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Willowcreek Gets New Family Teachers
Alpine is sad to say goodbye to some very talented and exceptional
Family Teachers. Mike and Monique Otufangavalu left Alpine this
past month to pursue new and exciting positions with our parent
company Utah Youth Village. Mike will be a part of the incredibly
successful Families First program, bringing support and skills to needy
children and families. Monique will be teaching at Youth Village
Academy, the Village’s alternative school for junior and high school
students.
Over the course of their career at Alpine they have made a
tremendous impact on hundreds of lives. They are known for their
nurturing environment and clear boundaries with youth. They have been a staple on the Alpine campus and will be
truly missed. We wish them luck on their new adventure!
Replacing the O’s was no small task, and we are very excited to
re-introduce Rob and Kelly Mulari to Alpine. Rob and Kelly
became Family Teachers several years ago for Alpine, where
they developed a solid and successful program in their home.
After several years of great service they moved into other
positions with Utah Youth Village supervising group homes and
foster homes. After being away for a year they realized they
couldn’t get Alpine out of their system and decided to come
back. They have spent their lives working with children and
youth and come with a wealth of expertise and insight.
Rob has a background in counseling and youth ministries, while
Kelly has a Masters in Elementary Education. They are joined by
their two children Vyvyan (13) and Quinton (7). We are happy to benefit from their return and hope you all have a
chance to meet them next time you are on campus.
Parent Newsletter
September 2013
Increasing Your Child’s Insight Colleen Croff, LCSW, Therapist
I think one of the most important things a person can have in their life is
insight…insight about themselves, others and the world around them. A
definition from the bing dictionary is as follows:
� perceptiveness: the ability to see clearly and intuitively into the
nature of a
complex person, situation, or subject
� clear perception: a clear perception of something
� self-awareness: the ability of somebody to understand and find
solutions to his or her personal problems
If you don’t have clarity you cannot
make the best decisions possible
for yourself. Lack of awareness and
insight is like driving with a dirty
windshield…how can you tell
where you are going and what the
best route is? How can you drive in
a safe way? You can’t. You guess
and try to wing it and therefore
deprive yourself of safety, ease,
comfort, direction, awareness, skill
acquisition, and the ability to be
present.
Often it is not that we are not insightful or can’t develop these skills to have
this in our lives…often it is that we are scared to be insightful. Being insightful
means being more aware, vulnerable, accountable, and connected with
others. It means facing things that are difficult in ourselves and other people,
as well as facing things we may have tried to lock away for a long time. Doing
this though doesn’t allow us to live our lives fully and have choice. We
imprison ourselves when we block ourselves from awareness.
So the first step is
recognizing that we are
limiting our potential to be
better than we are today.
That doesn’t mean we are
bad or inadequate…it just
means we can always be
better and more in tune to
ourselves and the world.
When we have awareness
we can recognize the true
issue and problem solve
effectively on how to help
ourselves and others. One
question to help develop
awareness is: what do I love
about this problem. We
Welcome New Students Welcome New Students Welcome New Students Welcome New Students
and Families!and Families!and Families!and Families!
Oak Ridge: Kristen Kristen Kristen Kristen and her parents Larry and Dana from Oklahoma TheaTheaTheaThea and her parents Nicholas and Christiana from Dubai
Cottonwood Grove:
NataliaNataliaNataliaNatalia and her parents Steven and Tatiana from California.
Focus OnFocus OnFocus OnFocus On………… Teaching Self RelianceTeaching Self RelianceTeaching Self RelianceTeaching Self Reliance
Parents often experience guilt and conflict
when their child, of any age, is
experiencing a problem. Large and small
problems create the need to rescue and
save the child from discomfort, frustration,
or disappointment. When parents learn to
teach their children problem solving skills,
safe risk-taking, and dealing with failure
their children are better prepared to
respond to life’s inevitable ups and downs
and to maintain a healthy outlook.
You can teach your child to problem solve
by giving them information about their
options, discussing potential consequences
in a nonjudgmental way, letting them
make the ultimate decision, and allowing
them to fully experience the consequences
both positive and negative.
Risk-taking inherently means discomfort,
anxiety, pain, embarrassment, or failure.
These feelings are a reality and it is best
that children experience them in a safe
learning environment under your care,
than being ill prepared for the outside
world. For example: allowing your
daughter to try out for a musical, when you
know the chances are unlikely for her to be
successful. Continue to encourage her
and teach her how to grow, bounce back,
and be confident in trying again.
Young women in particular struggle with
the need for acceptance and connection,
so dealing with failure is particularly hard
on them. It is important that they feel
unconditional love at home, regardless of
their failures. Help your daughter
distinguish between feelings and facts.
Normalize failure by sharing your own
experiences or those of others. Celebrate
the “baby steps” that they are making
toward being successful. Always be the
cheerleader, even if you aren’t very
enthusiastic about the venture.
Self reliance is always a work in progress,
don’t give up.
wouldn’t do/have something if we didn’t get something out of it. Some other questions to help develop insight include:
why am I getting so reactive/defensive about this right now…what does this mean about me, what am I feeling and why, Is
there a pattern here and if so what is the cycle/pattern and what is the purpose of this pattern.
The heart of it all is asking “why” and being open to the answer. It usually comes down to beliefs about ourselves and
our abilities, as well as patterns we have learned that aren’t beneficial for us that we are not even aware we are
engaging in until we are willing to explore.
Breaking Ground
Last month Alpine Academy broke ground on an exciting new campus
development. In order to expand our incredibly successful ASPIRE
program we have closed the Mountain Birch Cottage and will expand
the structure into two new groups homes on campus. This new
development comes with mixed feelings as we also say goodbye to
Janette Thompson, the Family Teacher in Mountain Birch. Janette
started with Utah Youth Village ten years ago as the Director of
Training and Evaluations. But her desire and exceptional talent with
youth drew her to the position of Family Teacher at Alpine where she
has been for the last six years.
In addition to being a Family Teacher, Janette also instructed students in our Futures class.
This class focused upon college and career planning and also prepared Janette for her new
adventure as a high school counselor. She completed her Masters education earlier this year
as was hired on at a local high school this summer. In her new job Janette will continue to have
a positive influence on youth and remain on staff as a fill in employee.
New Family Teachers will be hired for the Mountain Birch home after construction of the new
home is complete. One half of the new building will be the new Mountain Birch Home with the
same structure and function as the other homes on campus. The other half will be the home of
a ten bed ASPIRE program. Currently the ASPIRE program can only hold 5 girls. By expanding
the program to ten beds, Alpine will be able to serve more students in this program. The
construction is expected to be complete in the spring of 2014.
Upcoming Calendar Events:Upcoming Calendar Events:Upcoming Calendar Events:Upcoming Calendar Events: Sept. 2Sept. 2Sept. 2Sept. 2ndndndnd----3333rdrdrdrd –––– No SchoolNo SchoolNo SchoolNo School
Sept. 13Sept. 13Sept. 13Sept. 13thththth----15151515thththth –––– Parent Visit WeekendParent Visit WeekendParent Visit WeekendParent Visit Weekend
Oct. 4Oct. 4Oct. 4Oct. 4thththth----6666thththth –––– Parent Workshop WeekendParent Workshop WeekendParent Workshop WeekendParent Workshop Weekend
Oct. 18Oct. 18Oct. 18Oct. 18thththth –––– Quarter 1 endsQuarter 1 endsQuarter 1 endsQuarter 1 ends
Oct. 21Oct. 21Oct. 21Oct. 21stststst----25252525thththth –––– No SchoolNo SchoolNo SchoolNo School
Oct. 21Oct. 21Oct. 21Oct. 21stststst----25252525thththth –––– Washington D.C. TripWashington D.C. TripWashington D.C. TripWashington D.C. Trip
Oct. 28Oct. 28Oct. 28Oct. 28thththth –––– Quarter 2 bQuarter 2 bQuarter 2 bQuarter 2 beginseginseginsegins
*check our online calendar at alpineacademy.orgalpineacademy.orgalpineacademy.orgalpineacademy.org for a more detailed list of campus events
...From the Art Studio With over six months of activity under our belts, the new art studio in the Fitness and Arts building has been host to a wealth of creativity. We are continually amazed by the creativity and talent of our students. Ms. Laurie is very proud of the work put out by both her beginning and advanced art classes, and has the students work on display everywhere on campus. Below is a sampling of what they’ve been working on.
Alpine Academy Alpine Academy Alpine Academy Alpine Academy ~~~~ 1280 Whispering Horse Dr. Erda, Utah 84074 ~ 8001280 Whispering Horse Dr. Erda, Utah 84074 ~ 8001280 Whispering Horse Dr. Erda, Utah 84074 ~ 8001280 Whispering Horse Dr. Erda, Utah 84074 ~ 800----244244244244----1113 office ~ 4351113 office ~ 4351113 office ~ 4351113 office ~ 435----843843843843----5416 fax ~ alpine@alpineacademy.org5416 fax ~ alpine@alpineacademy.org5416 fax ~ alpine@alpineacademy.org5416 fax ~ alpine@alpineacademy.org
Like us on Facebook! Facebook.coLike us on Facebook! Facebook.coLike us on Facebook! Facebook.coLike us on Facebook! Facebook.com/AlpineAcademy ~ Follow us on Twitter @AlpineAcademy and Pinterestm/AlpineAcademy ~ Follow us on Twitter @AlpineAcademy and Pinterestm/AlpineAcademy ~ Follow us on Twitter @AlpineAcademy and Pinterestm/AlpineAcademy ~ Follow us on Twitter @AlpineAcademy and Pinterest
Parent Workshop Weekend PreviewParent Workshop Weekend PreviewParent Workshop Weekend PreviewParent Workshop Weekend Preview
If you haven’t already made plans it isn’t too late to attend the Parent Workshop Weekend for October. We highly recommend these workshops to all parents as it provides additional support to the treatment process. Here are some of the activities planned for that weekend:
Smart But Scattered-Helping Students Reach Academic Potential Being a Social Media Savvy Parent Parent Teacher Conferences Improving Relationships & Communication
For a detailed agenda and to RSVP go to our website calendar at alpineacademy.org and click on the event.
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