 
• Validating feelings with our young people goes a long way! While it may feel natural and normal for us to shift to back-to-school mode, transitions - especially for young people with learning differences and neurodivergent processing - can be a challenge. As adults, we regulate our emotions because we’ve learned to, and sometimes we forget they are still learning. It’s good to acknowledge the feelings of worry or reluctance, and their accompanying moods or expressions, and respond in a reassuring way that school is a place where they are welcome, can be themselves, and will find new joy. I’m always amazed at how just the simple act of listening with my own teens is calming for them. 

Finally, Dr. Chiappini recommends that you visit school and explore campus before school begins - and we think that’s a great idea! In this issue of THE NEST you’ll find a detailed outline of our NEW FAMILY ORIENTATION + FALL KICK-OFF EVENT on Monday, August 19. Please mark your calendars - new and returning students and families - for this great opportunity to start the year strong. Returning families will note this year is a little different, but nonetheless a fun and exciting time for you to come to campus to meet teachers, put away school supplies and organize lockers, share some food and fellowship with your friends and community, and soak up the positive energy for the new school year ahead. 

As your new Head of School, I cannot wait to see each of you, to get to know you and your incredible young people, and to build on Winston’s incredible history of serving  bright students who learn differently! I’m excited to celebrate each milestone with the Class of 2025 as they make their way toward graduation and I’m eager to share in the daily triumphs of our littlest learners, while experiencing all the cool, fun, silly, joyful moments in between with your amazing young people!

SOURCE: 5 Tips to Ease Back-to-School Anxiety