education
“If students don’t have good stress
management skills, the job of learn-
ing will be harder and more unpleas-
ant,” says Elias. “Typically, there’s a
scripted curriculum done on a weekly
basis in the classroom, homeroom,
social studies or health. If kids prac-
tice in the classroom, they’ll be able
to use these techniques when the time
comes.” At some Millburn schools,
“Mindfulness Minutes” are observed
during morning announcements.
To calm themselves, younger chil-
dren can learn to breathe through
their noses and exhale through their
mouths, and to count to themselves
when they’re upset, skills that are
especially handy before taking tests.
As students grow older, many of
them focus on failure as opposed to
success, says Elias. In those instances,
“It’s valuable to ask kids to visualize
other tasks and assignments they’ve
had, and think about how they were
successful,” he says. Elias’ Students
Taking Action Together workshop
teaches kids how to problem-solve
with the help of others.
SMARTER SCHEDULES
36
BACK TO SCHOOL 2019 MILLBURN & SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE
DE-STRESSING CAN BE FUN (Top) Therapy dogs are welcome in the MHS Student Center.
(Above) Students enjoy the media center during their common lunch period.
programs in August, so families can
go away together,” says Burton. The
online grading system PowerSchool
also went offline during testing
periods.
CONTINUING PARENT
EDUCATION
Burton partners with superinten-
dents in area districts including New
Providence, Summit, Chatham and
Berkeley Heights. When Millburn
hosts speakers, such as Frank Bruni,
New York Times columnist and
author of Where You Go Is Not Who
You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College
Admissions Mania, the district sends
email blasts to families of students,
and shares the news on social media
and the district website. The other
districts in the consortium are noti-
fied via fliers and press releases.
Another good resource for parents
is the health and wellness link on the
district’s website, which keeps them
up to speed on upcoming presenta-
tions such as “Helping your Child
Develop Healthy Coping Skills for
Life.” ■
For more information, Maurice
Elias recommends NBC News Learn’s
parenttoolkit.com and resources at
The Center for Human and Social
Development at the College of
St. Elizabeth in Morristown.
SCHOOLS
Last year, the high school decided
to switch to a 58-minute extended
lunch period for all its 1500 students
in the cafeteria, gym, guidance center
and library.
“We’d been working with the stu-
dent government and school admin-
istrators to change the schedule,”
says Jamie Serruto, who has served
as class president the past three years
and will hold the role again as a
senior. “The common lunch period
gives students the ability to take time
for themselves, meet with teachers,
and host club meetings,” freeing up
after-school hours, he says. It will be
back in the 2018-19 school year.
Administrators are also carving
out breaks from on-going academic
pressure. On Family Night in March,
students weren’t given homework,
and received discounts at local
restaurants where they could dine
with their families. “We have No
Homework and No Test nights, and
we instituted a week off from sports