Dear ESA parents,
The School Council and Administration are considering starting an ESA Parent Support Group for parents of students going through social, emotional and/or psychological challenges.
High School can be a difficult time for both parents and students. Many teenagers face issues like low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, stress, eating disorders and substance abuse during the high school years. Meanwhile the social networks that parents and students developed in the younger grades sometimes disappear.
As parents, we are in a unique position to support our children through these challenges. A support group can be very helpful, not only to feel less alone, but also to learn new ways of communicating, listening and supporting our family relationships, while maintaining acceptable boundaries.
There are various ways to run a support group, including having open guided discussions around specific topics, speaking about personal issues with the help of a professional facilitator, or inviting different speakers to come and address issues of concern. Or we could look at alternating formats month to month, or even increasing frequency of meetings. We would discuss these plans at an opening meeting in September and create a plan to move forward.
We would like to gauge whether a monthly Parent Support Group meeting would be of interest to parents. If you are interested in participating, please fill out this ONLINE FORM and submit it ASAP. We’ll add you to an email list for notice of any updates or upcoming meetings. https://forms.gle/PKKsRMKA4zgzAkj86
Many thanks, and have a wonderful rest of the summer!
Your ESA School Council