Save the Date - ARTSY 2021

With great pleasure, the Alton School District has once again been invited to participate in the 24th Annual ARTSY- THERAPEUTIC ARTS FOR YOUTH-Art Exhibit. Students participating in the art therapy program have been invited to share their art in this special exhibit designed to increase self-esteem and highlight the accomplishments that youth make.

 

Unfortunately, the 2020 exhibit was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, ARTSY has developed a new plan. The 2021’s ARTSY Exhibit will be in a virtual gallery, where students and families can explore the gallery using their computer or other devices with an internet connection. We will share the link to the exhibit on opening day.

  

The ARTSY Exhibition will be from 

April 30th-June 6th.

Exhibbit.com Virtual galleries

https://exhibbit.com/exhibitions/

Stay tuned for the link of 2021 ARTSY on April 30th!

 

 Mark Twain School is committed to

"Spread Love and Kindness"!

We created three bulletin Boards to visually show the effort.

Students are participating by recognizing an act of kindness and writing it on a paper heart to be placed on the boards. They are also contributing to the making of the "Chain of Hearts".

For the chain of hearts, the students decorate a strip of paper on the outside and write on the inside a kind message to a person in their life that is going through a hard time or to whom they have a strong connection.

We will focus on this for the month of February, but we hope the love and kindness will carry on for a lifetime.

September, 21-25 - Week Recap

 Recognize our emotions

Recognizing our emotions is something we learn from a very young age. Most of us can say if we are happy, sad, angry, and so on. Truly understanding our emotions and what they may hide is a little more complex and not so evident at all times. Emotions can be divided into Primary Emotions, which are the emotions we are born with, and Secondary emotions which are emotional reactions to our emotions, and they are often learned. 

It is very important to be able to identify our true emotions in order to apply appropriate coping skills, manage difficult feelings, or adjust our behavior when needed. This can help us to feel more comfortable and in control during social situations or in our everyday life. It also can help us to recognize if the emotions we display are really what we feel and target the true root of a problem in order to overcome it. 

A fun activity presented to our students this week was to create a personal emoji. The students were directed to pick either their favorite face emoji or the emoji that best matched how they were feeling. Once they had the emoji picked out, they could write or draw times or things related to that emotion.

These were some samples shown to the students:

Which emotion are you feeling right now? 

Can you recognize why you feel the way you feel? 

Did you make your Emoji? 😉

September, 14 -18, Week Recap

This week at Mark Twain School, we talked about the importance of breathing.

Sometimes we forget how important it is to breathe. Breathing is not only an automatic reflex that helps us survive, but it also affects our entire body and mental state. When we are anxious, fearful, or stressed, our heart races, our muscles tense up, and our breathing becomes faster and shallow. If we control the way we breathe by taking long slow breaths, we send a signal to our body that things are OK, and consequently, our heart starts to slow down, our muscles relax, and we feel better and think more clearly. Learning how to slow down our breathing can be very helpful when we have to take a test in school or we are faced with challenges.

With some of the students, we drew leaves to gain awareness of our breathing. By starting from the stem, we started to inhale until we arrived at the top of the leaf, and then exhale while reconnecting the other side of the leaf to the stem. Some of us colored our leaves. Once we collect them all, we will make our own "Breathing Tree".

A video was shared with the high school students, which shows a technique (4-7-8) on how to take those effective breaths, but there are many more good videos out of there.

Just remember to breathe, especially when you feel anxious, stressed, or scared.

September, 7-11 Week Recap

    The students at Mark Twain have adjusted well to the new school routine, and although this situation of remote learning is not ideal, they are working hard and giving their best! 

    At our school, the students are not only growing through their academics but also through social-emotional learning. This week the therapeutic staff talked about Mindfulness and Senses in their daily groups. Gaining awareness of our five senses and identifying them was the primary focus. This was achieved through videos, games, and activities. In their Wednesday's group, the art therapists asked the students to trace their hands and write their favorite examples for each sense. Ms. Vidal made a sample with her favorites!

    Seeing the people we care about is not always possible for many different reasons. This can be challenging, especially during this period of isolation. We miss our friends, family members, teachers, mentors, and others who are important in our life. We must trust that no matter what the circumstances, we can still be connected. Often times children's books are able to convey important messages to people of all ages. This week, Mrs. D'Amore chose "The invisible String" by Patrice Karst, as one of those books.  The invisible string is a story of connectedness where love is the only thing needed. 

I hope you enjoy the story and take as a reminder that

we are all connected and ... 

..."no one is ever alone"!