TUESDAY, AUGUST 8 1:00 to 1:50 PM
Room 306
Presenter: Carrie Bauer Title: Children & Change: Helping Children Cope with Grief Description: Children of all ages grieve, and it is important to remember that no child is “too young” to grieve. During this presentation, we will identify children’s normal reactions to loss, change, and death, focusing on their developmental stages and understanding of death. We will also discuss the many feelings children may have after a death, and how to help them process these feelings. We will touch on the unique needs of children after traumatic deaths including suicide, and the best ways to support them during these specific situations.
Room 308
Presenter: Kristopher Rollins\| Emily Lang Title: Creating Safe and Brave Spaces Description: This workshop will provide strategies and techniques for establishing and maintaining safe and brave spaces we share with young people during the school day or in after-school settings.
Room 309
Presenter: Connie Ryan Title: Understanding challenges faced by religious minorities Description: What is it like to be a student in a public school when you are also part of a religious minority? What are the challenges and how can teachers and staff make a real difference in creating a learning environment that respects all faith traditions and beliefs? Leaders from the Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities will join the session to offer their insight.
Room 314
Presenter: Chella Drew Title: Restorative Practices in Schools Description: This session will discuss what needs to happen in a school in order for it to become truly restorative. Participants will explore the potential positive outcomes of restorative practices, as well as the process for understanding and managing change. Participants will leave with practical steps for achieving a restorative culture in their school setting. Resources: WHAT IS RESTORATIVE PRACTICES
Room 315
Presenter: Steve Korr Title: Into to Circles Description: Circles facilitate conversation and encourage full participation, but there are optimal ways to utilize this process that promote truly meaningful communication. Through practice, discussion and interactive activities, participants will identify effective methods for using proactive and responsive circles to increase connection, establish norms and address behavior and relationships. Resources: Circle Packet
Room 317
Presenter: Jen Griest-Hayes Title: Yoga and mindfulness in the classroom Description: Learn how integrating simple, classroom-friendly yoga and mindfulness techniques into the class day can support social and emotional learning, classroom management, and your own resilience and effectiveness, resulting in improved behavior and a more mindful, positive and productive classroom climate. The story of Edmunds Elementary, a Des Moines school that has been implementing Yoga 4 Classrooms for three years to support school improvement goals, will be shared along with recommendations and best practices for classroom and school wide implementation. Resources: JGH Notes
Room 319
Presenter: Kaye Randall Title: Non-Suicidal self-injury Description: According to research, about 13-25% of youth aged 11-25 self-injure. Exact figures are inconclusive since self-injury is often done in secret and goes undetected unless an adolescent is being treated for a related condition. More recent trends suggest that self-injurious behaviors in adolescents and young adults are on the rise. Young people who deliberately do harm to their own bodies are often misunderstood. The underlying contributing factors that lead to self-mutilation are sometimes very complex and easily overlooked. Without effective intervention, self-harm is likely to continue and may escalate in frequency, duration and/or intensity. The addictive nature of the self-mutilation cycle may lead young people to engage in dangerous compulsions that can have shattering consequences. During this research-based session, Kaye Randall, MSW, LISW-CP (and co-author of See My Pain! Creative Strategies & Activities for Helping Young People Who Self-Injure) will provide you with fresh understandings and innovative approaches that can be used to connect with and help these young people. In addition, educators will learn how to approach this sometimes puzzling behavior within the school setting. Resources: KR Breakouts 1 6
Room 320
Presenter: Aaron Wiemeire Title: Engaging the Traumatized Child: A Fresh Perspective on Neurodevelopment, Social/Emotional and Behavior Issues Description: According to research, about 13-25% of youth aged 11-25 self-injure. Exact figures are inconclusive since self-injury is often done in secret and goes undetected unless an adolescent is being treated for a related condition. More recent trends suggest that self-injurious behaviors in adolescents and young adults are on the rise. Young people who deliberately do harm to their own bodies are often misunderstood. The underlying contributing factors that lead to self-mutilation are sometimes very complex and easily overlooked. Without effective intervention, self-harm is likely to continue and may escalate in frequency, duration and/or intensity. The addictive nature of the self-mutilation cycle may lead young people to engage in dangerous compulsions that can have shattering consequences. During this research-based session, Kaye Randall, MSW, LISW-CP (and co-author of See My Pain! Creative Strategies & Activities for Helping Young People Who Self-Injure) will provide you with fresh understandings and innovative approaches that can be used to connect with and help these young people. In addition, educators will learn how to approach this sometimes puzzling behavior within the school setting. Aaron Wiemeier’s presentation is sponsored by Mid-Iowa Health Foundation.
Room 104
Presenter: Dr. G. Reyes Title: Making it 100 AF (All For us): Examining what we are willing to do to be transformative Description: What is the importance of principled, values-centered, purpose driven stance, beliefs, values, and/or vision? How do these help ground the cultural, structural, and pedagogical architecture of a school, while explicitly countering the sociocultural and historical conditions that detract from a positive and empowering school climate and culture? Examine these questions and more as this breakout builds off Dr. G’s afternoon keynote address from the previous day. Using multiple active dialog strategies, we will engage each other as a critical, humanizing, intellectual, and practitioner-focused community of educators not to keep our contexts fundamentally as is, but to rethink what it might take to be authentically transformative. Resources: Breakout Session-G.Reyes

TUESDAY, AUGUST 8

1:00 to 1:50 PM

Room 306

Presenter: Carrie Bauer

Title: Children & Change: Helping Children Cope with Grief

Description: Children of all ages grieve, and it is important to remember that no child is “too young” to grieve. During this presentation, we will identify children’s normal reactions to loss, change, and death, focusing on their developmental stages and understanding of death. We will also discuss the many feelings children may have after a death, and how to help them process these feelings. We will touch on the unique needs of children after traumatic deaths including suicide, and the best ways to support them during these specific situations.

Room 308

Presenter: Kristopher Rollins| Emily Lang

Title: Creating Safe and Brave Spaces

Description: This workshop will provide strategies and techniques for establishing and maintaining safe and brave spaces we share with young people during the school day or in after-school settings.

Room 309

Presenter: Connie Ryan

Title: Understanding challenges faced by religious minorities

Description: What is it like to be a student in a public school when you are also part of a religious minority? What are the challenges and how can teachers and staff make a real difference in creating a learning environment that respects all faith traditions and beliefs? Leaders from the Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities will join the session to offer their insight.

Room 314

Presenter: Chella Drew

Title: Restorative Practices in Schools

Description: This session will discuss what needs to happen in a school in order for it to become truly restorative. Participants will explore the potential positive outcomes of restorative practices, as well as the process for understanding and managing change. Participants will leave with practical steps for achieving a restorative culture in their school setting.

Resources: WHAT IS RESTORATIVE PRACTICES

Room 315

Presenter: Steve Korr

Title: Into to Circles

Description: Circles facilitate conversation and encourage full participation, but there are optimal ways to utilize this process that promote truly meaningful communication. Through practice, discussion and interactive activities, participants will identify effective methods for using proactive and responsive circles to increase connection, establish norms and address behavior and relationships.

Resources: Circle Packet

Room 317

Presenter: Jen Griest-Hayes

Title: Yoga and mindfulness in the classroom

Description: Learn how integrating simple, classroom-friendly yoga and mindfulness techniques into the class day can support social and emotional learning, classroom management, and your own resilience and effectiveness, resulting in improved behavior and a more mindful, positive and productive classroom climate. The story of Edmunds Elementary, a Des Moines school that has been implementing Yoga 4 Classrooms for three years to support school improvement goals, will be shared along with recommendations and best practices for classroom and school wide implementation.

Resources: JGH Notes

Room 319

Presenter: Kaye Randall

Title: Non-Suicidal self-injury

Description: According to research, about 13-25% of youth aged 11-25 self-injure. Exact figures are inconclusive since self-injury is often done in secret and goes undetected unless an adolescent is being treated for a related condition. More recent trends suggest that self-injurious behaviors in adolescents and young adults are on the rise.

Young people who deliberately do harm to their own bodies are often misunderstood. The underlying contributing factors that lead to self-mutilation are sometimes very complex and easily overlooked. Without effective intervention, self-harm is likely to continue and may escalate in frequency, duration and/or intensity. The addictive nature of the self-mutilation cycle may lead young people to engage in dangerous compulsions that can have shattering consequences.

During this research-based session, Kaye Randall, MSW, LISW-CP (and co-author of See My Pain! Creative Strategies & Activities for Helping Young People Who Self-Injure) will provide you with fresh understandings and innovative approaches that can be used to connect with and help these young people. In addition, educators will learn how to approach this sometimes puzzling behavior within the school setting.

Resources: KR Breakouts 1 6

Room 320

Presenter: Aaron Wiemeire

Title: Engaging the Traumatized Child: A Fresh Perspective on Neurodevelopment, Social/Emotional and Behavior Issues

Aaron Wiemeier’s presentation is sponsored by Mid-Iowa Health Foundation.

Room 104

Presenter: Dr. G. Reyes

Title: Making it 100 AF (All For us): Examining what we are willing to do to be transformative

Description: What is the importance of principled, values-centered, purpose driven stance, beliefs, values, and/or vision? How do these help ground the cultural, structural, and pedagogical architecture of a school, while explicitly countering the sociocultural and historical conditions that detract from a positive and empowering school climate and culture? Examine these questions and more as this breakout builds off Dr. G’s afternoon keynote address from the previous day. Using multiple active dialog strategies, we will engage each other as a critical, humanizing, intellectual, and practitioner-focused community of educators not to keep our contexts fundamentally as is, but to rethink what it might take to be authentically transformative.

Resources: Breakout Session-G.Reyes

Breakout 6