With all the uncertainty that continues to permeate our lives I take comfort in the certainty of our changing seasons. As much as I am always saddened to see summer end, I find the bright colors of foliage and the brisk evening air a refreshing change in the midst of all the unknowns. With the presence of fall also comes the sounds and sights of schools back in session. As I hear and see the school buses and I witness the children, in their masks waiting for their buses, I have mixed feelings of comfort and heartache. Comfort for the routine of back to school and heartache for the loss of a world as we once knew it.
As we begin our conversations with our schools I am encouraged and uplifted to hear the administrators share that the routines are going smooth, children are very happy to be back in school and adjusting quite well to their ‘new’ normal.
Although we are quite certain that Calmer Choice will not have a physical presence in the school classrooms this year, we continue to work creatively on options to best support the total school communities. For the students, our offerings will range from teaching our program in the classroom virtually through various online platforms to offering pre-recorded lessons that teachers can utilize in the classroom with the support of a Calmer Choice liaison.
We are busy and having fun with the creation of our recorded lessons. We hope to have this offering available to schools in early November. For the adults in the school communities, we will continue to offer our 8-week “Mindfulness-Cultivating Resilience & Well-Being” course for school staff. We are excited that CEUs are now available to offer to participants as well as PDPs.
Prior to the start of the school year Calmer Choice ran professional development workshops for the entire staff in the Dennis–Yarmouth school district and the Provincetown school district. The focus of the workshops was on mindfulness, stress and cultivating skills to use in times of stress.
In our greater community work, we continue to offer and run our 8-week course with a new session beginning Tuesday October 20th at 5:00 pm. We are happy to be able to offer partial scholarships currently. In addition, we are collaborating with WellStrong, a Falmouth organization committed to helping individuals in the recovery community through fitness and wellness. We will be starting our Mindfulness-Cultivating Resilience & Wellbeing course with the WellStrong community on October 21st.
Our mindful awareness practice groups have been extended through the fall with additional time offerings on Monday’s and Wednesday’s at 7:30 am. We also have added a Facebook live session geared towards the foundations of beginning a mindful awareness practice. This offering runs on Tuesday’s at 12:30 pm.
With Gratitude,
Patty