Mindfulness

  Instructor: Gayle Meinkes-Lumia – gaylelumia@yahoo.com (3 Credits/45 Hours) – In-Service Credit Course Description: Individuals who do the most talking, thinking, reflecting, or moving do the most learning. When learners feel good about what, how, and with whom they learn, they’re more likely to want to do it again. Building upon childhood experiences and engaging our students in relevant, meaningful instruction in all disciplines is crucial. Participants in the course will understand the tools for success that their students need in order to make sense of their learning. They will learn to organize their content, pre-teach, structure their lessons perfectly, develop active participants rather than passive recipients of learning. Classrooms will be completely restructured to meet the needs of their aspiring learners! **A must for K-12 educators!!!

Instructor: Gayle Meinkes-Lumia –gaylelumia@yahoo.com Many students can become overwhelmed and shut down before trying to work through a challenge. Difficulties can arise for students who have issues applying the skills necessary to be successful - academically, behaviorally and social-emotionally. When students are unable to engage in strategic learning, they risk believing that assignments and social situations are too challenging to attempt or to overcome. Students’ performance and self-concept are managed through mindful mindsets. Having students understand the benefits of managing their stress and identifying the ways in which they improve their academic, behavioral and social-emotional skills is crucial. In this class, teachers will learn how to gain the positive attention from their students when they are feeling defeated. They will analyze how perception relates to learning, learn to manage the different perceptions of students, discover strategies to explicitly teach mindfulness, and uncover the avenues that unlock students’ frustrations. A must for K-12 teachers!!  

*New Course* Instructor: Kim Kittredge Kkittredgeliips@gmail.com 3 credits/45 hrs in service Dates: February (2025) 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. With mindset coming to the forefront over the past few years, we as teachers need to understand mindfulness more than ever before. This course will explore mindfulness, social emotional learning and all the aspects of mastering mindset in your classroom. Educators will discuss such strategies as fixed vs growth mindset, communication strategies, and mindset tools for a calmer classroom. Once your students feel Mindset in the classroom they will feel balanced, de-stressed and ready to learn. This course is a must for educators grades K-12.

  This course will examine how educators discover and develop positive classroom connections with their students.  Participants will learn effective and strategic teaching methods to transform your classroom into an emotionally connected atmosphere of positivity and learning.  Having a connected classroom is key to uncovering and discovering how positivity builds a perfect foundation in any classroom.  Educators will study strategies for positivity classrooms as well as daily connection skills.  This course is a must for teachers of grades K-12 of all levels.

Course #E5992 (3 credits/45 hours) in-service credit only Course Description:  Research indicates that educators face some of the highest levels of career burnout... and that was before COVID-19!  If increasing paperwork, not having enough time in the day, dealing with challenging student behaviors and other obstacles have you stressed out, then you will surely benefit from this course.  Successfully navigating obstacles and handling stress will allow you to better serve your students for many more years. This is a self-paced 3-credit (45 hours) course with a new format that we think you will enjoy.  Think of the format as a video-podcast that allows you to watch or listen to the course on your phone, computer, car stereo, or/and TV.  Therefore, you can access the course whenever and wherever is convenient for you!  The course will simply consist of:

1. Watching or listening to a video that contains all the course’s content
2. Submitting 10 written assignments
3. Reading one required book

The content promises to be engaging, beneficial to your life, and easy to access.  It will focus on:

• Identifying and managing stress related triggers in the workplace
• Turning work’s obstacles into advantages
• Building the proper mindset needed to navigate school related stressors
• Incorporating mindful practices as stress reduction tools
• Developing individualized self-care plans designed to reduce future work related stress

You are encouraged to sign up for this course if taking care of yourself during stressful times, and taking manageable professional development courses, are important to you.  There is no better time to reduce your stress at work and promote career longevity than now!

Course Description: This course will focus on how to promote lifelong success in your students by focusing on lasting skills. These skills will help them move forward in life and become better, more successful individuals. Educators will focus on the following skills: Empathy, Character, Self-Control, Integrity, and Embracing Diversity. Participants will explore each skill and learn how to empowers your students to achieve and become successful. Once you have helped your students master these skills, they will attain lasting success no matter what they do. This course is a must for all instructors of all levels K-12.

Instructor: Christina Palmenteri In service only. 3 credits/45 hours Course Description: Explores essential strategies for coaches and educators to foster positive mental health and emotional well-being in young athletes. This course delves into recognizing signs of stress, anxiety, and burnout, while providing tools to create supportive environments that promote resilience and confidence. Participants will gain practical insights to help youth athletes build mental toughness, cope with challenges, and thrive both on and off the field. * Suitable for all Educators K-12

Educators across the nation recognize the importance of fostering positive, healthy school climates and helping students learn from their mistakes. Increasingly, they are partnering with parents, students, district officials, community organizations, and policymakers to move away from harmful and counter-productive zero-tolerance discipline policies and toward proven restorative approaches to addressing conflict in schools. Restorative practices is an emerging social science that studies how to strengthen relationships between individuals as well as social connections within communities. Restorative justice also promotes a positive, orderly school environment. Students and all members of the school community can learn and practice self-discipline, empathy, and accountability. Course Objectives At the conclusion of the class students will be able to: • Foster understanding and develop empathy • Actively involve and attend to the needs of all parties • Encourage accountability and responsibility • Reintegrate all parties into the community as a valuable, contributing member • Seek to repair the harm Teaching/Learning Strategies Participants: • Will get to know one another via “getting to know you” activities • Will learn what is expected of them – (course requirements) • Will use active learning strategies with instructor facilitation • Engage in journal writing and reflection, news forums • Perform in-depth case studies and problem-solving scenarios • Learning will focus on student-centered rather than teacher-centered • Will have the opportunity to visit outside resources On-Line (3 Credits/45 hours) In-Service Credit only

Course Description: This course will focus on how we as teachers can perfect our roles as coordinators of the Social Emotional Learning journey.  In our classrooms, SEL and SEL learning is one of the most important sets of skills we can share.  These unique emotional learning helps, bring all learners together.  Students will feel emotionally satisfied through the learning journey, and teachers will feel they have perfected the skill.  All will walk way with a deeper understanding. Educators will take away a plethora of great strategies and techniques.  This course is a must for all teachers of all disciplines grades K-12.

*New Course* Instructor: Gayle Meinkes-Lumia – gaylelumia@yahoo.com In-Service Class – 3 Credits – 45 Hours January (2025) 6,7,8,9,10,13,14,15,16,17th East Meadow Location – 4:15-8:45 pm Course Description: The adverse effects of social media run rampant among students of all ages and backgrounds. The U.S. Surgeon General issued a recent advisory warning parents of the mental health issues correlated with it. It is imperative for educators to have an understanding of the detrimental effects of social media and learn to combat it within their respective classroom settings. This course will examine the longitudinal data from American youth and witness the decline in students’ overall well-being. They will understand the overall impact that social media has and instruct students on ways to digital detox via a wealth of measures. *A must for K-12 Educators*

 

Course Description:

As educators we see first hand the effects of stress on our students.  We feel the effect it has on us.  This course will explore the consequences and effects of stress.  Stress is a common issue that does affect and will affect all of our students at some time.  Educators will learn how to identify individuals under stress or in stressful situations.  Participants will discuss what are the factors that cause stress most, and the different ways of coping with stress.  Teachers will discuss how to greatly improve your student’s mental and physical well being on a day-to-day basis. Teachers will learn strategies for helping students self-regulate, to manage moving from one class to another (transitional strategies), and reducing outside daily noise.  The importance mindsets will also be discussed.  This course is a must for all educators levels K-12.

Course Description:

How do we teach respect? Respect from our students is one of the greatest issues educators face day to day when trying to educate our students. Has respect been lost, or do children just need to be reminded of it from time to time? This course will look into this phenomenon. As educators we need to work on this generation of students and their idea of respect and the culture behind it. In this course we will discuss how crucial respect is to achieving success in the classroom and in life. In this course, educators will explore the impact of cultural values, work ethic, family life and various other factors that influence students inside and outside of our schools. This course will incorporate the many factors that go into teaching students respect. This course is a must for all educators grades K-12. 

This course will describe the sources and con-sequences of stress. Stress is a common problem that will affect almost all of your students at some point in their lives. This course will help you to learn when to identify when a person is under stress, what causes stress, and different ways of coping with stress. Instructional strategies will be taught that can help students self-regulate such as reducing extraneous noise, managing transitions, and understanding mindsets, to name a few ON-LINE (3 credits/45 hours) In-service credit only

Preppy. Techie. Geek. Freak. Loser. Jock. These are just a few of the labels that students live with every day. And some labels are a lot nastier. Who hands out these labels? What role do labels play? Do they help or hurt? Do people sometimes like their labels, or do they always hate them? This course will examine the truth behind these labels and the impact that they have on student behavior and learning. Suitable all educators K-12. COURSE OBJECTIVES AND LEARNING STANDARDS 1. To learn where labels come from Standard 2: A Safe and Healthy Environment. Students will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment. 2. To understand the emotions that go along with labeling Standard 2: A Safe and Healthy Environment. Students will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment. 3. To look at how to reduce the emotional effect of labeling Standard 2: A Safe and Healthy Environment. Students will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment. 4. To create environments that foster feelings of appreciation and acceptance Standard 2: A Safe and Healthy Environment. Students will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment. ON-LINE 3 Credits [45 hours] Inservice Credit Only

*New Course

Instructor:  Kim Kittredge kkittredgeliips@gmail.com

3 Credits In Service Course (45 Hours)

Dates: Spring Break 2025 – April 14-18.

Course Description:

The power of positive thinking can help us as teachers and can help our students get through the day. This positivity is a strategy that will help us all our lives.  This course is designed to dig deep into the impact that positive thoughts can have on our lives.  Both students and teachers will explore how to harness the potential of a positive and optimistic mindset.  Educators will explore how to help your students obtain a positive psychological viewpoint and refrain from negative thoughts.  Strategies will be shared on resilience, gratitude, transformation and compassion.  Educators will end up with a plethora of tools on overall positive thinking and living and how to emotionally transform your classroom.  This course is a must for educators K-12.