Helping Children Thrive: Well-Being & Achievement

What does a successful student look like — straight A’s, confident, kind? At our recent Head of School Coffee, parents explored this question with Dr. Priscilla Bade, SSIS’s new Director of Counseling & Psychological Services.

Among the one hundred attendees, there was an even balance of parents from Elementary, Middle, and High School, all interested in learning more about how to best support their children’s growth and well-being.

The session began with a live poll. As parents answered the question: "What does a successful student look like?" their responses formed a word cloud on the big screen: happy, confident, kind, balanced, independent, revealing how similar our hopes and dreams are for our children. “This is exactly where success begins,” said Dr. Bade, leading her first parent session at SSIS.

With a PhD in School Psychology and over 20 years of experience in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, Dr. Bade highlighted how student well-being is inseparable from achievement. Two clear themes stood out from her presentation: sleep is the cornerstone of learning, and co-regulation is a proven tool for calm and collection.

Sleep as the Cornerstone of Learning and Well-Being

Delving into the essential role of sleep, Dr. Bade explained that during sleep, the brain is not resting, but actively “cleaning the cabinets and reorganizing.” Connections are sorted, memories are consolidated, and new learning is stored. 

“This recovery is when the learning happens,” she emphasized.

A study from MIT shows that students who get enough sleep perform significantly better on standardized tests, Dr. Bade shared. Beyond academics, regular sleep strengthens emotional stability, supports problem-solving, and even reduces the risk of anxiety and depression.

Co-Regulation and Guiding Through Calm

Co-regulation is the idea that children learn to manage their emotions best when adults first manage their own emotions. “Pause, regulate yourself, then connect with your child before reasoning together,” Dr. Bade explained.

To show the difference, she invited Head of School Dr. Catriona Moran to a role play. Together, they demonstrated two ways a parent might respond to a teenager who is upset about a poor test grade. In the first scenario, the feeling of frustration escalated. In the second, calm acknowledgment opened the door to problem-solving. 

Stages of Brain Development Series

To help parents understand the stages of brain development, Dr. Bade introduced a “kitchen” analogy, sharing that a child’s early years are the design stage, their elementary years are like a working kitchen, and adolescence is an ongoing remodel. The kitchen imagery made the science of growth simple and relatable, and several parents asked for additional guidance tailored to their child’s age.

As a follow-up to this session, we will publish a blog series of actionable tips and strategies for parents in each division: Elementary, Middle, and High School, as well as a special blog post for Early Childhood parents.

Learning Together, as a Community

From start to finish, the presentation reflected the kind of parent partnership opportunities SSIS provides. Parents participated in live polls, shared reflections at their tables, and practiced short mindfulness strategies they could take home to try with their children. 

"I'm so grateful to SSIS for these opportunities," said one new parent. "Childhood looks so different today than it did when I was a child, and we want help understanding how to support our children."

Ending with jotting down one personal commitment to support their child’s well-being in the weeks ahead, parents took an intentional step to build new habits over time. These commitments mirror our broader focus as a school: to keep student well-being at the heart of learning.

That focus will continue throughout the year. On September 30, online safety expert Tom Pinfield will visit SSIS to speak with parents and students about navigating the internet responsibly, an issue that directly touches on both well-being and achievement.

By creating shared opportunities for reflection and learning, SSIS aims to strengthen the partnership between home and school, so that all of our students flourish as balanced, confident, and caring people, becoming their very best selves.