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Why is body confidence and self-esteem important for students?The early teen years are one of the most dynamic in terms of development- physically, emotionally and socially. Fitting in and being accepted by peers is central. In fact, brain science tells us that during early adolescence social acceptance by peers may be processed by the brain similarly to other pleasurable rewards, such as receiving money or eating ice cream. In most cases, affinity for peer groups leads to the healthy Read ▸ about Dove Middle School Self-Esteem Project

Hot off the press this week, we are excited to share this paper with the fields of adolescent health and education. Cairn Guidance is excited to share and contribute this discussion paper to the field of health and education. The paper was written to help inform Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's (RWJF) work in education and adolescent health and both RWJF and Cairn decided to expand the reach to the public. The paper begins by discussing Read ▸ about A Systems Approach to Integrating Health in Education

On the eve of the 90th meeting of the Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education and the American School Health Association conference, and as the Director of Cairn Guidance, I'm thrilled to announce that we have two new team members! It's been 10 years since the start of my school health consulting business. During that time, we've worked with over 135 clients, including public health, education, community based organizations and businesses that range from the Read ▸ about Cairn Guidance is Growing!!

I'm working with Dove on implementing a free resource/curriculum for Middle School teachers in the US. It's all about body confidence. More on that curriculum/program later. What I want to share is a story about how this contract allowed me to observe a teacher and how that experience really resonated with me. I have 14 pilot teachers in 12 states around the United States teaching this program to inform me on how to update it for the US market. One is D'Artagnan Coots (pronounced Read ▸ about When Rockstar Teachers Make Me Miss Teaching

“And from there, the students won’t smoke. They know it’s bad, so if the students have the content knowledge, they would always make healthy decisions, right?” When I brought the Oregon K-12 Health Education Content Standards to the Oregon State Board of Education in December of 2004, I was deeply proud of a product that over 30 educators developed together with over 100 reviewers and an opportunity for the public to review. As the state's Health Education Curriculum Read ▸ about A Skill-based Approach to Health Education

I keep hearing over and over that staff meetings are boring. That many principals stand up front and give information that could be communicated in different ways. As I hear this, I cringe. I mean, school principals were teachers at one point. How come that hour long staff meeting that occurs regularly isn't being used as an opportunity? I would hope that after each staff meeting, at least 5 teaching strategies were modeled so that any teacher could go into their classroom the next day and Read ▸ about School Staff Meetings as Professional Development Opportunities

“Using a smart device, list 3 valid, reliable and appropriate local/regional resources that could provide support to you or someone you know that is having a hard time dealing with stress in their life. List the name and/or organization, location and how to best contact them. Also explain how you know this resource is valid, reliable and appropriate for you or someone your age if addressing stress.-You will be assessed using the attached accessing information scoring guide.” A Read ▸ about When Authentic Learning Doesn’t Align to Assessment

Cairn is super busy with current clients and some exciting new upcoming contracts! We have just been notified that we will be presenting two sessions in Bend Oregon at the School Employee Wellness Conference in March for OEA Choice Trust. Jess will share her information on creating Read ▸ about Cairn Guidance Work Updates