Grief Speaks offers a three
part series of presentations for schools.
1. A
faculty presentation: This interactive workshop trains educators, school nurses, counselors, special service,
support staff and administrators on strategies and up to date information on issues that pertain to the support of grieving
children and teens in school. School staff will learn tools, strategies and ways to interact with grieving students that are
helpful as well as to learn what to avoid. Faculty will feel more confident to support a grieving student and better equipped
in dealing with students who are coping with such concerns as: losses related to a death, divorce, separation, abandonment,
illness in the family, academic struggles, loss of home, a parent's loss of income, deployment of a family member, friendship
issues, moving, coping with learning disabilities and more. Participants will come out with a deeper understanding of how
children and teens grieve as well as better ways to support other staff members who are grieving as well. This workshop is
popular with guidance departments, school nurses, special services and as an entire faculty presentation.
2. Classroom presentations
to the students: Each presentation is age appropriate and geared to the developmental levels of the students.
This program serves students K -12th. Children want to learn helpful ways to cope with all different types of loss and their
feelings that go with those losses. In the elementary level the emphasis is on coping with pet loss, grandparent loss as well
as friendship issues and moving. These students love learning about the normal range of feelings that all of us experience
after a change and helpful ways to deal with those feelings in healthy ways. Students are taught to identify a safe adult
or two in school (teacher, counselor, nurse, principal)who the child can go to if they are having a problem. Problem solving
is part of the lesson as we work together to come up with safe and acceptable outlets to express their feelings both in and
out of school. Students share such ideas as talking about it, drawing about it, taking it out in gym, writing it down in their
pad, taking ten deep breaths and more. Children with special needs also grieve and often are overlooked. Adults want to protect
children as well as those with special needs but do more harm by not allowing them to talk about grief and loss issues.
We need to educate children about grief so that when it happens to them, they feel a bit better able to cope and understand
what is happening, as well as have some tools in their tool box. We would not test a child on algebra if they
have never learned basic math. Why do we wait until a traumatic event in a child's life to talk about loss and grief and ways
to handle grief. Children also need to learn empathy and school is a wonderful place to teach that life lesson as
well. With the use of Play Doh, Scream Boxes, dominoes, paper and crayons, books and discussion this program is not at all
boring for these students. This program for the students is extremely valuable and often middle school students thank
me for the elementary presentation as they felt more equipped to handle the losses that came a year or so later. Children
always ask me when can I come back to their classroom again.
- Nursery, preschool presentation
- Elementary
School presentation
- Middle School presentation
- High School presentation
- After School program presentation
- School Club
presentations
3. Parent/Guardian presentation
(PTO,PTA)
Parents so often are in the
dark about how to support their grieving children. Many parents were surprised to know that although many children appear
to be just "fine" they in fact are grieving. If the parents are grieving too, as in a divorce, death, illness, they
often don't have the energy to empathize or sometimes to see the grief in their own children.Today's parents feel overwhelmed
with the financial, emotional, physical, psychological energy involved in parenting and are motivated to learn helpful tools
and strategies to help their children. Children who receive support with their grief as children, are found to be much less
likely to : abuse substances, experience behavioral problems, develop depression and anxiety and to complete suicide. Parents
will learn what is normal for children of different ages, learn what to say when a classmates' parent dies and their child
asks if they will die too, what to say when a child wants to know what will happen to him if you they are very ill. These
and other difficult questions can be addressed. Parents and guardians, who often are grandparents, aunts and uncles, foster
parents, legal guardians all will benefit from learning this vital information.There is always time for questions and answers
at the end of the program. Typically this program lasts for one and a half hours or two hours.
Here
are a few of the programs that I have done for schools:
Navigating Our Way Through
Family Changes
A special family presentation open to families
from all five Summit Elementary Schools
(Appropriate for students
in grades 3 - 5 and their parents)
Facilitated by Lisa Athan
Executive Director and founder of Grief Speaks
Family
changes can come in many forms – a move to a new
school and/or new town, a new baby in the house, the death
of a loved one, the loss of a pet, separation, divorce,etc.
Lisa will share her expertise in offering hands on
strategies
to identify, handle and express the natural
feelings and thoughts that follow loss and transition of
any kind. Please
join us for this unique event!!
Wednesday, January 26th,
from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
in the Jefferson School
Gym
Sponsored by the Elementary Counseling Department
in conjunction with the Jefferson School PTO
For questions,
please call your respective School Counselor
Mr. Jeff Lambert (273-1333 X 6437) or
Mr. Tom DeMuro (273-3807 X 6361)
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The Essex County School Nurses’ Association
invites you to an educational program
“Death,
Dying & Grief”
Speaker: Lisa Athan, Director of Grief Speaks
www.griefspeaks.com
When: January 26, 2011
Where: South Orange Middle School
70 N Ridgewood Rd, South Orange, NJ 07079
The
meeting will take place in the school's library.
Members:
Please park in the back of the
building and enter the building from the back. Cathy Iorio, CSN, our hostess, will have someone available in the back
to open the door as well as have signs to direct members to the library which is on the second floor.
Please contact Cathy with questions or concerns at 973 378-2772 Ext. 2013
(Please Google Map/ Map Quest for school
directions)
Time: 4:00pm
Refreshments will be served.
Don't miss this informative presentation! Bring your colleagues too.
Program fee for non-members is $15.00. Professional Development Hours awarded.
West Essex Middle School Assembly:
Program for the entire 7th and 8th grades (580 students) on:
Middle Schoolers Coping with Transitions, Grief and Loss
1/17/2011
Chatham Middle School
Classroom
Presentations to Students:
Middle Schoolers Coping with Stress, Transitions and Loss
October
13,14 & 15, 2010
Grief Speaks presented to all 965 CMS students over a 3 day period during physical
education classes
Words from an elementary school principal:
"Thank you for taking the time to present to our school. The staff, students,
and parents learned a great deal about recognizing when someone is grieving. We also learned about the many types of losses
that may cause someone to grieve. Your presentations at our faculty and PTA meetings helped us to identify grief in others,
especially our students, while providing strategies to assist those who are grieving. Through your classroom presentations,
our students gained an understanding of how to deal with their own losses and how to be sensitive to anyone who is grieving
from a loss. In the short time since your presentations, we have already experienced the benefits from them. The staff, counselor
and I have begun using strategies learned to assist our students. On behalf of the entire faculty at James Caldwell
School, I appreciate your support and welcome you back next year." David Rennie, Principal
at James Caldwell School, Springfield, NJ.
Letter from a SAC at Woodbridge Middle Schools: 2010, spoke to four Woodbridge District Middle Schools
:
February 15, 2010
Dear Mrs.
Lisa Athan,
The students of Woodbridge Township Middle Schools and myself would like to thank
you for your intriguing and motivating “Grief Speaks” presentations. It was a treat having
you speak to our sixth graders about such important topics as, divorce, moving, coping with loss, death, healthy ways to grieve,
bullying, diversity, safe adults, and friendships. In today’s society so many of our students are
experiencing more and more of these challenges at a young age, it is important for them to learn how to
handle these pressures in a healthy manner.
After reading over the sixth grade writing responses, I was impressed to see how many students have now found a “safe”
adult that they can talk to, both in and out of school. I was also happy to hear how many students used
the coping tools you provided them with. One student knocked on my door to share with me that he decided
to write a letter to his grandfather that had recently passed, and we read it together out loud, what a huge stress relief
for him. Other students commented that no one had ever spoken to them about moving, and how being the “new
kid” can be really hard and intimidating. As a Student Assistance Counselor, I was happy that you
were able to reach out to them and share with them that certain feelings are “normal” and are expected throughout
their personal lives. Much of the student population that I work with has witnessed their parents separate
or divorce, which creates a lot of mixed feelings, anger being a common one. Students didn’t realize
that it is Ok to feel angry; it’s what you do with that anger that can be therapeutic or damaging. Your
assemblies reassured them that there are healthy ways to vent and cope, as well as be a good friend to others.
Lisa, thank you for your wonderful Grief
Speaks presentations to both our students and faculty. Our faculty and I learned new therapeutic tools
to help better assist our students in time of crisis.
Sincerely,
Ms. Christine Internicola
Christine Internicola
Woodbridge Township Middle Schools
Student
Assistance Counselor
christine.internicola@woodbridge.k12.nj.us
RAISING RESILIENT CHILDREN AND TEENS
When: TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2010 CHOOSE THE TIME THAT’S
BEST FOR YOU!!! Morning presentation: 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Presbyterian
Church of Chatham Township Southern Boulevard
Evening presentation:
7:30- 9:00 p.m.
Chatham High School Auditorium
Presenter: LISA ATHAN, M.A. What you will learn:
How to help your teens be resilient
in difficult times * How to know when your child needs extra support Tools to encourage
positive communications under stress * How to help your child deal with losses (friends, relationships, family
members, divorce, etc) If you have any questions about this program, contact Sandy Smith, Student Assistance Coordinator,
School District of the Chathams, at 973-457-2536 or ssmith@chatham-nj.org