Coming Up - Parent Wellness Evenings for Middle and Upper School Families

At FCS, we talk often about the intellectual, spiritual, and ethical promise of our students. Nurturing this potential begins with individual emotional wellness. We attend to academic, athletic, and artistic excellence in a vigorous way; we are developing a community in which equity is a measure of our success; and the climate in which we accomplish these inspired goals is centered by the belief that kindness, respect, and caring beyond one's self are connected to our work in all areas.

We have engaged clinical social worker A. Michael Blanche to work with us to design and embrace an arc of emotional wellness programming. This year will include multiple conversations with every single student from grade 6 to those students graduating in June and moving on to the challenges of college life. Substance abuse prevention will be an important aspect of this programmatic arc.

We are offering two opportunities for parents to engage with Mike to discuss concerns you may have about wellness, substance use, and prevention. On Tuesday, October 24 and Wednesday, November 1 at 7 pm in Middle School Room 10, Mike will engage in a conversation with parents/guardians/host parents. The dialogues will be designed for Upper School folks on October 24 and Middle School on November 1; however, if one date is better for you, please come to either gathering.

Last Friday, Mike led a conversation with 11th and 12th grade students that we thought was really powerful, so we wanted to share some of that presentation with you. The work he is beginning at Friends' Central is designed to be one part of the emotional underpinning that supports our students in their overall educational process. Mike will return in November for three separate Middle School interactions and in February for an assembly with grades 9 & 10. All of these large presentations are followed by opportunities to interact with Mike in a small group setting where deeper discussions can occur.

Initially, Mike engaged students in a brief conversation before introducing a guest speaker. Collectively, both students and the faculty advisors present were interested in being educated about the issues, especially in relation to what trends Mike is seeing in students' substance use, as well as in the current pressures on our students that seem to catalyze that use.

We look forward to an important year of learning and hope to see you on October 24 or November 1. Feel free to contact either of us if you have any questions.

Sincerely,