The Reading Buddies are Back!

Who is excited for school to start?  Well - Volunteer Reading Buddies are - because we have MISSED seeing the kiddos!  The highlight of my week is Wednesday mornings as I race to Gillis to spend time with the kiddos AND spend time with a great group of volunteers who have become dear friends.  We all started with the common interest of helping a Gillis kiddo work on their reading - and what we all experienced instead was a Gillis kiddo teaching us some of life's most valuable lessons- like friendship, true laughter, patience when reading is hard and courage to try.  If you have not had a chance to stop by the Reading Program on Wednesdays at 10am, we would highly encourage you come on by!  It is guaranteed to put a smile on your face because we get to see the kiddos at their best - as their effort with the Reading Program is simply put - AWESOME.  So glad for school to start soon! 

Rhonda Meyer, Gillis Volunteer

A Boy’s Pants Poem from 1974

Back in the 1970’s Gillis used to have house moms who cared for our boys in residence. This poem was written by house mom Frances Strong on May 24, 2974.

 

A Boy’s Pants

He has pockets in his pants;

Sometimes they may have ants.

Usually though, there’s string or screws

Or clay or paper or metal he many use.

There are sometimes plastic pieces,

Ot there may be notes or paper planes.

You may find rocks or sand or board scraps

And don’t leave out sticks and also taps.

Sometimes a bug, or maybe a work

Or a chewed up pencil, or an eraser that’s worn

Or a toy car or ball that’s torn

May be among the treasures that make on squirm

Who could this critter be that

With all these things have such joy?

None other than a little rascal

Called an ordinary boy

June 19, 2013 – A Snapshot of Gillis

As I walked through the parking lot from my car after a meeting off campus today I was surrounded by all the sound and movement going on around me. I could hear peals of joy from the children in the swimming pool and another group of older boys playing basketball.  I could see a group of children assisting our Art/Farm teacher carry mulch to the path that leads to the extensive urban garden the children and staff have created and which we are presenting this weekend as a site on the Urban Farm Tour, sponsored by Cultivate KC. There was another class of students having their lesson out under a big tree. And there was a group of volunteers painting the curbs with bright yellow point. It was truly a collage of enthusiasm and happiness.

I was struck by the feeling that all this activity and all our dedicated staff and volunteers were providing a multitude of normal, healthy and healing experiences for the children we serve here at Gillis every day. Children who, no matter how much trauma and pain they have experienced in their young lives, can still play and work and learn and heal and relate in a positive way to caring adults. I am grateful that we can offer these normalizing and happy experiences to our hurt children because these are the kind of experiences that build resilience and “plant seeds” for healthy growth and that is what we are all about here.

Submitted by Mary Ellen Schaid, Gillis CEO/President

Baby Supply Drive

The North Kansas City Kiwanis group and the Hy-Vee at Englewood and North Oak generously offered to help out the Gillis little ones by offering to do a Baby Supply Drive at Hy-Vee. All Gillis had to do was provide a few volunteers and we were the proud recipients of 145 brand new baby items.

Gillis employee Dusty A. Scheiter, volunteered at the event and had this memorable experience with a generous donor:

“My favorite encounter of the day was a father who came into Hyvee with his 9 year old son and his 2 year old son (age approximations!). He listened to me talk about the baby item drive, took a flyer, and said he would help out. Shortly, his older son ran back out to where I was standing and asked if I had a certain size of diapers I wanted to which I replied that any size will help our babies in need. I was pleasantly surprised when this generous soul had two big boxes of pampers diapers that he had his boys hand to me as they were exiting the store. As I thanked him and his boys for this amazing gift, he looked at me and said "I have been there before and someone was kind enough to help me when I needed it."  I got teary eyed. I don't know this family's story but I was able to see a father pay it forward and show his son's what it means to give to others and to repay kindness that was once shown to them. AMAZING!!” 

Gillis would like to give a special thanks to NKC Kiwanis and Hy-Vee for all you have done for the Gillis children.

KCI Relays 2013

“First call 50 meter dash, first call boys softball throw, second call girls frisbee.” These are the sounds of the 2013 KCI Relays that occurred on May 11^th, at Center High School. KCI Relays is a track and field contest for boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 18. The meet was organized with the intention of providing youngsters in residential centers a chance to test their physical and social abilities. Agencies are invited from the greater Kansas City area. Ribbons for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th place finishers are presented to the winners. Team trophies are awarded to the top three finishers in each division. An Outstanding Male and Female Track Performers are also awarded individual trophies for their achievement.

Because of the nature of the children involved, a special effort is made to create numerous opportunities for individual success. For this reason, activities with varying degrees of competitiveness are included. An emphasis on the value of sportsmanship should prevail over that of winning and losing.  This emphasis should be part of the educational process which begins before the actual day of the meet,

The KCI Relays serve a special population and has been carefully and uniquely designed to enhance the potential for socialization experiences.

Staff from the participating agencies plays a significant role in the process as they provide individual support and guidance to help the youngsters deal with the realities of competition. The message conveyed is that the important factor is not winning, but taking part and giving one’s best effort. The boys and girls involved seem to accept this idea, as demonstrated by the absence of behavioral difficulties and the spirit of camaraderie.

The 2013 event was a huge success in many ways. Not only did kids who didn’t have tennis shoes to run in get those through a generous donor, but the Gillis youth fully participated, had a ton of fun and came out as winners!

Submitted by Pam Sanders, Gillis School Director

Graduation

Gillis school staff love this time of year and it's not because they are counting down the remaining days of the school year! It's because of the many high school graduation announcements arriving in the mail. Some include written notes from the graduate reminiscing about their days at Gillis and some include current pictures of young men and women proving that the days really do fly by.

These announcements provide proof that the seeds planted years ago through Gillis programming helped these young men and women find success in public school and ultimately reach graduation. The goal for each child from their very first day in the Gillis Therapeutic Day school is graduation. Teachers and support staff work alongside students to help each one achieve their academic goals, successfully manage their emotions and ultimately continue finding success and making academic progress through graduation.

Gillis is very proud of each student's success while at Gillis and for the years that follow. A few of our long term teaching staff posed for the picture below so we can return it with a congratulations card to each one of our students who is achieving graduation this May.

Congratulations graduates!

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) Defined

What is FFT? Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is an intervention designed to motivate family members to make positive change, learn new skills for communication, solve problems, and manage conflict and to understand the influence behaviors have on each member of the family. The intervention progresses through three phases: 1) engagement and motivation; 2) behavior change and 3) generalization. Each phase has defined rationales, goals and techniques designed to achieve positive outcomes.

Who is it for? This intervention targets youth aged 13-15 at risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system or first time offenders with the goal to reduce and/or prevent these youth from either entering or progressing through the juvenile justice system living in Jackson County, Missouri. The youth often present with risk factors related to school problems (e.g. truancy, poor grades, and behavior problems), poor self-control, impulsivity, and inadequate social skill development. Within the family, risk factors include lack of parental supervision, significant patterns of family conflict and history of problem behaviors. When families begin their participation in FFT they often have a feeling of hopelessness and are overwhelmed with the challenges of daily living.

How does it help? Families are able to make positive change. For example, one young client was able to return to a traditional school setting after participating in Functional Family Therapy. She had been completing her education online at home as her level of anger made it impossible for her to be successful in the classroom. During the intervention, the mother and daughter learned effective communication skills making it possible to manage conflicts in a constructive manner, practice effective skills for listening and discussing difficult topics and identify coping skills to regulate and manage emotions. Those skills were generalized to the school setting making it possible for her to return to school.

Submitted by Alana Titus, Gillis Clinical Director