Notes from the Counseling Department

Welcome back to school!  We are here in person, we are masked, and we have no remote learning options.  Which is to say, it feels a lot more like the "normal" we have been used to in the past.  There are still some differences, for example, we're eating lunch outside whenever possible, but overall it has felt good to be back in the school building with the students.  In preparing for the year, Bigelow's staff spent time learning about the concept of a " window of tolerance " which was first conceptualized by Dr. Daniel Siegel .  The basic idea is that we all have an optimal amount of space in our windows.  When we are in that space, we are open to new concepts, ideas, challenges, and experiences.  If we open our window too wide, we become overwhelmed and begin to spin out- our heart rate increases, our breathing becomes more rapid, our thoughts swirl, and we become ruled by our emotional reactions.  If we allow our windows to close too much, we shut down and