ISSUE NO.

3 MARCH 2021

STAFF NEWSLETTER
Supporting You Supporting Students
El Monte City School District/ Child Welfare Department

IN THIS
ISSUE:

Grief & Loss

Compassion
Fatigue EMCSD COMMUNITY
Happy March EMCSD Staff!
Teacher & Staff As we navigate through our second semester of the

Accomplishments school year with distance learning, we commend

you for your hard efforts in teaching our students

Continuing Self
through a pandemic! As our stressors run high and

our compassion runs low, we encourage you to

Care refocus on rediscovering your WHY. Take the

pledge in continuing your hard efforts in ensuring

a safe and productive environment for your

EMCSD Staff students & colleagues!

Wellness Resource
Site
Distance Learning
Five Tips for Teachers
click
Click here for resources
anywhere and strategies on
on this assisting your students
picture virtually!

GRIEF & LOSS
Experiencing a loved one's loss may be one
of the most formidable challenges that
many of us will face. We understand loss
as a natural and expected event in our
lives. However, we can still be overcome
with uncertainty and depression. Some
may grieve for more extended periods and
feel unable to cope with their loss. The
grieving process is vital for our emotional
wellness and to further understand the
cycle of life. Many can benefit from a
healthy support system from family or
mental health professionals.
The Experiences of Grief
Denial
The news may be too overwhelming and you
may begin to deny the news altogether.
Denial, however, may aid in pacing our
emotions and prevent us from becoming
completely overwhelmed.
Anger
As the news settles in, it is prevalent to begin
to feel anger and resentment. We begin to
question our situation and begin to challenge
others for our grief. It is crucial to truly feel our
anger, as it is a natural response. Suppressing
our anger may do more harm than good.
Bargaining
Within bargaining, we want to rid ourselves
with the pain we are experiencing. We
become so desperate that we will do anything
to minimize our hurt. Bargaining is usually
through a higher power, wishing we could go
back.
Depression
Depression arrises when we come to the
realization of our reality. This 'present'
emotion represents the emptiness we feel
when we understand that our loved one is
gone. We experience a sense of
numbness and often become
overwhelmed with sadness and withdrawn
from everything.
Acceptance
Within acceptance, our overpowering
emotions begin to stabilize. It is not an
end all be all, as grief is understood
and dealt with over a course of time.
The acceptance of a loss means "They
are gone, but I will be okay".
Dealing with our Grief
Accept Your Feelings
Remember and celebrate
the life of your loved ones
Take care of Yourself and
Your Family
Supporting Our
Grieving Students
Click HERE for
strategies in helping
students suffering
from death or loss
AMERICAN PSYCHOLGICAL ASSOCIATION
 COMPASSION
FATIGUE
Compassion fatigue is the mental, physical,
and emotional exhaustion that comes with
working with individuals who are in states of
distress or trauma. Left unaddressed it can
cause extreme mental and physical health
challenges. It is conceptualized as a
combination of secondary traumatic stress
and burnout.

Why it happens to educators...

It stems from helping or wanting to help a
traumatized or suffering child. Today, our
Your needs matter
students are not only facing trauma in their BE INTENTIONAL AND DILIGENT

personal lives but are also facing the global ABOUT YOUR OWN SELF CARE

coronavirus pandemic. Educators can become

preoccupied with and stress over students’ well-
being and traumatic experiences because of
how deeply they care. If you get to that point,
and you know the signs of compassion fatigue
and take the necessary steps to further prevent
it and/or overcome it, you'll not only be able to
better help your student, but yourself as well.

The compassion you have for your students

is a gift. Focus on what you can do right now
to give them a safe place to learn, to be that
someone who cares. Try to let go of what
you can’t do. You will preserve your ability to
show compassion, and do more for your
students than you may realize.

Click on the icon to learn more about FREE

counseling services for EMCSD employees
and their immediate families.
 SELF CARE
Regularly taking the time, even in small and simple
ways, to nurture and take care of yourself is crucial
to your well-being (and no, it's not being selfish ).
The more you nurture yourself, the better you are at
supporting your students during distance learning.

6 types of self care

Shout Out Data

from El Monte City School District

Tech Department district-wide successes mental health support Child Welfare

7,000 Chromebooks 96% ADA 1,100+ Students receiving Suicide 170 SART Meetings

2,500 Hotspots Distributed 1Virtual BTSN Prevention & Awareness Lessons 477 Home Visits

2 Virtual Parent 250+ Linkages to Counseling Support

district health dept Conference Services nutrition dept

71 School Enrollment 3 +
million meals

Immunizations Administered
iReady stats since August distributed