The Agnes Irwin School Parents’ Council
5th and 6th Grade Middle School Parent Coffee
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
The purpose of the Agnes Irwin Parents’ Council is to foster a positive spirit withing the Agnes Irwin community, and to provide financial support for education facilities, opportunities, and enrichment. The Agnes Irwin Parents’ Council communicates with the school’s administration to ensure that all activities and financial contributions support the school’s mission and create the best possible environment for all Agnes Irwin students to grow and thrive.
The meeting was held virtually using Zoom.
I. Welcome, Opening Remarks – Cintra Horn, Head of Middle School
Thank you for attending, we are halfway through our year.
II. Middle School Update
Fall overview:
· Girls have done a good job adapting to this school year. They have done a great job with adapting to all the PPE, the biggest challenge is socially distancing, which is the one thing that needs a constant reminder.
· Winter Service Bazaar was in December just before classes closed.
o Girls did an excellent job staying in cohorts.
o Baskets were stunning, thank you to the parents for contributing to and organizing them.
o Girls were so happy to participate in something that was tradition.
o About $1,700 was raised, the most since Cintra has been at Agnes Irwin, and almost double the amount from a few years ago.
o We appreciate your support.
Reminders
· Online etiquette
o Use first and last name on all sites.
o Camera on and faces on! Please make sure the camera shows your face so that the teachers can see how you are doing.
o Limit distractions.
o Be respectful.
· Cold weather wear
o Girls will be outside for snack recess and lunch recess, please make sure they are prepared with warm clothing for cold weather.
In progress/Coming up
· Winter sports are underway for grades 6th-8th.
· Spelling bee is coming up, this is optional.
· ERB Testing – postponed until the spring.
o This test usually runs in January, decided to push this testing to the spring since about 25% of the student body is virtually learning, we hope there will be more girls in school in the spring.
o This test is not is not on the student’s formal record, report card, or used for placement. This test is purely given as a temperature check to see where our student body lands.
o Please convey to your daughter that there should be no preparation or stress about this test, the only thing they need to do to prepare is to be well rested.
Susan Maroto, Middle School Guidance Counselor
Cintra Horn, Middle School Head
Social & emotional well-being
o The girls’ brains are all going under rapid transformations as they grow.
o What are the impacts of a pandemic on a middle schooler’s brain?
o Anxiety, new and age appropriate/typical.
o Routine disruptions.
o Disrupted sleep patterns.
o Friendship fragility.
§ Missing social cues with masks on faces.
§ Social distancing.
o Social independence from teachers and adults.
§ School is working to try to be sensitive to this and give them space.
Group participated in Mentimeter – an online, interactive group polling platform. Questions asked of parents were:
o On a scale of 1-5, 1 being strongly disagree to 5 being strongly agree -does your daughter:
o Have opportunities for privacy?
o Able to maintain social connections?
o Able to manage schoolwork?
o Share what has been difficult for her?
§ Results are encouraging, the ratings fit with past years, and with observations Susan Maroto has made.
o Next slide asked to put in words about what your daughter is missing.
o Input from the parents showed words such as freedom, normalcy, new friends, parties, outings, play dates….
o What can we do to be helpful as parents?
o First move towards empathizing and listening instead of trying to fix it.
§ First inclination as a parent is to try to fix it, this isn’t necessarily a situation that can be fixed.
§ There is a huge value to listen to your child and let them unload.
§ Listening leads to acknowledging, empathizing and validating, which is what they need. Even if you don’t have a response, your daughter will feel more that you get it.
o Building blocks of mental health:
§ Sleep – this age group needs about 9-11 hours per night of sleep.
§ Nutrition – not only for physical growth and health, but nutrition plays a big role in mental health.
§ Exercise, exercise plays a large role in mental health. A little bit of exercise everyday has statistically been shown to be as beneficial as an anti-depressant.
§ Outdoor time – the bright light and fresh air is good, which is why we send the girls outside for recesses as much as possible.
§ Social connections. They need their connections to friends now, maybe more than they did in lower school. Even if it is through online platforms
§ Limit screen time. We know this is in contradiction to the above point. Let your daughter connect with friends through screens if there is conversation – facetimes and texts. Social Media is what you should be mindful of. Various social media platforms can increase anxiety and depression in teenage girls.
Please reach out to either Susan Maroto (smaroto@agnesirwin.org) or Cintra Horn (chorn@agnesirwin.org) with any questions or concerns that you may have. We are here for you.
Cintra reminds the community that the school is working hard to stay cohorted during the school day and follow protocols to maintain in-person learning. Please help us and not host sleepovers and gatherings which can endanger all that we have worked for towards keeping on campus learning.
III. Parents’ Council and Events Update
Nissa O’Mara, Parents’ Council President
Thank you all for attending today.
Erin Hinckle, Events Coordinator
Thank you to everyone who supported our virtual events in the fall.
Upcoming events will continue will be virtual.
o Faculty & Staff Appreciation lunch
o Mid-February
o Most likely a grab and take individual mean instead of a group gathering.
o We also gave the faculty and staff Amazon Gift Cards this past December to show our appreciation of how hard they are working this year to juggle the new platforms and learning/teaching environments.
o rAISe
o Our biggest fundraiser of the year
o Usually held in the spring as a large cocktail party, sit down dinner, and auction
o Working on changing this to interactive social events that people can attend virtually.
o Hosting a planning get together on January 26th at 8pm. If you would like to participate in planning rAISe this year please reach out to Cathy Ferguson (cferguson@agnesirwin.org) and she can send you the link for this planning meeting.
o Spring Market
o Our spring shopping event of the year.
o Working on switching this over to a virtual shopping event this year. More information to come.
Nissa O’Mara, Closing remarks
Nominations are coming up! Parents’ Council is looking for parents who would like to get involved with an event, or Parents’ Council in general. We are looking for class parents, or event coordinators. Please reach out to Nominations@agnesirwin.org, Cathy Ferguson (cferguson@agnesirwin.org) , or Nissa O’Mara (Nissa_omara@hotmail.com) to nominate yourself or someone else!
Mimi Greenly, Middle School Coordinator
Thank you all for joining us today. Breakout rooms to begin with your class parents.
Please follow us on social media:
* Instagram: @AISParentsCouncil (https://www.instagram.com/aisparentscouncil/)
* Facebook: Agnes Irwin Parents' Council https://www.facebook.com/AgnesIrwinParentsCouncil/
