Greetings, Northwood High School Community,
We hope this email finds you well. As partners in your child’s education, we wanted to take a moment to introduce some resources to support your child’s mental health. We recognize that this time of isolation and social distancing has proven to be difficult for some of our students. They are not alone.
In 2018, the Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) launched the Speak Up We Care initiative to better connect our students and families with IUSD mental health and wellness services, supports, resources and staff. Since then, our goal has been to let every student know that their voice matters and we are here to help support them.
We strongly encourage you to watch this short four minute video that describes common signs that a teen is considering suicide. We know this is not a comfortable topic to discuss with your student, but this video will help you start that conversation if your child is showing signs that they are considering ending their life.
Your child may also have a friend who could use help and we encourage them to speak up and say something. This year, the district is once again partnering with Sandy Hook Promise - Say Something Anonymous Reporting System to provide a platform for students to report any issues of bullying, harassment, self-harm or anything of the like. This platform is available to students 24 hours a day and works in conjunction with IPD as well as the administrative and counseling team here at NHS to help keep students safe. This past Monday during Teacher Advisement (TA), students were trained on how to to use the system. This is one more way for our student community to speak up for themselves or for a classmate.
Your child’s safety and wellness are our priority and we are fortunate that the district invests in the resources to support them. On campus, we have a school nurse, mental health specialist, counseling team, school resource officer, and many other caring individuals who want to help. As a starting point, we recommend visiting our counseling website to meet our team and the social/emotional resources available. We also have included a flyer on how to support your child in a mental health crisis.
You are not alone in your child’s high school journey. Together, we can support our students. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our counseling team with any mental health questions or concerns. #NHSbettertogether
Thank you for your partnership,
Leslie Roach, Ed.D.
Principal
For more information about the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System, please check out the Parent Guide.