Dear Salpointe Catholic Parents and Guardians,
We are excited to host our first Parent Forum of the year on Friday, August 16 at 6 pm in Foundation Hall and hope that you will join us. We are offering a topic that impacts all of our young people – the use of technology. As we work with our students at Salpointe, it has become increasingly evident that technology is often a factor in poor academic performance and mental health concerns.
The national group Protect Young Eyes will present an important and timely program: Fabulous and Fragile: Understanding Mental Health, Technology and our Kids
Here is a description of the program:
“Do you have a device close by right now? Go ahead, pick it up, and marvel at the tech in your hands. Your phone can complete five trillion operations per second and handle over 120M Apollo moon missions simultaneously. It’s no wonder that we are intrigued by technology and prone to addiction. And, with that level of intelligence in their pockets, it’s easy to see why teens are captivated.
And now over 44% of high school students are self-reporting that they have “persistent feelings of hopelessness” (CDC Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Study – April 2022). It’s a really complicated time to grow up. And unless you understand what’s going on inside of their brain, you won’t ever understand why teens use technology in certain ways. Your empathy and understanding won’t be right.
Our desired outcomes include:
- A deep understanding of how young, developing brains are impacted by today’s technologies.
- Awareness of the hardware and software tools that support your digital goals.
- How to use practical solutions so that your family is prepared, balanced, and protected online.”
All parents are now required to attend at least one Parent Forum per year. We have three scheduled for this semester – August 16, September 10, and October 29. The September and October forums will address other pertinent topics such as substance use. The August 16 forum coincides with the Freshman Fling so parents of freshmen can attend the program while their students are at the dance.
As we continue to explore ways to partner with our parents in educating our young people, we believe that our newly revived forums will benefit all of us.
Sincerely,
Mike Urbanski, Director of Counseling, murbanski@salpointe.org