Principal’s Message

Greetings,

The East Rock Record is BACK!   East Rock Record Reporters are meeting with each other in-person and the vibe in the media center is electric!  This edition will be one of our best ever!  It looks like things are getting back to normal and our community needs normalcy.

This principal’s message may read a little like an editorial because I am very passionate about the health and welfare of our community. Recently, I have noticed that not all of our community members are feeling like themselves.  Between COVID and social media, our students find so many things to worry about.  “Is my family safe?” “Will I get sick?” “Am I enough?”  The feelings around fears of sickness due to COVID have subsided with most students. However, other feelings have surfaced.  As a result, I would like to challenge each member of our school community to support our students as they navigate through this thing called life. 

I would like to designate May as East Rock Community & Cultural Studies Magnet School’s mental health awareness month.

Mentally healthy students and adults are vital in an academic community.  When students and adults are in good places socially and emotionally, they can be contributing members in their environments.  But when there are feelings of inadequacy and sadness, things can be difficult. 

I am asking each member of our community to become familiar with the warning signs of mental health problems.  Feelings of sadness, fear, intense worrying, and severe mood swings are just a few.  If our community recognizes the warning signs, we can offer help, love, understanding and compassion which can make huge difference in our academic community.

Let’s make sure students and families who need support get connected with agencies and medical professionals who can help.  Let’s try to limit students’ time on social media and spend more time talking to one another and enjoying nature.  If you know someone struggling, please encourage that person to call 2-1-1. This is a free, confidential information and referral service that connects people to essential health and human services 24 hours a day, seven days a week online and over the phone.  If we work together as a community to address and strengthen the mental health of our members, then the entire community prospers.