"If we don't believe we deserve goodness, it is hard to believe anyone else does either...we fight for this in our own lives, so we can fight for it in everyone else's...Grab hold of this truth, so you can look someone else in the eye and assure them they are worthy of good things, no matter what they've been told...Fierce self-compassion pays its greatest dividends in the way we are able to love. Insist that you are worth the work, because the people you adore are worth your best." --Jen Hatmaker
Take a moment to pause. Breathe in. Breathe out. Hooooooooooo.
You are worthy and we see you.
Practicing self-care is challenging. One way to develop our own self-care practices is to embed them in our daily interactions with our children & youth. There are so many ways we can help our students build self-care routines. Here are a few suggestions:
Encourage students to make a plan each day: -Who will I connect with today? -When will I get into nature today? -How will I move my body today? -What am I grateful for today? -How will I be creative today?
Share reflection questions for students to respond to when you meet with them: -When was my brain most focused? -How did my brain/body indicate it was time to move? -Was there a time that I had to persevere? How did I do it?
Host "Office Hours" when the students know they can come to you to voice their questions and feelings
Practice using "envisioning language" to model what their own self-take should sound like
Ask them how you can help them. Teach your students how they can advocate for themselves and take the risk to ask
"Supporting Students' Self-Care Virtually" at the responsiveclassroom.org
Highlights
We are so excited to welcome Kayla Samuels (back!) as our new Director of Brick Community Center!
Kayla was one of our year-long AmeriCorps VISTAs who worked closely with the Brick community. She celebrated with us when the community center opened and partnered with the families in the education programs throughout her entire year with CAN. She just completed and acquired her LLMSW and we are glad she can re-join the CAN Crew.
K-Sams loves gardening and is "obsessed" with her house plants, adores her cat Delilah, and is passionate about mental health.
Announcements
Summer Staff Recruitment Committee Interested in developing your interviewing and hiring skills or committed to finding the best candidates for this year's Educational Summer Camp? Email pampey@canwashtenaw.org for more information and to join!
Next All Staff Meeting is February 26 at 2pm - This is our monthly "All Staff Fun Day"! Because COVID does such a good job of keeping us apart, this is a great opportunity to get to know everyone better and build community with your fellow CAN team members as we all work together to create brighter futures
Tips & Tidbits
Washtenaw County My Brother's Keeper Documentary
WCBK partnered with the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation to create and share a film that addresses the persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color. The documentary is designed to uncover and lift up the experiences, the hopes, the desires, and the assets of young Black men in our community.
Sunday, February 21, 2021
4:00pm-5:30pm
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Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or comments (or highlights, announcements, etc.), please email Katie at klampen@canwashtenaw.org.