Partnership for Student Success 2014-15

2014-15 PROGRAMS FOR PARENTS

Successful experiences fuel a child’s confidence and reinforce a belief that s/he is capable of success.

Partnership for Student Success

Parents and professionals coming together to share and learn strategies to empower students A Series of Presentations and Discussion Groups Hosted in Cooperation with the ACS Athens PTO

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A series of monthly meetings beginning September 18, 2014 ACS Athens Conference Center Administration Building Program schedule printed on next page R.S.V.P. for each session to Ms. Marietta Garbis, 210-6393-200, ext. 302 For more information contact Ms. Chris Perakis, Director, IIC Learning Enhancement Programs, 210-6393-200, ext. 335

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The ACS Athens IIC Learning Enhancement Program is proud to continue an initiative established three years ago to address parents’ and educators’ collective interest in the well-being and development of our students. Parents and professionals are cordially invited to join “Partnership for Student Success,” a series of workshops, presentations and forums that will provide them the opportunity to share and learn strategies to empower student learners.

Sessions will be scheduled monthly and will include a presentation on a topic related to promoting students’ academic, emotional and social well being followed by a discussion of the topic.

PARTNERSHIP FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

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M a n a g i n g c h a n g e & Come learn what teaching and learning the i2Flex way means at ACS Athens. In this presentation, we will first focus transitions

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Date: Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014 9:00 a.m.

S p e a k e r : D r. K a t i n g o Hadjipateras-Giannoulis

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Change is an inevitable part of life changes within ourselves (ageing, health-related changes etc.), changes in the people around us (children growing up & moving on, loss and bereavement of loved ones, etc.) and change in our circumstances (relocation & adapting to new environments/cultures, redundancy, loss of work, etc).

This presentation/workshop will address the psychological and emotional aspects of change and will provide basic principles and pointers for effective preparation for change and adjustment; Especially in the school setting.

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Dr. Katingo HadjipaterasGiannoulis (PhD., MSc., C.Psychol., AFBPsS) is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist, an Affiliate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, with membership of the Clinical and Neuropsychological Divisions & she has been a Professor at the American College of Greece since 2010. Prior to moving to Athens, she lived in London, where she had been working in both the UK National Health Service and in private practice for over 20 years. She was also an Honorary Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry in London. She now practices both in Athens and in London. She provides a wide array of psychological services to adults, adolescents and children, as well as couples and families. She has specialised in neurodevelopment and social communication disorders (e.g. autism, Aspergers syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and works closely with children with special needs, their families and schools.

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i2Flex@ACS Athens: Learner-centric Innovative Teaching with Technology

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Date: Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014 10:00 a.m.

Speaker: Dr. Maria D. Avgerinou

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Dr. Maria Avgerinou will describe this relatively new initiative in detail, i.e. what i2flex is, how it works in and out of the classroom, and what the benefits are for students and their teachers.

Parents are also invited to attend short demonstrations by i2Flex faculty, and subsequently participate in a lively discussion about current and future i s s u e s re g a rd i n g t h e s u c c e s s f u l implementation of this innovative teaching approach. *See photo on last page of flyer.

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on the particularities of the biological, intellectual and emotional functioning of the adolescent. We will then address how parents can maintain a close and positive relationship with the adolescent through adaptive and effective communication, conflict resolution, limit-setting and support. An open discussion will follow.

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Dr. Alexis Mordoh is a clinical psychologist. He received his doctorate from the University of Denver and his post-doctoral degree from McLean Hospital at Harvard Medical School. He is currently in private practice in Athens and Kifissia, treating adolescents, adults, couples and families working closely with parents and educators. As president of the Greek Chapter of the International Association for Re l a t i o n a l P s yc h o a n a l y s i s a n d P s yc h o t h e r a py, h e c o o rd i n a t e s advanced seminars for mental health professionals. Finally, he teaches parttime at the Graduate Clinical Psychology Program of the University of Athens.

Dr. Avgerinou graduated from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR), with a B.Litt. in Byzantine and Modern Greek Language and Literature. For her graduate studies she attended the University of Bath, England where she received an M.Ed. in Educational Technology, and a Ph.D. in Educational Technology and Psychology with research focus on Visual Literacy, Assessment, and Mixed Research Methods. Dr. Avgerinou holds postdoctoral diplomas on eLearning Design, Implementation, and Evaluation from the Institute of Education, University of London (UK), Understanding, Accepting the University of Hull (UK), and more a n d M a n a g i n g Y o u r recently from Indiana University (US). Children's Behavior (the She is also a Master Reviewer for DISC* model) Quality Matters, Maryland Online (US), and one of the few external Date: Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014 specialists for European 9:30 a.m.

C o m m i s s i o n ’ s K e y A c t i o n 2: Cooperation for innovation and the Speaker: Akis Protopapas exchange of good practices.

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The Challenge of Parenting Adolescents Date: Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014 9:30 a.m.

Speaker: Dr. Alexis Mordoh

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Adolescence is a period of rapid and dramatic changes. It is a time full of promises but also challenges. Nowadays, adolescents face intense and multiple s t r e s s o r s, i n c l u d i n g a c a d e m i c s, relationships, substances and living with the uncertainties of a severe financial crisis. As a result, they are oftentimes overwhelmed with anxiety, confusion and, sometimes, depression and loneliness.

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Parents of adolescents often feel equally confused about how to deal with their children who are in a continuous state of flux and express conflicting needs and fluctuating levels of maturity.

Parenting strategies that worked one day, seem to be ineffective the next.

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How many times don’t we feel that we can’t communicate with our children?

And how many times aren’t we frustrated by our children’s behavior?

This presentation will focus on understanding, accepting and managing ours and our children’s behavior by using the DiSC Model. The DiSC model provides a common language that people can use to better understand themselves and to adapt their behavior to others. This can be within a family, a group of friends, or any other relationship. Through the analysis of the DiSC Model you will be able to: • Increase your self-knowledge (how to respond to conflict with your children, understand what motivates them, what causes them stress and how you can help them solve problems) • Minimize conflict • Become more self-knowledgeable, well-rounded and effective in your relationship with your children

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Akis Protopapas holds a Master’s degree in Social-Organizational

PARTNERSHIP FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

degree in Social-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and has received training in Systemic Counseling from the Laboratory for the Study of Human Relations. His experience has been a combination of corporate coaching a n d t r a i n i n g, c o u n s e l i n g a n d management. He collaborates with the company Human (www.human.edu.gr) as a business coach and a student counselor, while also working as an HR Consultant for an IT company. He is fascinated by the interplay between people and their social environment whether it i s i n bu s i n e s s, s c h o o l o r t h e Antarctic!

a healthy parent-child relationship. While children need freedom to make discoveries, healthy boundaries provide children a sense of security and well- being which is vital for their development as well as for maintaining family harmony. Setting boundaries with empathy sets a child up for life-long learning and understanding on how to be respectful while being a capable and independent individual. In this session we will discuss the importance of setting healthy limits and boundaries, go through different parenting styles and the current research findings on their effectiveness in raising safe and happy children and give practical advice on strategies for positive and effective child discipline.

!The Importance of Setting Limits for Children’s Behavior ! ! ! !

Date: Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015 9:30 a.m.

Speaker: Cleo Dontas

Limits for children's behavior has been considered a controversial topic in the wake of the Dr. Spock generation.

However, loving and conscientious parents need to use reasonable limits to their children's behavior to help them manage themselves. There is a middle ground between permissive and authoritarian parenting. Parenting with empathy and a supportive connection helps children to tolerate frustration, reduce anxiety levels, and develop social skills. Different styles of parenting will be discussed.

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Cleo Dontas is a 1965 graduate of ACS Athens. She received her Ph.D in Developmental Psychology from the Institute of Child Development; from University of Minnesota, in 1977. Her experience includes working at the Mitera Baby Center and the School of Social Work of the Society for the Protection of Children.

She ser ved as a psychologist for 28 years at the Corfu General hospital and was also the psychologist for serving children with special educational needs.

Since her retirement in 2011, she is associated with the University of Athens Medical School, Child Psychiatric Clinic.

Elina Dimitropoulou, Psychologist, MSc,completed her undergraduate studies in Psychology at the Panteion University of Athens (2008) and received her MSc in Mental Health from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London (2010). She is a trainee Cognitive-Behavioural P s yc h o t h e r a p i s t f o r C h i l d r e n , Adolescents & Adults and is specialized in the remediation of specific learning difficulties and in under taking psycho-educational assessments. During her stay in E n g l a n d , s h e wo r ke d a t t h e Westminster Society for People with Learning Disabilities in London (2008-2010). Since her return to Greece in 2010, she has continued wo r k i n g t h e r a p e u t i c a l l y w i t h children, adolescents and families in educational and clinical settings. She was employed at the Counselling & Learning Centre of the International School of Athens until 2012, since when she has been a Scientific Associate of the “Mentalisationbased Anti-bullying Programme for Secondary Schools in Greece” at the Association for the Psychosocial Health of Children and Adolescents (A.P.H.C.A).

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Consequences of Challenging Behavior of Yo u n g C h i l d re n a n d t h e Importance of Prevention and Limits & Boundaries : Raising Intervention Safe & Happy Children

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Date: Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015 9:30 a.m.

Speaker: Elina Dimitropoulou

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Date: March 19, 2015 9:30 a.m.

Speaker: Dr. Lillian Pelios

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“When children with significant problems As parents, setting boundaries is are neither identified in a timely way nor sometimes difficult but vitally important to g i ve n a p p ro p r i at e e d u c at i o n a n d

treatment, their problems tend to be long lasting, requiring more intensive services and resources over time. Moreover, when the challenging behavior of young children is not addressed in an appropriate and timely way, the future likelihood increases for poor academic outcomes, peer rejection, adult mental health concerns, and adverse effects on their families, their service providers, and their communities” (Dunlap et al, 2006). This presentation will inform on the adverse consequences of challenging behavior and address issues of prevention and intervention regarding such behavior.

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D r. Pe l i o s c o m p l e t e d h e r undergraduate studies at DEREE College where she studied psychology and sociology. She then obtained her Masters Degree in Psychology from Queens College in New York. Her Doctoral Degree was obtained from Temple University, Philadelphia, in Psychological Studies in Special Education, with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis.

She has worked with various populations such as adults w i t h : p s yc h i a t r i c p r o bl e m s, developmental disabilities, AIDS and Hepatitis as well as adults with dual diagnoses. Additionally, she worked with children with attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional disorder, and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) including Asperger’s syndrome. For both age g roups therapy was conducted in a variety of settings including inpatient and outpatient hospital setting, day treatment centers, the home, the school and the community. For over a decade, while living in the States she devoted her work to early intervention in autism spectrum disorders. Upon her return to Greece in May of 2005, after 16 years of living and studying in the States, she continues to work with individuals with developmental disabilities, their families and educators.

Currently she is (a) Partner and Clinical Director of the Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention Program at Dynamai, a center for Speech and Language inter vention and Lear ning Disabilities in Pallini, (b) Executive Director of the day program for youth with Autism “Anoixi”, and (c) Pa r t - t i m e i n s t r u c t o r a t T h e American College of Greece where she teaches both in the undergraduate and graduate programs in psychology.

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Bullying prevention in and out a program for the prevention of violence and the protection of young of school

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Date: April 16, 2015 9:30 a.m.

Speaker: Pantelis Proios

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Bullying happens when one or more persons repeatedly and on purpose, say or do mean or hurtful things to another person(s). Bullying could take place in or out of the school premises. It involves direct aggressive acts such as shoving, pushing, making derogatory comments, or more severe acts such as hitting, kicking and even injuring the victim. Bullying could also involve spreading negative rumors by sending or publishing insulting messages, photos and videos via electronic social media, etc, (cyberbullying). Bullying is not a simple phenomenon. It involves the whole interactive systems of school, family, community and society. And it should be addressed as such to include all these components in order to face it successfully with preventive methods.

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Mr. Pantelis Proios earned his undergraduate degree in Psychology from The University of Pennsylvania and his g raduate deg ree in C o m m u n i t y P s yc h o l og y, f r o m Temple University. He has had a private practice for the past 16 years as well as professional affiliation with prestigious organizations such as the American Psychological Association, Association of Greek Psychologists and Licensed Psychologist in Greece. He has worked as a consultant to the Public S p e c i a l S c h o o l o f C h i o s, a n d Panchiakos Association of Disabled People, served as Coordinator of the “ACT/MMME-Bias” Program of the Association of Greek Psychologists,

children and their families. He has participated as Coordinator of the “ACT/MMME-Bias” Program in many national and international conferences for the prevention of violence and ‘bullying”. He has also conducted many seminars for the prevention of violence/bullying for parents and educators in many schools in Greece.

He has been an instructor for the implementation of a program for the Empower ment and Suppor t of People with Disabilities and their Families under the auspices of Ministry of Education and E.U. as well as Scientific Director of the ‘Association for the Promotion of Mental Health of Epir us’ for implementation of the PsycArgo Prog ram, 2001-4, Professional Scientific Advisor of the Greek Society for the Protection of Autistic People (GSPAP) (1998 – 2001). He has taught at numerous training seminars for the staff of many Institutions, Schools and Scientific Organizations in Greece and abroad.

10th Conference on Learning Differences and

INNOVATION SUMMIT

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What if?

Teaching and Learning at the edge of possibility ! !

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i2Flex@ACS Athens: A learner-centric Innovative Teaching with Technology

Athens, Greece May 7-9, 2015 ACS Athens