#NoOneEatsAlone

[brainboxschool]

National No One Eats Alone Day is a compassionate initiative aimed at combating social isolation and promoting inclusion within schools and communities. This day encourages students to reach out and make sure no one eats lunch alone in the school cafeteria. It emphasizes the importance of kindness, empathy, and friendship by fostering an environment where everyone feels welcomed and valued.

The concept behind National No One Eats Alone Day originated from Beyond Differences, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending social isolation among young people. The day serves as a reminder that simple gestures of inclusion can have a profound impact on individuals' emotional well-being and overall sense of belonging.

Schools across the country participate in various activities on this day to raise awareness about the harmful effects of social isolation and to promote a culture of inclusivity. These activities may include organized lunchtime events, educational assemblies, and discussions focused on empathy and acceptance.

[harvardfineartslib]

Please make sure that no one eats alone today! Because today is National No one eats alone day. Enjoy your meals with friends or even strangers!

Hunting luncheon party Troy, Jean Francois de, 1679-1752, French [artist] Materials/Techniques: oil on canvas Dimensions: 241 x 170 cm. French 1737 Repository: Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

[coupdehaha]

Fun event at Century today where students of various backgrounds are coming together to eat lunch with one another! No One Eats Alone!!Great job by all the participating clubs and staff members! I'll try and get some photos of the action at second lunch. #thisiscentury #nooneeatsalone (at Century High School)

[beyonddifferences-blog1]

Is Your Kid’s Smartphone Making Them Unhappy?

Today’s teenagers average over 6.5 hours per day of screen time. Being connected is literally a full-time job for them, possibly explaining why the number of teens holding a part-time job has dropped dramatically. They have more leisure time and 24/7 social access. But is it making them happy? Overall, the answer is a resounding No.  Studies are very clear that the more time kids spend on their smartphones, the higher their level of unhappiness. More screen time, less happiness. More time spent on offline activities, more happiness. That’s true even if what they’re doing offline is homework. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media can be a positive influence, helping kids to connect with others. Many teens use platforms like Facebook and Instagram to document their lives. Like scrapbooking in real-time with an audience. But what happens when that audience is critical instead of supportive? Or just unresponsive? Experts frequently warn about the dangers of bullying. But isolation can be just as emotionally damaging.  Too many teens view their own worth through the lens of their Likes and Shares. When that validation isn’t there, they can misinterpret a lack of response to their posts as a statement on their individual worth.

MISSING CHILDHOOD?

An even bigger issue for happiness is what kids aren’t doing because they’re spending all their time online. They’re not spending time in person with friends. Since 2000, the number of teenagers who spend time in person with friends every day has dropped over 40%.  Our teens are becoming isolated. Social media can be fun, but it doesn’t replace going to the mall, taking a hike, hanging out at the local coffee shop, or any of the many ways that teens used to connect in person before they were glued to their smartphones.

WHAT CAN PARENTS DO?

Limit screen time.No one needs to spend more time online than in school.

Invite friends over. Take your kids to a movie, museum, or coffee shop with friends.  And remember not to overthink it. Teen hangouts don’t need to be expensive or planned far in advance. Last minute sleepovers or movie nights with microwave popcorn and streaming films work too.

Resistant teen? Consider hosting a game night at your home. Game night at your house provides a safe space for teens to interact in person.

—-

Linda McCarthy is an accomplished computer security expert with 20+ years of industry experience. She started her security career when Sun Microsystems asked her to break into systems around the world to test the security on Sun’s network. Her passion for family online security began when the teens on McCarthy’s home network compromised its security and shut down the entire network. McCarthy is a nationally recognized author with over 3.5 million of her ebooks downloaded. She has partnered with companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and the Home Shopping Network and with the help of her partners have distributed millions of her books to teens, families, and teachers around the globe. Hacker Up on Facebook Security, Digital Drama, IT Security: Risking the Corporation, Intranet Security: Stories from the Trenches, Own Your Space: Keep Yourself and Your Stuff Safe Online, and An Online Reputation that Counts.

---

Beyond Differences offers innovative Positive Prevention Initiatives for middle schools. These initiatives include National Awareness Day events, Student Leadership Training, and Original Curriculum. They are free, easy to use, and will succeed in any type of school environment. While every school has students who feel socially isolated, each school has different needs so administrators and teachers can choose from flexible options that best fit their local school culture.

Know Your Classmates - Students learn self-awareness to help them understand their own unique identities better, as well as how to accept and appreciate the unique differences in others. #KnowYourClassmates

No One Eats Alone - Students eat lunch with those they don’t normally socialize with, learn how to spot others who are left out and ways to include them. #NoOneEatsAlone

Be Kind Online - Students learn how to spot social isolation in the online environment, how to practice and respond to digital gossip and to stand up for themselves and others. #BeKindOnline

[univisionaz]

HOY, 9 de Febrero, #NadieComeSolo. Esta semana, Health Net of Arizona y @CenpaticoAZ se unen para celebrar el dia de "Nadie Come Solo", creado por la organizacion sin animo de lucro @beyonddifferences #ComparteAmor #NoOneEatsAlone. 😀🍴😃 http://ift.tt/2Eeig1y

[thesocialbarrel]

Safeguarding against cyber bullying and harassment [Infographic]

Safeguarding against cyber bullying and harassment [Infographic]

[dropcap]C[/dropcap]yber bullying and cyber harassment have gotten a lot of attention lately. In the United States, First Lady Melania Trump has made this her special cause to tackle as First Lady, and she recently visited a Michigan middle school to kick off her #nooneeatsalone campaign aimed at promoting inclusiveness in the lunch room. Preventing bullying is crucial to preventing all the…

[cufaddi]

HuffPost

Melania Trump's Bullying Prevention Plans Are Still Mysterious HuffPost First lady Melania Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 26, 2017. 550. WASHINGTON ― Last week, first lady Melania Trump went to a middle school in a Detroit suburb to promote #NoOneEatsAlone — an initiative that encourages kids ... Trump is 'very intelligent.' Just ask himLos Angeles Times President Trump, first lady meet mini-Melania trick-or-treaterFox News Photos of the WeekWhitehouse.gov (press release) Elite Daily all 107 news articles »

from Top Stories - Google News http://ift.tt/2iRoe2M

[zeeshanhaider20]

HuffPost

Melania Trump's Bullying Prevention Plans Are Still Mysterious HuffPost First lady Melania Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 26, 2017. 550. WASHINGTON ― Last week, first lady Melania Trump went to a middle school in a Detroit suburb to promote #NoOneEatsAlone — an initiative that encourages kids ... Trump is 'very intelligent.' Just ask himLos Angeles Times President Trump, first lady meet mini-Melania trick-or-treaterFox News Photos of the WeekWhitehouse.gov (press release) Elite Daily all 107 news articles »

from Top Stories - Google News http://ift.tt/2yhTsXp

[breakingnewsheadlines]

HuffPost

Melania Trump's Bullying Prevention Plans Are Still Mysterious HuffPost First lady Melania Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 26, 2017. 550. WASHINGTON ― Last week, first lady Melania Trump went to a middle school in a Detroit suburb to promote #NoOneEatsAlone — an initiative that encourages kids ... Trump is 'very intelligent.' Just ask himLos Angeles Times President Trump, first lady meet mini-Melania trick-or-treaterFox News Photos of the WeekWhitehouse.gov (press release) Elite Daily all 107 news articles »

from Top Stories - Google News http://ift.tt/2yhTsXp

[tremendouscollectionninja]

HuffPost

Melania Trump's Bullying Prevention Plans Are Still Mysterious HuffPost First lady Melania Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 26, 2017. 550. WASHINGTON ― Last week, first lady Melania Trump went to a middle school in a Detroit suburb to promote #NoOneEatsAlone — an initiative that encourages kids ... Trump is 'very intelligent.' Just ask himLos Angeles Times President Trump, first lady meet mini-Melania trick-or-treaterFox News Photos of the WeekWhitehouse.gov (press release) Elite Daily all 107 news articles »

from Top Stories - Google News http://ift.tt/2iRoe2M

[laurentuck]

Melania Trump wears £1,760 pink coat to promote anti-bullying campaign in Michigan

Melania Trump sits with students in Michigan [Photo: AP]

On Monday, Melania Trump headed to Michigan to meet with middle school students. Accompanied by the US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who is from the state, the pair kicked off the White House’s ‘Week of Inclusion’ as part of National Bullying Prevention Month and the first lady’s anti-bullying campaign.

Wearing a £1,760 Valentino double breasted wool peacoat in cherry blossom, a similar colour to the coat she draped over her shoulders during her inauguration dress’s induction ceremony into the Smithsonian, FLOTUS went for a business casual look with grey slacks and a matching sweater to eat lunch with kids at Orchard Lake Middle School in West Bloomfield.

Melania chose a rather expensive pink Valentino coat [Photo: AP]

“I encourage you to find a new friend and eat with your new friend,” Trump said during the meal, according to the Detroit Free Press. “Ask them what they like, what their hobbies are.” She also noted that there wasn’t a lot of mingling of the sexes in the cafeteria. “I see tables only girls and tables only boys. Maybe you can get together and become friends. Agree?”

FLOTUS’s tour of the school included a visit to a classroom of sixth graders as well and told them, “I always believe in treating others with respect and kindness and compassion.”

Throughout the day, Trump shook hands and posed for selfies with the students. She took to Twitter to share photos after the visit and shared that it was a “wonderful” experience. “Thank you for having me,” she added.

Wonderful to see kind children at Orchard Lake Middle School in Michigan! Thank you for having me! #nooneeatsalone pic.twitter.com/0m1k2OwTXZ

— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 24, 2017

Before heading back to Washington, D.C., she met with Michigan State Police and posed for a group photo in which her pink coat stood out amongst those in their brown and blue uniforms.

Thank you for all you do! @MichStatePolice @oaklandsheriff @WestBlmfldPD W Bloomfield Fire Dept & Waterford Police Dept

A post shared by First Lady Melania Trump (@flotus) on Oct 23, 2017 at 6:51pm PDT

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Read more from Yahoo Style UK:

Melania Trump goes to work in dress designed by Samantha Cameron

Melania Trump’s inaugural ball gown has been cemented in history

Blake Lively and Melania Trump wore the same Ralph Lauren suit

[beyonddifferences-blog1]

13 Reasons Why - To watch or not to watch?

This post looks at 13 Reasons Why, the Netflix series produced by Selena Gomez based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Jay Asher. A deeply disturbing series about teen suicide, parents should know that the series depicts bullying, abuse, drunk driving, slut shaming, and physical rape, as well as portraying an actual suicide on screen in graphic detail.  While aimed at 15-year-olds, officials from middle schools across the country are concerned that much younger children are not only watching – but binge-watching – the series.

BASIC INFO

13 Reasons Why is a fictional controversial series that documents specific circumstances that contribute to the main character’s (Hannah Backer) decision to commit suicide. The series covers difficult subjects like abandonment, reckless behavior, rape, social isolation, withdrawal, and bullying. The storyline focuses around a series of tapes that Hannah made before her suicide, explaining why she decided to kill herself.

It’s difficult to wrap your brain around this series because Hannah has so much going for her; she is funny, beautiful, and smart.  As the story unfolds, you quickly get a sense of her feelings of hopelessness and desperation. But in each episode, the warning signs going unnoticed.

While Hannah meets with her school counselor, Mr. Porter, she shares her despair, telling the counselor that she just “wants it all to stop” and “doesn’t care about anything anymore.” Before she kills herself, she records 13 tapes describing her reasons for committing suicide. Mr. Porter’s indifference to her pain is one of them. Rather than take Hannah seriously, he leaves her alone to face her pain, taking a phone call instead.

POSITIVES

Some students have used this heart-wrenching series to create positive learning lessons for students at their school. Rather than focus on the negative, students at Oxford High School in Michigan created a project called “13 Reasons Why Not.” They share tapes showing their real struggles to students every morning. The project is described as honoring the memory of 15-year-old Oxford student Megan Abbott who committed suicide in 2013.

CONCERNS

Mental health professionals in multiple countries have expressed concern that this show violates the World Health Organization's guidelines on media coverage of suicide designed to prevent the occurrence of copycat or “contagion” suicides. Among other gross violations, the suicide itself is shown in graphic detail.

Parents are left wondering whether allowing teens to watch this series poses a health risk. They aren’t the only ones concerned. Because of the risk of contagion suicides, for the first time ever, the National Association of School Psychologists issued an advisory on a television show.  Were their fears justified?

Possibly. A study published in the Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) found that Google searches for “how to commit suicide” surged 26% in the 19 days following the broadcast premier of 13 Reasons Why.  

School officials in Florida were concerned enough to send a letter home to parents, reporting increases in actual occurrences of elementary and middle school students involved in self-mutilation, threats of suicide, and temporary commitment for psychiatric evaluation, noting that: “Students involved in the recent incidents have articulated associations of their at­-risk behavior to the 13 Reasons Why Netflix series.”

At least two recent teen suicides have been linked, by surviving relatives, to watching the Netflix series.  Two unconnected California 15 year olds committed suicide only days after watching the show.  The uncle of one girl told local news KTVU, “I feel it’s dangerous for that small percentage of young adults who the show can become a trigger for them and I feel as if the show gives only one alternative for cyberbullying and other teenage issues.”  In a third, widely reported case, a 23-year-old man from Peru not only committed suicide after watching the series, but left behind tapes –mimicking the plot of the Netflix series.

Just as important is what the series doesn’t cover.  It never talks about depression and how important it is to reach out to someone for help. It really missed the opportunity to drive that message home to every teen who sees it.  

TAKE AWAYS

This series is NOT appropriate for middle school students.

It may also be inappropriate for older teens.  Teens who have been bullied or suffered from depression, and any teens who have suffered from self-harming behavior or trauma, should NOT watch this series.

If you allow your at-risk teen to watch, please restrict watching to one episode at a time rather than binge-watching, and watch with your child.

Parents can use this show to talk with them about teen suicide.  Explain how important it is to reach out for help, talk to someone they trust, and make sure they know about the National Suicide Crisis Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255.

OPINIONS

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in youth age 10-18, surpassed only by accidents. Experts are nearly unanimous in their opinion that media representations of suicide increase the likelihood of contagion suicides. Ideally, this is not a show that teens – especially younger teens – should be exposed to. Unfortunately, this show is already being watched and discussed by middle school and elementary school students.  Parents need to be aware of that and have appropriate discussions with their children.

“Although the overall message of 13 Reasons Why was trying to open up to the world about how real self-harm is, the show definitely has points that aren’t realistic. It was a good book but it wasn’t executed in a way that taught something on film.”

–      Lily, 11th grade member of Beyond Differences Teen Board

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Linda McCarthy is an accomplished computer security expert with 20+ years of industry experience. She started her security career when Sun Microsystems asked her to break into systems around the world to test the security on Sun’s network. Her passion for family online security began when the teens on McCarthy’s home network compromised its security and shut down the entire network. McCarthy is a nationally recognized author with over 3.5 million of her ebooks downloaded. She has partnered with companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and the Home Shopping Network and with the help of her partners have distributed millions of her books to teens, families, and teachers around the globe. Hacker Up on Facebook Security, Digital Drama, IT Security: Risking the Corporation, Intranet Security: Stories from the Trenches, Own Your Space: Keep Yourself and Your Stuff Safe Online, and An Online Reputation that Counts. 

----

Beyond Differences offers innovative Positive Prevention Initiatives for middle schools. These initiatives include National Awareness Day events, Student Leadership Training, and Original Curriculum. They are free, easy to use, and will succeed in any type of school environment. While every school has students who feel socially isolated, each school has different needs so administrators and teachers can choose from flexible options that best fit their local school culture.

Know Your Classmates - Students learn self-awareness to help them understand their own unique identities better, as well as how to accept and appreciate the unique differences in others. #KnowYourClassmates

No One Eats Alone - Students eat lunch with those they don't normally socialize with, learn how to spot others who are left out and ways to include them. #NoOneEatsAlone

Be Kind Online - Students learn how to spot social isolation in the online environment, how to practice and respond to digital gossip and to stand up for themselves and others. #BeKindOnline

[instapicsil1]

First lady Melania Trump took a surprise trip Monday to a middle school in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, and addressed a problem that many children are confronted with on a daily basis: bullying. She gave brief remarks to students in the cafeteria and sat in on a sixth-grade classroom discussion on social and emotional inclusion. “Ask them what they like, what their hobbies are, so nobody becomes sad or stressed and everybody feels included,” she said. “I think it’s important that we choose kindness and compassion.” The visit was part of her participation in a #NoOneEatsAlone Day event, a concept that encourages kids not to leave anyone out at lunchtime and was created by @beyonddifferences, a national organization that works to combat detrimental school culture and prevent bullying. 📸Kate Bennett/CNN #cnn #politics #news #firstlady #MelaniaTrump http://ift.tt/2zzbfWa

[instatrack]

First lady Melania Trump took a surprise trip Monday to a middle school in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, and addressed a problem that many children are confronted with on a daily basis: bullying. She gave brief remarks to students in the cafeteria and sat in on a sixth-grade classroom discussion on social and emotional inclusion. “Ask them what they like, what their hobbies are, so nobody becomes sad or stressed and everybody feels included,” she said. “I think it’s important that we choose kindness and compassion.” The visit was part of her participation in a #NoOneEatsAlone Day event, a concept that encourages kids not to leave anyone out at lunchtime and was created by @beyonddifferences, a national organization that works to combat detrimental school culture and prevent bullying. 📸Kate Bennett/CNN #cnn #politics #news #firstlady #MelaniaTrump http://ift.tt/2zzbfWa

[haiir-music]

Melania Trump Launches #NoOneEatsAlone Anti-Bullying Campaign http://ift.tt/2gxxlkr

[ramthewild]

Wowza! Day 40 of celebration year! We celebrated 40 days so far :) Thanks for joining me on this journey 🌎🎉 Today I acknowledged, #pizzaday #bagelday #nooneeatsalone and #toothacheday please be mindful of the food you eat, and also how you eat the food. Eat foods like snacks, bagels and pizza in moderation. With today as an exception for delicious #pizza I don’t eat it too often anymore. The No one eats alone campaign was initiated for middle schools so children won’t be isolated or unintentionally isolated when eating during lunch time. It’s very positive to eat socially which people you like. Keep learning everyday and celebrate something! #blog #celebrationyear #celebrationlife #dailycelebration #ram #glw #life #goodluckwhatever #amazing #videolog #fun #comedy #video #fabulous #energy #happiness #life #earth #mood #challenge #keepgoing #cometogether #loveeveryone #betterworld #bettertomorrow #vlog #bagel #pizza #food (at Middlesex County, New Jersey)