Hi, CV!
Tonight is a chance for educators and parents to learn how the adolescent brain learns. Tina Givrad, PhD, gave us a sneak preview of her talk last week and you don’t want to miss this talk. She’s a cutting-edge researcher with a biomedical engineering PhD who learned about electrical engineering to help her understand how the brain works. She’s so smart she knows how to share information in ways we all understand!  For example, adolescents are between the ages of 10 and 25-26.

We also heard that the developing brain has two filters that shut down access to messages like when a child feels threatened, scared, and/or bored. Tina tells you how to break on through. Here’s a clue: repeating the same message over and over doesn’t work. But you already knew that. Come on out to the CV High School library at 2900 Community Ave., from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and learn what does work.  It’s free!

At our strategic partners meeting last week we heard about two grants held by Glendale Unified School District (GUSD), managed by the Student Support Services Office. The first is TUPE: Tobacco Use Prevention & Education. The second is Healthy Start. Only eight school districts out of 80 statewide have TUPE grants; hats off GUSD! This grant funds the administration of the California Healthy Kids Survey, a biennial snapshot into the lives of our seventh, ninth and 11th graders. Healthy Start provides direct services and referrals for students needing shoes, food, bus tokens and healthcare. Locally, a mental health counselor has been assigned to our community schools to help kids and families who need attention. In addition, this office purchased free drug test kits. If you want to test your child, you can go to the counselor’s office in your school and ask for one. Or you can go down to the district office at 223 N. Jackson St. in Glendale, and pick one up in room 101. You don’t have to say who you are or why you want one; you just have to ask.

I know that PTA will bring more of this type of information to the schools. As will we.

Suzy Jacobs
is the executive director of the CV Alliance located at  
3131 Foothill Blvd. Suite D
La Crescenta, CA 91214
(818) 646-7867  http://cv-alliance.org/