Dear SJV Families,

I pray you are all safe and healthy. As we continue to walk this unfamiliar journey, it is understandable to have feelings of stress, fear, and/or anxiety in your family. This letter contains many resources that can help us take care of our minds, bodies, and souls during our extended stay at home.

Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, but experts tell us there are several things we can do to support ourselves and our loved ones:

• Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media.
• Take care of your body. Take deep breaths and stretch. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep.
• Take care of your spirit. Pray by yourself and with your family daily. Speak honestly to God about your concerns and feelings, and make sure to leave plenty of silent time to listen for God’s response.
• Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.
• Connect with others. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.
• Try to keep up with regular routines. For children, create a schedule for learning activities and relaxing or fun activities.

Our faith is perhaps our greatest help during these times. The diocesan website has a page that links to all the parishes in Spokane that are streaming the Mass, and our own SJV website has a page dedicated to Faith Resources as well as a page to help you talk with your children. I also recommend a new video from Formed.org that addresses the current crisis from the perspective of Sacred Scripture: Finding Peace in Troubled Times.

We have also been in contact with Dr. Addy Wissel and the School Counselor Education Program at Gonzaga University, and we are happy to say that we are continuing our partnership to support the SJV students. The Gonzaga school counselor students are working on creating videos for teachers to share with their classes that will address the social/emotional needs our students.

I imagine that one of the major sources of stress and anxiety right now is the uncertain financial situation you may find yourself in. If you are in financial difficulties because of the current state of affairs, please know that I am available if you need to talk about your financial commitment to St. John Vianney. You can reach me via email at nsenger@sjvspokane.org and I am happy to call or even schedule a virtual video meeting with you.

We hope that our #SJVspirit Week activities give you and your children a chance to have some fun this week. Please send your spirit week pictures to office@sjvspokane.org if you want us to share them on our Facebook and Instagram accounts. Or, share them yourself on your own accounts and tag the school so we can see them.

We continue to place our trust in God, who continues to walk with us through this challenging time.

In Christ,

Nick Senger, Principal