Our Goals

• Create, strengthen, and support the connections between and among students and adults in our community.
• Reduce the risk factors that contribute to unhealthy behaviors and strengthen the protective factors that foster young people’s healthy development and physical, social, and emotional well-being.

Long-standing research demonstrates that prevention of unhealthy behaviors is associated with effective parenting; strong, positive family and school bonds; clear standards and limit-setting; opportunities for healthy risk-taking; postponement and/or reduction of inappropriate behaviors; and positive role models. Participants gain better understanding of:

• Risk-taking behaviors, healthy and unhealthy
• Child and adolescent development
• Effective parenting skills
• Cultural and social pressures on young people and families
• Benefits of parent networking 

Parent Facilitated Discussions

Sponsored by the Parents’ Association, these grade level parent-to-parent events allow for relationships to develop, experience to be gathered, and an ethos of a connected community to be built. Conversation topics range from how to get a five-year-old to fall asleep on her own, to more difficult conversations later on about drinking and driving for the parents of 17-year-olds. For almost 20 years, these discussion groups, led by trained parent facilitators, have created a culture of conversation and connectivity among Park parents, demonstrated by the “Park Connects moments” — as parents call them — that now take place every day, in the carpool line, on the sidelines of a game, or in a phone call. As decades of research confirm, there’s no question that a more connected community provides a healthier and safer environment for all of our children.

For these Parent Facilitated Discussions, the Park Health Team will provide topics ahead of time in addition to materials and resources to help educate parents and guide their conversations. Members of Park’s Health Team will be present for these discussions to answer questions and share their knowledge on what they’re seeing on the ground. After an initial conversation, Park staff will step out of the meeting to allow parents to continue the discussions as they see fit. 

Resources

Park’s Health Team has created a large database of resources (articles, books, lectures, podcasts, etc.) that will be accessible to Park parents. These resources are intended to provide parenting education about developmentally appropriate topics that parents can access in a convenient way as needed. 

Health Team Happy Hours

Get to know us! Park’s Health Team will host two meet and greet happy hours where our counselors and health educators will introduce themselves and share about divisional specific goals and initiatives. Parents will be able to connect with each other and get to know our health team in an informal — and fun! — way.

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2024-2025 Park Connects Calendar

month/date	grade level/EVENT	time
OCTOBER Tuesday, October 1 Wednesday, October 9 Tuesday, October 15	Pre-K – Grade 2 Parent Discussion Health Team Happy Hour Grades 4–6 Human Sexuality with Debbie	6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m.
NOVEMBER Wednesday, November 13	Grades 9–10 Parent/Student Workshop	6:30 p.m.
DECEMBER Wednesday, December 4	Grades 6–8	7 p.m.
JANUARY Wednesday, January 8	Pre-K–Grade 3 Human Sexuality with Debbie	6:30 p.m.
MARCH Thursday, March 6 Monday, March 10	Grades 9–12 Grades 3–5	7 p.m 6:30 p.m.
APRIL Wednesday, April 30	Health Team Happy Hour	6:30 p.m.

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Park Connects Team

Park Connects programs and activities are created and run by a team of Park School faculty and staff and advised by parent volunteers.