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I have had several parents schedule appointments with me recently wanting to discuss how they can help their child/children deal with stress. Children face stressors that can affect their daily lives all the time. How you help support them can enhance their mental and physical well-being. Is it surprising to hear that not all stress is negative? Keep reading to find out more about dealing with stress.
A minute about stress
Any developments that require your child to change or adapt may incite anxiety. Even positive events can trigger stress. Moving, making new friends, and even going on holiday are changes that can induce stress. Some stress may be beneficial. As children develop, manageable stress helps them learn to become resilient. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) emphasizes that in non-life-threatening situations, stress can motivate people. Presenting in front of an audience or trying out for the soccer team may prompt this short-term stress. But ongoing stress takes a toll and requires more support. Understanding the signs of stress in children and helping them cope is key to their mental and physical well-being.
Helping children cope with stressTo support children experiencing ongoing stress, here are five ways to help:
1. Ensuring your child has a stable environment
While our International lives can often feel unstable with big moves and ongoing transitions, there are strategies to create a stable home life.
Knowing we can navigate some things in our lives helps us feel less stressed. This is true for children as well. When possible, you can suggest they identify options and make choices. When they choose well, you can celebrate their efforts. Also, considering the unexpected can be jarring. When changes are coming, you could let them know in advance. If you need to rearrange a schedule or reschedule a family visit, you can tell your children as soon as possible. Try to help them get used to the change rather than react to it.
3. Attending to behavioral changes
You can set aside time to talk with your children individually. Try listening to their responses without interrupting. You can actively listen by trying to ask questions to understand what they’re going through. You can watch for signs of stress. Rather than moving toward an action plan, try to identify and name their emotions by using the mood meter. By showing care and affection and simply listening to your child, your child can see that you’re on their team, supporting them. You might explore with them how they could resolve their source of stress.
4. Encouraging physical activity
Like adults, exercising is an easy way for your children to work out their frustrations. They also gain a mental health boost. It’s beneficial for their bodies and can help them cope.
5. Getting professional help
If relief doesn’t come and your child shows signs of depression, isolation, or elevated anxiety, you can seek expert help with the school counselor. Your school counselor can also help you learn more about coping skills to help kids manage stress. You can schedule an appointment with Ms. Marlo at https://calendly.com/marlo-frontiera/meeting
*6. Have Fun Together - Bonus Tip
There is a reason why we say, “Laughter is the best medicine.” We all have busy lives and making time to do the things we love, with the ones we love is important! It can also alleviate stress.
*Adapted from - Beth Dumey, MA. “Helping Children Cope with Stress : 5 Tips.” Psych Central, Psych Central, 9 Sept. 2022, https://psychcentral.com/stress/tips-for-helping-your-child-manage-stress.
A minute about stress
Any developments that require your child to change or adapt may incite anxiety. Even positive events can trigger stress. Moving, making new friends, and even going on holiday are changes that can induce stress. Some stress may be beneficial. As children develop, manageable stress helps them learn to become resilient. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) emphasizes that in non-life-threatening situations, stress can motivate people. Presenting in front of an audience or trying out for the soccer team may prompt this short-term stress. But ongoing stress takes a toll and requires more support. Understanding the signs of stress in children and helping them cope is key to their mental and physical well-being.
Helping children cope with stressTo support children experiencing ongoing stress, here are five ways to help:
1. Ensuring your child has a stable environment
While our International lives can often feel unstable with big moves and ongoing transitions, there are strategies to create a stable home life.
- Is your home a safe place where your child can feel secure?
- Can your child calm down and relax, or is it more often chaotic?
- While providing safety and security is necessary, it’s also important to establish and maintain routines. Your child can rely on this structure. It may also enhance their sense of control.
- Consider activities that help relieve their stress, such as watching a favorite movie or listening to music. Consider staying away from forms of media with violence or distressing events.
Knowing we can navigate some things in our lives helps us feel less stressed. This is true for children as well. When possible, you can suggest they identify options and make choices. When they choose well, you can celebrate their efforts. Also, considering the unexpected can be jarring. When changes are coming, you could let them know in advance. If you need to rearrange a schedule or reschedule a family visit, you can tell your children as soon as possible. Try to help them get used to the change rather than react to it.
3. Attending to behavioral changes
You can set aside time to talk with your children individually. Try listening to their responses without interrupting. You can actively listen by trying to ask questions to understand what they’re going through. You can watch for signs of stress. Rather than moving toward an action plan, try to identify and name their emotions by using the mood meter. By showing care and affection and simply listening to your child, your child can see that you’re on their team, supporting them. You might explore with them how they could resolve their source of stress.
4. Encouraging physical activity
Like adults, exercising is an easy way for your children to work out their frustrations. They also gain a mental health boost. It’s beneficial for their bodies and can help them cope.
5. Getting professional help
If relief doesn’t come and your child shows signs of depression, isolation, or elevated anxiety, you can seek expert help with the school counselor. Your school counselor can also help you learn more about coping skills to help kids manage stress. You can schedule an appointment with Ms. Marlo at https://calendly.com/marlo-frontiera/meeting
*6. Have Fun Together - Bonus Tip
There is a reason why we say, “Laughter is the best medicine.” We all have busy lives and making time to do the things we love, with the ones we love is important! It can also alleviate stress.
*Adapted from - Beth Dumey, MA. “Helping Children Cope with Stress : 5 Tips.” Psych Central, Psych Central, 9 Sept. 2022, https://psychcentral.com/stress/tips-for-helping-your-child-manage-stress.
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Each MYP subject has students working towards four main objectives from Grade 6 through Grade 10 (see graphic below). These objectives target key disciplinary skills and form the basis of the criteria used to assess student performance on a variety of tasks. As students progress through the Middle Years Program, the names of these assessment objectives remain the same, but the performance criteria become more complex.
Let me give you an example: Assessment Criterion A in Language and Literature is “Analyzing”.
Let’s take a look at how the performance expectations get more sophisticated as students move through the program:
*The MYP provides us with scaffolded assessment expectations for Grade 6, 8 and 10 only. In grades 7 and 9, teachers will use a combination of the previous and following years’ expectations. Teacher implementation of these expectations is informed by our AISM learning outcomes to ensure developmental appropriateness.
Let me give you an example: Assessment Criterion A in Language and Literature is “Analyzing”.
Let’s take a look at how the performance expectations get more sophisticated as students move through the program:
- By the end of Grade 6*:
- Students should be able to identify and comment upon significant aspects of texts.
- By the end of Grade 8*:
- Students should be able to identify and explain the content, context, language, structure, technique and style of texts, as well as relationships between texts.
- By the end of Grade 10*:
- Students should be able to analyze the content, context, language, structure, technique and style of texts, as well as relationships among texts.
*The MYP provides us with scaffolded assessment expectations for Grade 6, 8 and 10 only. In grades 7 and 9, teachers will use a combination of the previous and following years’ expectations. Teacher implementation of these expectations is informed by our AISM learning outcomes to ensure developmental appropriateness.
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In the MYP, teachers will report on student progress via ManageBac, roughly every three weeks. You will receive an email from ManageBac indicating that there are comments and grades (depending on the task), available for your viewing. If you have not been receiving these notifications, please reach out to our IT Helpdesk at, helpdesk@aism-moz.com.
Assessment in MYP comes with its own language and a unique grading system. Below, we will address a few frequently asked questions that are common from MYP parents and students:
What are these A, B, C, D Criteria? All MYP subjects have students working towards four objectives - labeled as Criterion A, B, C and D. While these objectives are not the same in each subject, there are always four, labeled as A, B, C, D (see graphic below*). Each MYP assessment task (formative or summative) will be addressing one or more of these objectives. In their comments, our teachers will be indicating areas in which your child made progress, as well as ways in which your child can improve towards these course objectives.
How are grades applied towards these four objectives? Accompanying grades are based on a scale from 1-8 for each objective/criterion, with 1-2 indicating limited progress/performance, 3-4 indicating progress/performance that is approaching expectations, 5-6 indicating progress/performance that is meeting expectations and 7-8 indicating progress/performance that meets expectations with sophistication.
What grade indicates my child is meeting grade level expectations? A grade of 5 against any criterion is the benchmark for meeting grade level expectations. Any grade higher than 5 indicates your child is meeting expectations for their grade level with varying degrees of sophistication as we move from level 6-8 on the scale.
My child received a task grade lower than 5… should I be concerned? A grade of 4 generally indicates your child is very close to reaching grade level outcomes, but may need further practice or slight improvement. A grade of 3 would indicate a passing grade, with the need for improvement. A grade of 1-2 would indicate significant interventions are required. Teachers will use assessment data in order to inform targeted classroom instruction to help all students as they work towards grade level objectives. Additionally, assessment data will inform how teachers group students for extra support during PIE (a flexible learning block that occurs 3-4 times throughout the week). Of course, if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s grades, please contact the teacher.
Wait a second…when I get my child’s report card the grades only go as high as 7, but tasks on ManageBac are graded on a scale of 1-8… am I missing something? No you are not. Individual Criterion grades are assessed on a scale of 1-8 on a per task basis. At the end of each semester, our teachers will make a professional, evidence based judgment as to where your child’s performance best fits against each of the four Criterion in a given subject, over the course of the semester. These four grades are then added up to get a total score out of 32 possible points (max 8 points x 4 criteria). The total score is then compared to grade boundaries set by the IB to give students their overall grade for semester:
If you’d like to learn more about grades in the MYP, please contact our MYP Coordinator, Mike BondClegg at michael.bondclegg@aism-moz.com
*MYP Objectives (Criteria) in each course:
Assessment in MYP comes with its own language and a unique grading system. Below, we will address a few frequently asked questions that are common from MYP parents and students:
What are these A, B, C, D Criteria? All MYP subjects have students working towards four objectives - labeled as Criterion A, B, C and D. While these objectives are not the same in each subject, there are always four, labeled as A, B, C, D (see graphic below*). Each MYP assessment task (formative or summative) will be addressing one or more of these objectives. In their comments, our teachers will be indicating areas in which your child made progress, as well as ways in which your child can improve towards these course objectives.
How are grades applied towards these four objectives? Accompanying grades are based on a scale from 1-8 for each objective/criterion, with 1-2 indicating limited progress/performance, 3-4 indicating progress/performance that is approaching expectations, 5-6 indicating progress/performance that is meeting expectations and 7-8 indicating progress/performance that meets expectations with sophistication.
What grade indicates my child is meeting grade level expectations? A grade of 5 against any criterion is the benchmark for meeting grade level expectations. Any grade higher than 5 indicates your child is meeting expectations for their grade level with varying degrees of sophistication as we move from level 6-8 on the scale.
My child received a task grade lower than 5… should I be concerned? A grade of 4 generally indicates your child is very close to reaching grade level outcomes, but may need further practice or slight improvement. A grade of 3 would indicate a passing grade, with the need for improvement. A grade of 1-2 would indicate significant interventions are required. Teachers will use assessment data in order to inform targeted classroom instruction to help all students as they work towards grade level objectives. Additionally, assessment data will inform how teachers group students for extra support during PIE (a flexible learning block that occurs 3-4 times throughout the week). Of course, if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s grades, please contact the teacher.
Wait a second…when I get my child’s report card the grades only go as high as 7, but tasks on ManageBac are graded on a scale of 1-8… am I missing something? No you are not. Individual Criterion grades are assessed on a scale of 1-8 on a per task basis. At the end of each semester, our teachers will make a professional, evidence based judgment as to where your child’s performance best fits against each of the four Criterion in a given subject, over the course of the semester. These four grades are then added up to get a total score out of 32 possible points (max 8 points x 4 criteria). The total score is then compared to grade boundaries set by the IB to give students their overall grade for semester:
- 1-5 = 1: very limited performance towards/understanding of course outcomes
- 6-9 = 2: limited performance towards/understanding of course outcomes
- 10-14 = 3: acceptable performance towards/understanding of course outcomes (passing threshold)
- 15-18 = 4: approaching proficient performance towards/understanding of course outcomes
- 19-23 = 5: proficient performance towards/understanding of course outcomes
- 24-27 = 6: proficient, occasional sophisticated performance towards/understanding of course outcomes
- 28:-32 = 7: proficient, frequently sophisticated performance towards/understanding of course outcomes
If you’d like to learn more about grades in the MYP, please contact our MYP Coordinator, Mike BondClegg at michael.bondclegg@aism-moz.com
*MYP Objectives (Criteria) in each course:
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