PFC Newsletter O A K
P A R K
H I G H
December 2011
S C H O O L
www.oakparkusd.org/ophs
The Principal’s Message Recent events in our community once again cause us to evaluate the school’s role in students’ lives. Our neighbors at Agoura High School have spent a good deal of time over the last month assessing the impact these untimely student deaths have had on their school community. We would be foolish and even negligent to think that the conditions that gave rise to these tragedies do not exist in Oak Park and that our students are not susceptible to the same anxieties and situations. I attended the parent information night at Agoura High and watched as the community came to grips with the reality of what was going on in their midst. As a parent and colleague, I learned much from how AHS responded in the days and weeks following the apparent suicides of current and former students. In this message, I’ll discuss how to spot the signs of a teen in crisis and the resources available to help families facing teen depression or substance abuse. Additionally, and this is the message we’d like to be heard by the students, we need to teach our teens how to spot the signs among their friends and how and to whom they should go to for help, as they are usually the first ones to know that their friend is in trouble. We all know that adolescence can be a painful experience for many, and as a community school, we share the responsibility to teach students how to make the transition from child to adult academically and emotionally intact. On November 15, we held an open forum during lunchtime in the Pavilion for
students where a crisis counselor who specializes in teen depression and substance abuse along with OPHS counselors and administrators delivered a presentation and fielded questions. A school-wide activity will take place on December 13 featuring a video made by Safe School Ambassadors. Teachers will screen the video followed by class discussions moderated by the teachers and Advanced Peer Counselors. Students will receive bracelets that signify their commitment to look out for each other. Last spring we held a Life is Too Important week of activities to raise awareness of the dangers of drinking and texting and driving. Safe School Ambassadors are trained to spot the signs of teens in crisis as are OPHS peer counselors and regularly alert counselors and school staff when they identify a teen in trouble. Teen depression is real and if not addressed or treated, it can have devastating consequences. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for youth ages 15-19 after traffic accidents and homicide. Research shows that more than 90 percent of people who kill themselves have depression or another diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorder, with conditions often co-occurring. Some of the signs that your child is depressed are: declining performance in school; loss of interest in things they used to enjoy; unexplained changes in sleep or diet; avoiding friends or family; wanting to be alone all of the time; daydreaming too much or not completing tasks. The following parent guidelines are taken from helpguide.org, a non-profit mental health resource. continued on page 4