Middle & high schools

[Audio] Various versions of the A-C-T Now! presentation have been completed since the 2016-2017 school year; this most current version was revised July 2024 for grades 6-12. If you have questions about this presentation please contact Michael Kelleher and the Mental Health Team at 813-272-7316. Update this slide to reflect your school information. Please review all training notes prior to the presentation. This presentation can be shared as a P-D-F but we ask that you do not make changes other than adding your school-specific information. Trainer Note: Consider playing upbeat/motivational music at the beginning of the training. At the start of the training turn music off and have trainers introduce themselves to the students. Let students know a bit about your role at the school and let them know that later in the presentation you will be introducing them to other important adults at the school (via pictures). Go to the next slide to explain the purpose of the student A-C-T Now! Presentation for 6th-12th graders..

[Audio] We recognize that some topics today might be difficult topic to discuss and can cause some stress. Chances are that you or someone you know has had a personal experience or has been impacted by these topics in some way. If you notice yourself having an emotional reaction to this topic please practice self-care and do what you need to do to care for yourself. Remember that your student services staff is here to support you if needed..

[Audio] Today we are going to share general information regarding wellness. We are going to explain how adults at your school can help you or a friend who may be at risk for harm or suicide. We will also discuss how to stay vigilant and identify concerning behaviors that someone may be on the pathway of violence (making a threat and harming others.) We also will provide you with local and national resources to use yourself or share with others in need..

[Audio] Select one video to share with your students. You must open the link in your browser in order for it to show up as full screen. Use the link and share either Krista's video or Shania and Sydney's video. Note: you must follow the link for a full screen video. Other stories to choose from: Ribbons of Hope: Maggie's True Story of Help & Hope Ribbons of Hope: Maggie's True Story of Help & Hope for Teen Suicide Prevention on Vimeo You Can Never Count The Stars: Shania & Sydney's True Story You Can Never Count The Stars: Shania & Sydney's True Story of Help & Hope for Teen Suicide Prevention on Vimeo.

[Audio] Everyone has an important role with intervention. It is vital to be alert for any warning signs risk factors or changes in behavior that may occur. If a friend does confide in you do not act shocked or make judgmental comments. Do not promise confidentiality because school personnel must be informed. Contact an administrator Student Services Professional or other trusted adult as soon as possible. (Go through the A-C-T Now! acronym)..

[Audio] Ask someone to read the definition of mental health. Mental Health is a part of us from the day we are born until the day we die. It includes our overall feelings about ourselves and others our well-being our moods and how we care for ourselves. Our mental health may fluctuate depending on our life circumstances life experiences risk factors and protective factors. Adolescents typically have fluctuations in their mental health due to many changes in feelings coming of age interpersonal relationships changing bodies et cetera These changes in mental health are usually expected and typical. They become concerning or atypical if they begin to impact the person's overall well-being or their daily activities in a negative way. If the impacts become clinically significant the person may meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental illness. Additionally Mental Health may include a diagnosable illness that: -Affects a person's thinking emotional state and behavior -Disrupts the person's ability to work or attend school carry out daily living activities and engage in satisfying relationships..

[Audio] Now we are going to address the three key components that support positive mental health. 1. Prevention 2. Intervention and 3. Follow-up / Postvention We will dive into each of these components as we go through our presentation today..

[Audio] We recognize that Suicide is a difficult topic to discuss and can cause distress. Chances are that you or someone you know has had a personal experience or has been impacted by suicide in some way. If you notice yourself having an emotional reaction to this topic please practice self-care and do what you need to do to care for yourself. Remember that your student services staff is here to support you if needed. Preventative measures help to promote positive mental health and other harm. These can be the things you do on a regular basis to keep your mind and body healthy. Preventative measures are those actions we take to reduce the risk of something occurring. You wear a seatbelt in the car to prevent injury in the event of an accident; let's talk about how we can prevent or reduce the risk of suicide in our schools and communities. Each of us has a role in prevention and promoting positive mental health in our schools and our communities. As we talk further today we will cover your role as well as what happens when you report a concern to a trusted adult..

[Audio] Share all of the individuals who have a role in suicide prevention. Take a look at all of the people listed in this chart. Can you think of any others who may have a role in suicide prevention? Every single person has a role in prevention. Every person has opportunities to look for concerning behaviors and risk factors and to report those concerns to someone in order to help put protective factors in place..

[Audio] When we are thinking about mental health challenges we have some things to weigh. What are the warning signs that are present? Warning signs and concerning behaviors are things that others do that may worry us. Protective factors are those things that help support us build us up and promote our overall mental health and wellness. Risk factors are those things that work against our overall mental health and wellness. These may be stressors that someone is experiencing genetic predispositions and even situational challenges..

[Audio] Protective Factors are characteristics believed to improve overall mental health and wellness. These are important because these factors help reduce the risk that someone will hurt themselves or that they will struggle with a mental health challenge or diagnosis. Allow students to brainstorm ideas for protective factors. Validate correct responses. We could list protective factors all day! These can include feeling safe being a part of a sports team having a safe place to sleep at night and even having a good sense of humor. Remind students that it takes only one trusted adult to make a difference for a student in need..

[Audio] Risk Factors are characteristics that increase the possibility that someone will struggle with a mental health challenge at some point. Risk factors can include many things and are certainly unique to the individual. Remember what stresses one person out may not bother someone else. In general though risk factors may include anything from lack of stable housing food insecurity genetic history of mental health challenges learning difficulties drug use et cetera.

[Audio] Warning Signs are the earliest detectable signals that someone may harm himself/herself. If you notice a warning sign in yourself or your peers you should tell an adult immediately. Discuss various social media outlets (for example instagram snapchat facebook et cetera) that student use to express themselves..

[Audio] Warning Signs are the earliest detectable signals that someone may experience a mental health challenge or crisis or if they may have suicidal thoughts or feelings. Warning signs and concerning behaviors are also unique to the individual. If you have a peer who is acting differently than they usually do this may be something to be worried about. If you notice a warning sign in yourself or your peers you should tell an adult immediately. Students may express themselves on social media and even though this doesn't happen at school in most cases it should still be reported if you are feeling worried about someone. Examples of this might be someone talking about suicide or harming themselves making efforts to hurt themselves or seem to have a preoccupation with violence or anger toward others. Anytime you know that someone is in possession of a weapon or is trying to gain access to a weapon this is automatically considered to be a threat and should immediately be reported to a trusted adult..

[Audio] Take a few minutes to view this video created by Sandy Hook Promise. It depicts Warning Signs and things to look out for. Students know that you do not have to be the ones to decide what is and is not a severe warning sign. When in doubt speak out. When you make a report when you are concerned about someone help is there and staff follow-up. And remember making a false report is harmful potentially illegal..

[Audio] We will now discuss Intervention. Intervention involves direct efforts to improve a person's mental health and wellness. Interventions can also help to prevent suicide and harm and avert school violence. Interventions can be direct efforts and will support student's mental health and wellbeing. We will discuss some interventions that we can assist with in just a few moments..

[Audio] Taking care of yourself and promoting positive mental health can be interventions but sometimes we call these self-care skills. Surrounding yourself with supportive and positive people makes a huge difference in how you experience life. Research has shown that attitudes (whether positive or negative) are "contagious" and can affect the work or school environment. The more you surround yourself with people that are supportive the better equipped you will be to amass positive experiences and get through tough times..

[Audio] How do we show our peers that we care about them? We can do this by learning to recognize warning signs and concerning behaviors and offering them reassurance. We do this by remaining alert and ACKNOWLEDGING their challenges. We show our peers that we C-A-R-E by noticing their challenges supporting them and encouraging them to tell someone. We tell trusted adults and report concerns that have potential for harm or violence. By ACT-ing Now! we support our peers our friends and our classmates and help to make our schools safer..

[Audio] Just as seeking help can be hard you might find it daunting to offer support when someone reaches out to you. But don't worry you don't need specialized training to offer support. Here are some tips to follow: You can always listen patiently and non-judgementally to a peer who may be in need. This helps them know that they are not alone. Sometimes all you need to say is "I am glad you reached out to me!" Or "thank you for trusting me with this information". At times a person in need may only want to be heard. At other times they may really need help! In those times it is important that you help then reach out to someone with more resources (student services a parent a hotline or even 911). Anytime there is an emergency you must report immediately! You will never be in trouble for getting a friend help when they are in need..

[Audio] Often times students feel that they cannot report a concern for several reasons. Students don't want to feel like a tattle tale or a snitch. Students may feel like they will lose a friendship if they share a concern they have with a trusted adult. It is so important to remember that by reporting your concern you may help prevent a tragedy from happening. Reporting helps improve safety can solve a problem and can help someone who may not be able to get that help on their own. Snitching is done with intention to get someone in trouble make ourselves look better and may create a problem instead of solving a problem..

[Audio] Introduce your school staff by adding pictures and names! Be sure students know where to find these people and the methods your school uses for students to request to speak with them..

[Audio] Introduce your school staff by adding pictures and names! Be sure students know where to find these people and the methods your school uses for students to request to speak with them..

[Audio] Introduce your school staff by adding pictures and names! Be sure students know where to find these people and the methods your school uses for students to request to speak with them..

[Audio] Introduce your school staff by adding pictures and names! Be sure students know where to find these people and the methods your school uses for students to request to speak with them..

[Audio] Introduce your school staff by adding pictures and names! Be sure students know where to find these people and the methods your school uses for students to request to speak with them..

[Audio] Introduce your school staff by adding pictures and names! Be sure students know where to find these people and the methods your school uses for students to request to speak with them..

[Audio] Introduce your school staff by adding pictures and names! Be sure students know where to find these people and the methods your school uses for students to request to speak with them. Who else is a trusted adult at our school? (in other words bus driver custodian cafeteria staff media specialist et cetera). There are other trusted adults who are not at school too! Who are other trusted adults in your life?.

[Audio] Introduce your school staff by adding pictures and names! Be sure students know where to find these people and the methods your school uses for students to request to speak with them. Who else is a trusted adult at our school? (in other words bus driver custodian cafeteria staff media specialist et cetera). There are other trusted adults who are not at school too! Who are other trusted adults in your life?.

[Audio] Introduce your school staff by adding pictures and names! Be sure students know where to find these people and the methods your school uses for students to request to speak with them. Who else is a trusted adult at our school? (in other words bus driver custodian cafeteria staff media specialist et cetera). There are other trusted adults who are not at school too! Who are other trusted adults in your life?.

[Audio] Introduce your school staff by adding pictures and names! Be sure students know where to find these people and the methods your school uses for students to request to speak with them. Who else is a trusted adult at our school? (in other words bus driver custodian cafeteria staff media specialist et cetera). There are other trusted adults who are not at school too! Who are other trusted adults in your life?.

[Audio] Follow-Up and Postvention includes any actions taken after a mental health crisis suicidal expression suicide to support family friends and others who are impacted by the death. If you are someone that receives help for a mental health challenge don't worry if you think everyone is going to find out! All of our school staff practices confidentiality and will work to provide you with all of the supports that you need in a safe confidential private way. You may be offered check-ins counseling (either with an on campus staff member or with an outside agency) or even help developing a safety and self-care plan if needed. Our goal as supportive staff members is to help promote your protective factors support you through your challenge and guide you into happier times..

[Audio] Many of us have been impacted by Suicide or losses in general. If you feel like you need support with coping with a loss please be sure to reach out to a trusted adult as soon as you can! We will even share some hotlines that you can text or call 24/7 if you find yourself in need of support. Remember to be gentle with yourself and allow yourself to experience all of your feelings. Others may have different reactions to the loss or may not feel the same way that you do. It's ok! Just be sensitive to one another as you move through the range of emotions. Do your best to be kind to others who may also be hurting. This is a time for you to be a protective factor for one another not work against each other..

[Audio] Here are the numbers of community and national resources that can help you or a friend who is at risk. Additionally parents teachers and other trusted adults can help you with any concerns you may have. If you have any additional questions please contact your Student Services team they are here to help! Denote suicide prevention resources that students can access. The 988 crisis lifeline is a 24/7 hotline someone can call for immediate support. There is also 741-741 crisis text line for those students who may not want to talk but feel more comfortable text messaging. Our school district also offers many supports to students and families who are experiencing mental health challenges. There are also 211 cards that you can have available in your classroom which students can take as needed. 211 can help with a wide variety of challenges – not just mental health! They are a handy resource to share with someone in need. Please feel free to take a picture of this slide in case you.

[Audio] This code will take you to Hillsborough Assist which is a website that has a lot of information on mental health concerns suicide prevention bullying sexual harrassment and more. This code will help you recognize who to reach out to how to get help and link you to additional resources that may be helpful. There should be a number of cards in the front office or in student affairs with similar codes that you can take with you if needed..

[Audio] This icon is on every school computer. It can be used to report concerns anonymously. These concerns go directly to our local police department so it is important to only make reports if you have a real concern. Making false reports is a serious crime..

[Audio] This is our Act Now Pledge. There will be a banner for students to sign acknowledging that they will be Alert and Acknowledge Tell a trusted adult and show that you Care!.

[Audio] This is a copy of the A-C-T Now pledge. This is not a contract and does Not replace any of the suicide prevention protocols. This tool is used to promote awareness and prepares students to advocate for themselves and friends. Encourage students to read some of the bullets out loud..

[Audio] Encourage students to share ideas. Mention supports such as friends family exercise eating healthy journaling dancing singing et cetera Ask them to name trusted adults. Tell them that there will be a brief survey to complete in their classroom..

Wharton High School. Home of the Wildcats. 38. We care about you!​.

Mandatory Student Survey.