b'Prioritizing the Personal Identifying ResourcesThe first few weeks of school and parish programs are typically aboutAs children speak of their losses, significant needs may become apparent. making sure everyone has the right school supplies and understands theMany local resources can provide assistance, including local food banks, parameters of class expectations. While those are and continue to bemental health services, parish staff and spiritual resources, and many others. important tasks, we need to build in time for personal connections andWeve all spent the last few months in survival mode, attending to only the check-ins, regardless of whether we are online or in person. We need tomost basic necessities. As we move forward, other needs may become provide time for students to talk about their experiences since Marchmore apparent or more pronounced. We are not equipped to handle all of (and share our own as well). We need to create space for students to talkthem, but we can provide support and direct people to the right resources.about how they are feeling and what may be sources of anxiety. Checking in with children and families individually, even forProviding Stability and Structurejust a quick 10 minutes to gauge their emotional healthEstablishing routines and expectations is essential now more than ever. and current challenges, will be important. KnowingWe can help to ease anxieties by creating schedules within our classrooms the students and their families personally is alwaysand sharing them with our students. Posting daily or weekly schedules and important, but it becomes the highest priority as wesending them home can work well. Beginning each gathering with prayerseek to move through the COVID-19 pandemic.the same prayerand allowing time to simply be together and check in can Naming the Loss be comforting to our students.Providing stability becomes even more important if we are not physically Every single person has experienced loss as agathering with the children on a regular basis. Creating schedules result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lost lives, lostby establishing online gathering times and due dates for jobs, lost stabilitythe numbers and ramificationsmaterial to be submitted and beginning each online are staggering. Some losses may not seem asgathering with the same routine, such as a short prayer big as others but are nonetheless significant.and a quick, round-robin check-in focused on one The loss of the end of a school year meantquestion (such as What is one good thing that has many students were unable to participatehappened in the past week?) can help to establish in events they looked forward to, sucha sense of stability for students.as the end-of-the-year choir concert or simplybeing with their friends each day. Some experienced loss during the summer through the closure of local playgrounds or anticipated summer camps that didnt happen. We must allow children to name their losses and acknowledge each as significant. We shouldnt attempt to play the role of mental health professionals but rather create space for students to articulate their disappointments and affirm their feelings of loss. 34 Inspire! Summer 2021 smp.org800.533.8095 35'