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UPCOMING PARENT EDUCATION SESSIONS
The Community Education Service (CES) is offering the following sessions for parents and families. Sessions are offered at no cost but registration is required. **CLICK HERE TO REGISTER: click on the PDF icon below the correct session to register**
February 10: Thriving and Autism: Tips Tricks and Strategies for Success
We all have an intuitive notion of what it means to live well, or what it means to thrive, or what human flourishing looks like. But figuring out what thriving looks like for us personally is a really hard question to answer. If you are autistic, that question might be even harder to figure out. This is often because even well-intentioned advice and strategies were developed by non-autistic researchers and tested with non-autistic participants and thus are not always helpful. In this workshop, Dr. Brown will present findings from research conducted primarily by autistic researchers themselves, in which they examined the constructs of wellbeing and quality of life for autistic individuals. By drawing on the lessons from the neurodiversity movement and personal experience, she will also present tips, tools, and strategies for learning to Thrive. The importance of (a) presumed competence and autonomy; (b) sparks, flow, and special interests; and (c) positive identity, belonging, and connection will specifically be considered.
February 15: Providing resolutions for toxic shame in children and youth
Children and youth often face shame before having the language to describe it.
Discovering ways to reduce the intensifying shame can become difficult particularly when parents and caregivers aren’t aware themselves of how to manage this root emotion. This session will cover how shame shows up in mental health disorders facing children and youth and provide tips for resolving the shame that results in unhealthy coping efforts.
February 16: Managing Anxiety in Youth within the COVID-19 World
This session will outline the differences among worry, stress, and anxiety, and how the COVID-19 pandemic may affect mental health and wellness in teens. The session will also cover clinical presentations of anxiety and provide parents with insight as to what is ‘normal’ and when to seek help from a mental health professional. The session will also cover strategies for parents to assist their youth in navigating this complex world, including stress management, self-care, and strategies for improving executive functioning and resilience.
February 23: Dare to Care: Bully Proofing your Child
When 150,000 students miss school each day because of bullying, we need to address this pervasive and crippling issue more seriously. Bullying behavior is not always easy for adults or children to recognize or define. A fight between friends or siblings, or rough play between children with equal power is conflict, not bullying. Bullying is when a person or group of people repeatedly and intentionally use their power to hurt, embarrass, threaten or exclude another person.
Participants will learn about the scope of the problem and the correlation between bullying, mental illness, and criminal activity. As well, participants will be provided with tips and guidelines to help their children navigate both real world situations and the potentially dangerous digital world that is increasingly becoming part of day to day life. To conclude the evening, parents will be provided with a tool belt of skills to help their children deal with bullying situations.
February 24: Mindful Moments: Building Stronger Family Connections
What is Mindfulness?
• This workshop will focus on what mindfulness is and how it can be used to help families to build stronger family relationships
• Mindfulness skills and coaching activities for self-regulation and stress reduction, keeping cool even when children escalate, techniques to manage strong emotions and learning how to be present with your children will also be discussed
March 2: ADHD & Executive Functioning: For in School & At Home Learners
The session will be an overview of ADHD and how issues with impulsivity and/or inattention impact children’s ability to manage their environments. The session will also explore the impact ADHD has on Executive Functioning and how it relates to managing everyday tasks, and meeting daily expectations at home and at school, including social, emotional, behavioural and academic demands.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Interested in getting involved? We are looking to fill the following roles on the GATE Parent Association Board:
- General Fundraising Chair – manage and take on general fundraising initiatives as the need arises
- Parent Education Chair – who will work with presenters and venues (or online resources) to schedule and organize parent education sessions
- Site Representative for Henry Wise Wood – who can attend school council meetings, provide a summary of GATE activities, and report any news or concerns to the executive team
To read more about these roles, click on the link below.
https://gatecalgary.ca/who-is-gate/about-our-roles/
If you would like to help and be part of our team, please contact us at info@gatecalgary.ca.
NOTE: If your child is enrolled in GATE in the 2021-2022 school year, you are automatically a member of the GATE Parent Association. You are eligible to vote at business meetings and can be elected to our executive and board at our Annual General Meeting (AGM).
You can view previous meeting minutes on our website.
Indigo Gift Cards
Support GATE by buying books! This ongoing fundraiser allows members to support the GPA, the GATE program, their students, and our GATE teachers. Shop for things you buy anyway, and earn funds to help enhance the GATE program.
Click below to buy a gift card, and 15% of the purchase price goes to support the work that we do, including funding for teacher professional development and public information seminars and events. Gift cards may be used at all Chapters, Indigo, and Coles stores, and online.
