Saburah. It has been misspelled and mispronounced for my entire life. I’ve been called many things including Siobhan, Sabrina, Cebolla, and have received emails in which my name has been misspelled or even written as Simba. Growing up in this area, I remember hearing names like “Naomi” or “Kyle” for the first time and thinking they sounded so strange and foreign to me. I had to repeat my name constantly while muscling through the giggles and judgmental faces with which I was met throughout my childhood. I never understood why I couldn’t find my name on any keychains or mugs in souvenir shops. For most of my childhood, I longed for a simpler name, like Sarah or Stacy, to avoid the unpleasant interactions and because of my internal struggle with celebrating my name.

Most of us are familiar with the positive mental and physical benefits of playing sports: regular exercise, strong social bonds with teammates, and a way to relieve stress and anxiety. Being an athlete builds positive character strengths and develops leadership skills that translate to other areas of life. Even though sports can be a gateway to student-athletes’ happiness and well-being, when athletes face an injury that sidelines them from the competition, their emotional and social well-being and sense of identity may be negatively impacted. The stress, pressure, and high expectations that athletes face daily can be draining. As coaches, role models, and leaders, we need to advocate for our student-athletes and make mental health a priority in athletics.

Looking for diverse texts to read for either yourself or your child(ren)? Shipley's Librarians are here to help with a heaping helping of books to satisfy your literary appetite.

Shipley's Director of Rowing, Scott Gavin-Wisniewski discusses the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the sport of rowing and how Shipley's Rowing Academy is working to counteract that. The program's strategic partnership with Philadelphia City Rowing (PCR) both informs how we advance DEI within Shipley's program, while also advancing equity in the broader Philadelphia community through our support of their efforts.

“3, 2, 1, care to share?” This is the way that we begin each class in SEED 6, our sixth grade social emotional learning course. In a time and place where abnormal is the new normal, ritual and routine are more important than ever.

October 20th is International Pronouns Day. According to the event’s website, this day “seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace.” Last year, I wrote a post about the importance of respecting pronouns and how to introduce yourself with your pronouns (read it here). This year, I want to go a step further.

October 11th is National Coming Out Day. It was started a year after the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay rights and has been a powerful reminder about the impact coming out can have for people. It’s estimated that about 10% of the population is LGBTQ+ (Williams Institute), so being able to support someone who has come out is incredibly important. In fact, it can be life-saving. According to the Center for Disease Control, LGBTQ+ youth are 3.5 times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. However, if they have just one supportive adult in their life, that risk decreases by almost 50% (Trevor Project). 

For many of us, the beginning of this school year has marked a return to routines and structures that we have been missing since March of 2020. Mixed in with the excitement of getting our students back onto school buses and soccer fields is worry: worry about how the pandemic has impacted our children and how those impacts will show up in their daily lives. As we work tirelessly to protect the physical health of students, there are steps that parents and guardians can take now to help support mental well-being in their children.

Kids need us to be brave so that they can be brave. When I’m feeling fearful and uncomfortable, that’s usually the biggest sign that my students need to have the very conversation I’m afraid to have. This resource, which I call “The Do’s and Don’ts of Facilitating Brave Conversations with Kids,” is a compilation of best practices that I call myself to return to when I’m opting for a silence. I invite all educators and caregivers to join me in this charge.

On Wednesday, May 5th, Shipley’s Lower School hosted a virtual lunchtime Parent Education Series Talk entitled “Providing a Stable Foundation for Body Acceptance.” The Lower School welcomed two experts from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to lead the discussion: Dr. Eleanor (Ellie) Benner, Psy,D., a licensed clinical psychologist, and Amy Mack, a licensed clinical social worker, who both work with young patients in the Eating Disorder Assessment and Treatment Program at CHOP’s Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Science. The talk was designed to help caregivers navigate conversations with children about size, shape, and health in ways that help foster body positivity in children and their peers.