Nester 

named

teacher of

year

WOODSTOCK — The Woodstock Academy named Physical Education teacher,  Emily Nester, as the Teacher of the Year for the 2015 – 2016 school year.

Nester’s 14-year career at The Academy began in 2001 as a long term substitute in the Physical Education (P.E.) department. Following an incredibly successful spring semester, she was hired full-time in the fall of 2001. She has since expanded her class load to include Health and Family Foods at The Academy.

“One of the most important things I want my students to take away from my classes is valuable life skills as well as an overall improvement in their lifestyle, increased self-esteem, and better interpersonal skills,” Nester said. “In any of my classes, P.E., Health, or Family Foods, I hope my students are having a positive experience, whether its performing various exercises or enhancing their culinary talents. If they enjoy learning and mastering these skills now, then hopefully they will continue to use them throughout their lives.”

During her tenure, Nester has served as a coach for several sports, started the Climbing Club, an extracurricular activity for students interested in rock and wall climbing, and currently sits on the School Health Advisory Council. She also assists with The Academy’s Unified P.E. class; most recently hosting an in-school field trip with Killingly High School’s Unified P.E. class where students enjoyed a day of indoor climbing and team building activities.

“Emily was chosen as our Teacher of the Year because of her great empathy for people as well as her incredible dedication to her students and The Academy community,” Associate Headmaster Holly Singleton said. “She’s truly made a tremendous difference in the lives of our students.”

Nester also focuses on taking her students outside of the classroom to learn new hobbies that promote a healthier lifestyle. Each year she takes her students surfing at Narragansett Town Beach, rock climbing at Ross’ Cliffs, cross country skiing around Woodstock, Paddleboarding down the Narrow River, and much more.

“Emily knows that teaching and learning happen beyond the four walls of a classroom, which makes her students extremely interested in her classes,” Headmaster Chris Sandford said. “She inspires and motivates her students to be healthy and is always challenging them to do something they might not have the opportunity or confidence to do on their own. We are incredibly lucky to have her as part of our faculty and we are very proud to have her representing The Academy.”

 

Then

A game of lawn tennis on the common at Woodstock Academy in the late 1890s. 

 

 

& Now

This is the same area in modern times, during a recent commencement. Putnam Town Crier file photo.

 

One of only eight

in Connecticut

PUTNAM — Day Kimball Healthcare’s Behavioral Health Outpatient Clinic is now one of just eight outpatient psychiatric clinics for children across Connecticut to provide Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI), a relatively new short-term intervention for children (along with their caregivers) who have been exposed to trauma or who have disclosed physical or sexual abuse within the previous 30-45 days.

Day Kimball is one of three clinics to have been selected to receive training in and to begin providing the intervention this year through the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut’s (CHDI) CONCEPT grant. The grant is awarded to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau. The other two clinics to begin providing the intervention this year are United Services in Dayville and Child and Family Guidance Center in Bridgeport.

“We are very fortunate to have the outstanding Behavioral Health team that we have here at Day Kimball,” said Andre P. Bessette, PhD, child, adolescent and family psychotherapist and chief psychologist of Day Kimball’s Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health program. “They are deeply committed to the youngsters and families in this community and to serving their behavioral health needs which are sometimes profound.”

Bessette noted that children and families can be referred into the program by pediatricians and other community physicians, schools, other behavioral health providers and DCF. Parents or guardians can also call directly on their own.

CFTSI was developed by and initially only provided at Yale University’s Child Guidance Clinic. The method now has national research showing its effectiveness. CHDI began working with the model developers at Yale and the CT Department of Children and Families (DCF) last year to disseminate CFTSI to behavioral health providers throughout Connecticut as part of the federal CONCEPT grant.

Over the past five years CHDI had already trained a network of 28 mental health provider agencies to treat child traumatic stress that had occurred in the child’s past using the Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) evidenced-based model.  CFTSI is a model that fills a gap in the trauma services network in Connecticut by addressing trauma immediately after it occurs and preventing development of further problems.

Last year four agencies were trained in the method: Charlotte Hungerford Hospital Center for Youth and Families in Torrington, Community Health Resources in Manchester, Family and Children’s Aid in Danbury and Family Services of Greater Waterbury.

 Training is provided through CHDI’s Learning Collaborative and includes face-to-face trainings, consultations from Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy experts, and work with local DCF offices to establish collaborative relationships.

 The training has been completed at this year’s participating clinics and the new intervention is now in use at each of the three facilities, including Day Kimball. CHDI will continue to offer consultation and support to ensure the continued success of the program after the end of the grant year this June.