Giving Thanks!

Giving thanks is a powerful act of gratitude for what we have and receive, it does not matter how small or big it is. Thanksgiving gives us the occasion to let other people know that what they do matters and makes our life better.

I hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving Day by focusing and reflecting on the positive things and people in your life. 

InstART is back

Wednesday are always exciting days at the high school for the Art therapy Team. 

Today during the lunch hours, the art therapy team will have an art table in the High School cafeteria where students are invited to stop by and make a wristband/bracelet in the their class color to celebrate Alton High School Homecoming! 

The prompt for this week is

#SchoolSpirit #ShowYourClass #Homecoming

Freshmen = Green

Sophomore = Orange

Juniors = Purple

Seniors =  Black

Visit the Insta-Art table this Wednesday, September 20th, during your lunch hour. The activities are free of charge. 

Welcome to the School Year 2017-18!

Here we are to welcome a new school year!

This is a time when students and staff share feelings of excitement, trepidation, and eagerness to start another year of learning experiences. We all know that ups and downs will happen and together we can learn from and enjoy both if they lead us to growth. I personally welcome both!

Ms. D'Amore's Piazza is ready to get busy! Pencils, markers, paint, clay, and new material are ready to be used and transformed. Let's start the fun of creating while getting to know ourselves and others better!!!

Have a great beginning of a positive and enriching school year!

ARTSY 2017

20^th Annual ARTSY Exhibit

Art Opening

Saturday    April 22, 2017   1:00-3:00

Jacoby Arts Center

627 East Broadway

Alton, IL 62002

Every year, we await ARTSY with much excitement. This year is especially exciting because the art featured in the poster is by one of our students. 

Middle school student Saheem C. is the author of the painting featured in the 2017 ARTSY poster. 

We are all very proud of this accomplishment!

Save the Date

Please save the date and plan to attend the 

20th ARTSY Exhibit 

on Saturday, April 22nd at the Jacoby Arts Center, Alton IL

The exhibit showcases art produced in therapeutic settings by youth of the St. Louis Metropolitan area. The Alton School District contributes a large part of the art in the show. This year, we are particularly proud to share that the art piece featured in the ARTSY poster is from one of our middle school students.

More details to come!

The importance of Self-Care

The weekend is here!!! 

With the end of January approaching, I realized that we are closer to the end of the school year than to the beginning. With this in mind, I am thinking of all the students (and staff) who are probably being faced with a load of school work, sports, activities, or just everyday life. Often times, we need to balance a lot of things and it is not uncommon to feel overloaded or overwhelmed. When we feel like that, stress, anxiety and other unpleasant feelings might set in. To avoid or overcome these feelings, it is important to have good self-care practices. 

These can be as basic as:

• have enough sleep at night
• eat well and healthy
• physical activity

but also:

• have positive people around
• engage in healthy habits 
• meditate 
• don't overload yourself
• don't compare yourself to others
• keep it simple
• focus on your strengths and positive aspects of yourself
• be a positive person to others

Have a great weekend and take care of yourself!