BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//panhandlepartnership.com//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.30. 10// CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH UID:bdcaeb1d-fcf0-4640-83b8-418b70c6fc2b X-WR-CALDESC:Join us for the 2025 Western Nebraska School Mental Health Con ference!\n\nSchedule:\n\n8:00 a.m. - Registration Open\n9:00 a.m. - Welcom e-Housekeeping\n9:10 a.m. - Keynote\n10:10 a.m. - Ignite\n10:20 a.m. - Bra in Break\n10:35 a.m. - Breakout Session 1\n11:35 a.m. - Lunch\n12:35 p.m. - Breakout Session 2\n1:35 p.m. - Brain Break\n1:50 p.m. - Panel - Youth \n2:50 p.m. - Door Prizes/Closing\n\nBreakout Sessions Include:\nAlcohol: The History and Effects on Our Native People by Edison Red Nest III \nWe w ill approach the not too often talked about issue of Alcohol use. There ar e not a lot of presenters on the dangers of alcohol and there are definite ly not alot of adults talking about alcohol to our youth. We will talk abo ut factors that led up to the 1933 Indian Prohibition Act\, which prohibit ed Natives from buying or possessing alcohol. We will also talk about the repeal of the Act in 1953 and the devastating effects it has caused in the 72 years since repeal.\n\nObjectives: \n1. To educate our youth on the dan gers of alcohol.\n2. To educate the professionals\, teachers\, adults\, etc .\, about the dangers of alcohol.\n3. To help students identify the people in their life that truly want change versus those who only say they do. \n \nIntended Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Counselors\, Counse ling Students\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Administrators\, Parent's\, Social Workers (Tier 1)\n\nBehind the Behavior: Calming the Storm Before i t Peaks by Nicole Berosek and Michelle Keszler\nChildren and teens don’t always have the words to express distress—sometimes\, their behavior speak s for them. This session will explore the escalation cycle\, from early tr iggers to peak crisis moments\, and offer practical strategies for de-esca lation. Learn how to recognize warning signs\, respond with confidence\, a nd create a supportive environment that helps students regulate and recove r. Whether you’re an educator or a parent\, these insights will empower yo u to turn moments of crisis into opportunities for connection and growth. \n\nObjectives:\n1. Identify the stages of the escalation cycle and recogni ze early warning signs of distress.\n2. Understand how trauma influences st udent behavior and emotional responses.\n3. Apply practical\, trauma-inform ed strategies to de-escalate challenging situations and support regulation .\n\nIntended Audience: School Counselors\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Administrators\, Parents (Tier 2)\n\nBrain-Wise Calm: Using NMT to De-Esc alate with Compassion and Precision by Dan Fox and Dr. Katie Carrizales\nT his session explores how the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) c an inform effective\, trauma-sensitive de-escalation strategies. Participa nts will learn how brain development and regulation patterns impact behavi or\, and how to respond in ways that promote safety\, connection\, and hea ling. Through real-world examples and practical tools\, this training empo wers professionals to “decode” dysregulation and intervene in a way that’s both brain-wise and relationship-centered.\n\nObjectives:\n1. Identify the core principles of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) and ex plain how they relate to stress response and behavioral escalation.\n2. Rec ognize the signs of dysregulation in children and youth\, and match them w ith appropriate\, developmentally-informed de-escalation strategies.\n3. Ap ply real world/ NMT-informed techniques to real-life scenarios in order to respond to escalated behavior with greater effectiveness and empathy.\n\n Target Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Counselors\, Counselin g Students\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Administrators\, Parents (Tier 1)\n\nCloseGap by Sarah Lewis\nUse of the website Close Gap to monitor stu dent needs on a daily basis. Closegap is a wellbeing app designed to help students cope with life\, using daily strategies. The app is aimed at use by teachers\, school counselors\, social workers\, and admins to be worke d on with students. The app was created for K-12 students primarily as a w ay to support mental health through good practices and offer early crisis intervention. \n\nObjectives:\n1. To showcase the use of CloseGap.\n2. Learn how to better meet student needs using this app.\n3. To learn how the Clos eGap data can help with SEL and the tiered approach.\n\nIntended Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Counselors\, Counseling Students\, Teac hers and Para Educators\, Administrators\, Social Workers (Tier 1) \n\nFou ndational Restorative Practices: Building Belonging by Kirsten Kastens and Sara Gentry\nDiscover the 'why' behind Restorative Practices and explore the powerful impact it can have on school culture. In this session\, parti cipants will learn the benefits of restorative approaches and experience t he connection and inclusion that come from participating in a restorative circle. Come ready to reflect\, share\, and build community. \n\nObjective s: \n1. Understand the rationale for implementing restorative practices i n schools\, including how they support a positive and inclusive school cli mate.\n2. Identify key benefits of foundational restorative practices for students\, educators\, and the broader school community.\n3. Engage in a r estorative circle experience to gain insight into the process and feel the impact of belonging and shared voice. \n\nIntended Audience: School Coun selors\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Administrators (Tier 1)\n\nInternet Safety in Schools by Nathan Favaloro \nThis presentation will delve into the importance of Internet safety (including social media). This includes information on netiquette and other online behaviors that occur when onlin e. This also includes the positives and negatives of social media. Resourc es will also be included in this presentation.\n\nObjectives: \n1. Provide information for Internet safety\n2. Explore the use of the Internet.\n3. Discuss the positives and negatives of social media\n\nIntended Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Counselors\, Teachers and Para Educator s\, Administrators\, Parents (Tier I)\n\nMedical Marijuana’s Impact on a S chool Community by Jay Martin\nWhat does medical marijuana look like in a school setting? Students and school staff may have a medical marijuana car d\; however\, this is not medicine from a pharmacy or growing naturally. I t is produced in a warehouse with an extract component of high potency THC . Youth use concerns with these high concentrates of THC includes the cont ent in vape cartridges\, edibles products\, and the misinformation digital media platforms provide to young minds. Awareness with tobacco\, alcohol\ , opioids\, fentanyl\, and other substances affecting youth mental health also will be addressed. What can be done to change youth substance use?\n \nObjectives: (Educational Level: Intermediate) - 1 CE CREDIT AVAILABLE\n1 . Describe the difference between ditch weed marijuana and high potency ma rijuana and how youth use impacts mental health and well-being.\n2. Identi fy the impact of high potency THC use on an adolescent's brain as compared to an adult's brain.\n3. Discuss the potential of high potency THC and it s impact on youth mental health\, physical health\, and overall well-being .\n4. Prepare school communities with identifiable concerns and to create a plan to combat potential issues.\n\n\nTarget Audience: School Counselors \, Mental Health Counselors\, Counseling Students\, Teachers and Para Educ ators\, Administrators\, Parents (Tier 1)\n\nTeach\, Support\, Thrive: Tie red Tools for Addressing Student Anxiety by Dr. Erika Franta\, Dr. Kaitlyn Young\, and Dr. Mindy Chadwell\n\nAnxiety is diagnosed in 9.4% of youth a ged 3-17 (Bitsko et al.\, 2022 ). More specifically\, an estimated 31.9% o f adolescents aged 13-18 have an anxiety disorder (Kessler et al.\, 2005). Since the beginning of the pandemic\, however\, youth report of anxiety s ymptoms has shown a statistically significant increase (Magson et al.\, 20 21 ). Media exposure (e.g.\, social media\, television\, newspapers) and s ocial connectedness\, in particular\, moderate the symptoms of anxiety bet ween pre-pandemic anxiety scores and during-pandemic anxiety scores for 13 -16-year-olds (Magson et al.\, 2021). Importantly\, it has been identified that higher levels of anxiety in elementary\, middle\, and high school yo uth negatively impacts school performance (Mazzone et al.\, 2007 ). These data demonstrate the growing need for schools to support children and adol escents in managing symptoms of anxiety.\n\nAnxiety symptoms affect a sign ificant portion of Nebraska’s youth\, with rates mirroring national trends . Since the pandemic\, anxiety symptoms have increased\, negatively impact ing academic performance. Given that nearly 75% of youth receiving mental health support do so in schools\, Nebraska educators play a critical role in early identification and intervention. However\, staffing shortages and limited access to licensed mental health professionals hinder effective s upport. There is a growing need to build educators ‘and other school profe ssional’s knowledge and skills in addressing symptoms of anxiety. The purp ose of this session is to promote and build the knowledge and capacity amo ng participants to assess anxiety\, as well as implement strategies across all three tiers of support to aid youth who are experiencing symptoms of anxiety.\n\nThis session aims to equip Nebraska school professionals with practical skills to assess and address anxiety across elementary\, middle\ , and high school settings. This session will provide a function-based and developmentally specific understanding of anxiety symptoms as they manife st in school environments. Participants will gain insight into how anxiety presents at different ages and how targeted approaches can improve studen t outcomes will also be provided. Participants will also explore accessibl e screening tools\, evidence-based interventions\, and multi-tiered strate gies tailored to Nebraska’s educational landscape. Additionally\, they wil l receive a curated list of resources designed for school psychologists\, teachers\, social workers\, and counselors to ensure effective implementat ion. \n\nObjectives: \n1. Participants will build an understanding of the f unction of anxiety.\n2. Participants will build capacity in recognizing anx iety symptoms as they present in the educational setting.\n3. Participants will identify appropriate universal\, selected\, and indicated interventio ns for anxiety. \n\nTarget Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Cou nselors\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Social Workers (Tier 1)\n\nUnderst anding and Supporting Adoption/Guardianship Children for Educators by Sara h Birnie\nYouth who have been adopted or have permanency through guardians hip often face unique challenges inside of the classroom and beyond. Chall enges can range from emotional and behavioral issues as well as identity a nd coping struggles. It is crucial for educators to understand the challen ges as well as some tools to support youth who have been adopted or provid ed permanency of another sort. This proposal aims to outline training desi gned to help teachers\, counselors and other school staff to promote an in clusive learning environment.\n\nObjectives: \n1. Understand challenges fac ed by youth who are adopted or in a guardianship.\n2. Learn strategies for creating inclusion in the classroom.\n3. Understand how to foster positive relationships with adopted students.\n4. Identify resources and support sys tems available to help adopted youth thrive\n\nIntended Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Counselors\, Counseling Students\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Administrators\, Social Workers\, Any staff working with children. (Tier 2)\n\nThis conference has been approved for 2.0 continuin g education credits for psychologists across sessions as indicated.\n\nThe University of Nebraska Public Policy Center (NUPPC) is approved by the Am erican Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psych ologists. The NUPPC sponsors this event and maintains responsibility for t his program and its content.\n\n*Continuing education for psychologists ma y be used by other licensed behavioral health professionals. Please check with your licensing board. Continuing education credit is granted on a one credit per one instructional hour basis.\n\nJefco Hotel in Gordon for $83 .63 (including tax). Call 308-282-2935\nA block of rooms are reserved for the conference. X-WR-RELCALID:0d9d2511e0fc8c74b4172fbb3353d9c5 X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Denver BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Denver BEGIN:STANDARD TZNAME:MST DTSTART:20241103T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 RDATE:20251102T020000 RDATE:20261101T020000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZNAME:MDT DTSTART:20250309T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 RDATE:20260308T020000 RDATE:20270314T020000 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6ae11f46-c052-4b6d-aec6-f6e6cb1a01bd DTSTAMP:20260419T153310Z DESCRIPTION:Join us for the 2025 Western Nebraska School Mental Health Conf erence!\n\nSchedule:\n\n8:00 a.m. - Registration Open\n9:00 a.m. - Welcome -Housekeeping\n9:10 a.m. - Keynote\n10:10 a.m. - Ignite\n10:20 a.m. - Brai n Break\n10:35 a.m. - Breakout Session 1\n11:35 a.m. - Lunch\n12:35 p.m. - Breakout Session 2\n1:35 p.m. - Brain Break\n1:50 p.m. - Panel - Youth \n 2:50 p.m. - Door Prizes/Closing\n\nBreakout Sessions Include:\nAlcohol: Th e History and Effects on Our Native People by Edison Red Nest III \nWe wil l approach the not too often talked about issue of Alcohol use. There are not a lot of presenters on the dangers of alcohol and there are definitely not alot of adults talking about alcohol to our youth. We will talk about factors that led up to the 1933 Indian Prohibition Act\, which prohibited Natives from buying or possessing alcohol. We will also talk about the re peal of the Act in 1953 and the devastating effects it has caused in the 7 2 years since repeal.\n\nObjectives: \n1. To educate our youth on the dange rs of alcohol.\n2. To educate the professionals\, teachers\, adults\, etc.\ , about the dangers of alcohol.\n3. To help students identify the people in their life that truly want change versus those who only say they do. \n\n Intended Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Counselors\, Counseli ng Students\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Administrators\, Parent's\, So cial Workers (Tier 1)\n\nBehind the Behavior: Calming the Storm Before it Peaks by Nicole Berosek and Michelle Keszler\nChildren and teens don’t al ways have the words to express distress—sometimes\, their behavior speaks for them. This session will explore the escalation cycle\, from early trig gers to peak crisis moments\, and offer practical strategies for de-escala tion. Learn how to recognize warning signs\, respond with confidence\, and create a supportive environment that helps students regulate and recover. Whether you’re an educator or a parent\, these insights will empower you to turn moments of crisis into opportunities for connection and growth. \n \nObjectives:\n1. Identify the stages of the escalation cycle and recognize early warning signs of distress.\n2. Understand how trauma influences stud ent behavior and emotional responses.\n3. Apply practical\, trauma-informed strategies to de-escalate challenging situations and support regulation. \n\nIntended Audience: School Counselors\, Teachers and Para Educators\, A dministrators\, Parents (Tier 2)\n\nBrain-Wise Calm: Using NMT to De-Esca late with Compassion and Precision by Dan Fox and Dr. Katie Carrizales\nTh is session explores how the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) ca n inform effective\, trauma-sensitive de-escalation strategies. Participan ts will learn how brain development and regulation patterns impact behavio r\, and how to respond in ways that promote safety\, connection\, and heal ing. Through real-world examples and practical tools\, this training empow ers professionals to “decode” dysregulation and intervene in a way that’s both brain-wise and relationship-centered.\n\nObjectives:\n1. Identify the core principles of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) and exp lain how they relate to stress response and behavioral escalation.\n2. Reco gnize the signs of dysregulation in children and youth\, and match them wi th appropriate\, developmentally-informed de-escalation strategies.\n3. App ly real world/ NMT-informed techniques to real-life scenarios in order to respond to escalated behavior with greater effectiveness and empathy.\n\nT arget Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Counselors\, Counseling Students\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Administrators\, Parents (Tier 1 )\n\nCloseGap by Sarah Lewis\nUse of the website Close Gap to monitor stud ent needs on a daily basis. Closegap is a wellbeing app designed to help students cope with life\, using daily strategies. The app is aimed at use by teachers\, school counselors\, social workers\, and admins to be worked on with students. The app was created for K-12 students primarily as a wa y to support mental health through good practices and offer early crisis i ntervention. \n\nObjectives:\n1. To showcase the use of CloseGap.\n2. Learn how to better meet student needs using this app.\n3. To learn how the Close Gap data can help with SEL and the tiered approach.\n\nIntended Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Counselors\, Counseling Students\, Teach ers and Para Educators\, Administrators\, Social Workers (Tier 1) \n\nFoun dational Restorative Practices: Building Belonging by Kirsten Kastens and Sara Gentry\nDiscover the 'why' behind Restorative Practices and explore t he powerful impact it can have on school culture. In this session\, partic ipants will learn the benefits of restorative approaches and experience th e connection and inclusion that come from participating in a restorative c ircle. Come ready to reflect\, share\, and build community. \n\nObjectives : \n1. Understand the rationale for implementing restorative practices in schools\, including how they support a positive and inclusive school clim ate.\n2. Identify key benefits of foundational restorative practices for s tudents\, educators\, and the broader school community.\n3. Engage in a re storative circle experience to gain insight into the process and feel the impact of belonging and shared voice. \n\nIntended Audience: School Couns elors\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Administrators (Tier 1)\n\nInternet Safety in Schools by Nathan Favaloro \nThis presentation will delve into t he importance of Internet safety (including social media). This includes i nformation on netiquette and other online behaviors that occur when online . This also includes the positives and negatives of social media. Resource s will also be included in this presentation.\n\nObjectives: \n1. Provide information for Internet safety\n2. Explore the use of the Internet.\n3. D iscuss the positives and negatives of social media\n\nIntended Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Counselors\, Teachers and Para Educators \, Administrators\, Parents (Tier I)\n\nMedical Marijuana’s Impact on a Sc hool Community by Jay Martin\nWhat does medical marijuana look like in a s chool setting? Students and school staff may have a medical marijuana card \; however\, this is not medicine from a pharmacy or growing naturally. It is produced in a warehouse with an extract component of high potency THC. Youth use concerns with these high concentrates of THC includes the conte nt in vape cartridges\, edibles products\, and the misinformation digital media platforms provide to young minds. Awareness with tobacco\, alcohol\, opioids\, fentanyl\, and other substances affecting youth mental health a lso will be addressed. What can be done to change youth substance use?\n\n Objectives: (Educational Level: Intermediate) - 1 CE CREDIT AVAILABLE\n1. Describe the difference between ditch weed marijuana and high potency mari juana and how youth use impacts mental health and well-being.\n2. Identify the impact of high potency THC use on an adolescent's brain as compared t o an adult's brain.\n3. Discuss the potential of high potency THC and its impact on youth mental health\, physical health\, and overall well-being. \n4. Prepare school communities with identifiable concerns and to create a plan to combat potential issues.\n\n\nTarget Audience: School Counselors\ , Mental Health Counselors\, Counseling Students\, Teachers and Para Educa tors\, Administrators\, Parents (Tier 1)\n\nTeach\, Support\, Thrive: Tier ed Tools for Addressing Student Anxiety by Dr. Erika Franta\, Dr. Kaitlyn Young\, and Dr. Mindy Chadwell\n\nAnxiety is diagnosed in 9.4% of youth ag ed 3-17 (Bitsko et al.\, 2022 ). More specifically\, an estimated 31.9% of adolescents aged 13-18 have an anxiety disorder (Kessler et al.\, 2005). Since the beginning of the pandemic\, however\, youth report of anxiety sy mptoms has shown a statistically significant increase (Magson et al.\, 202 1 ). Media exposure (e.g.\, social media\, television\, newspapers) and so cial connectedness\, in particular\, moderate the symptoms of anxiety betw een pre-pandemic anxiety scores and during-pandemic anxiety scores for 13- 16-year-olds (Magson et al.\, 2021). Importantly\, it has been identified that higher levels of anxiety in elementary\, middle\, and high school you th negatively impacts school performance (Mazzone et al.\, 2007 ). These d ata demonstrate the growing need for schools to support children and adole scents in managing symptoms of anxiety.\n\nAnxiety symptoms affect a signi ficant portion of Nebraska’s youth\, with rates mirroring national trends. Since the pandemic\, anxiety symptoms have increased\, negatively impacti ng academic performance. Given that nearly 75% of youth receiving mental h ealth support do so in schools\, Nebraska educators play a critical role i n early identification and intervention. However\, staffing shortages and limited access to licensed mental health professionals hinder effective su pport. There is a growing need to build educators ‘and other school profes sional’s knowledge and skills in addressing symptoms of anxiety. The purpo se of this session is to promote and build the knowledge and capacity amon g participants to assess anxiety\, as well as implement strategies across all three tiers of support to aid youth who are experiencing symptoms of a nxiety.\n\nThis session aims to equip Nebraska school professionals with p ractical skills to assess and address anxiety across elementary\, middle\, and high school settings. This session will provide a function-based and developmentally specific understanding of anxiety symptoms as they manifes t in school environments. Participants will gain insight into how anxiety presents at different ages and how targeted approaches can improve student outcomes will also be provided. Participants will also explore accessible screening tools\, evidence-based interventions\, and multi-tiered strateg ies tailored to Nebraska’s educational landscape. Additionally\, they will receive a curated list of resources designed for school psychologists\, t eachers\, social workers\, and counselors to ensure effective implementati on. \n\nObjectives: \n1. Participants will build an understanding of the fu nction of anxiety.\n2. Participants will build capacity in recognizing anxi ety symptoms as they present in the educational setting.\n3. Participants w ill identify appropriate universal\, selected\, and indicated intervention s for anxiety. \n\nTarget Audience: School Counselors\, Mental Health Coun selors\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Social Workers (Tier 1)\n\nUndersta nding and Supporting Adoption/Guardianship Children for Educators by Sarah Birnie\nYouth who have been adopted or have permanency through guardiansh ip often face unique challenges inside of the classroom and beyond. Challe nges can range from emotional and behavioral issues as well as identity an d coping struggles. It is crucial for educators to understand the challeng es as well as some tools to support youth who have been adopted or provide d permanency of another sort. This proposal aims to outline training desig ned to help teachers\, counselors and other school staff to promote an inc lusive learning environment.\n\nObjectives: \n1. Understand challenges face d by youth who are adopted or in a guardianship.\n2. Learn strategies for c reating inclusion in the classroom.\n3. Understand how to foster positive r elationships with adopted students.\n4. Identify resources and support syst ems available to help adopted youth thrive\n\nIntended Audience: School C ounselors\, Mental Health Counselors\, Counseling Students\, Teachers and Para Educators\, Administrators\, Social Workers\, Any staff working with children. (Tier 2)\n\nThis conference has been approved for 2.0 continuing education credits for psychologists across sessions as indicated.\n\nThe University of Nebraska Public Policy Center (NUPPC) is approved by the Ame rican Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psycho logists. The NUPPC sponsors this event and maintains responsibility for th is program and its content.\n\n*Continuing education for psychologists may be used by other licensed behavioral health professionals. Please check w ith your licensing board. Continuing education credit is granted on a one credit per one instructional hour basis.\n\nJefco Hotel in Gordon for $83. 63 (including tax). Call 308-282-2935\nA block of rooms are reserved for t he conference. DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20250922T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20250922T150000 LOCATION:Gordon-Rushville High School\, 810 N. Oak St.\, Gordon\, NE 69343 US SUMMARY:Western Nebraska School Mental Health Conference END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR