Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence
Thursday September 24, 2009, 7 – 9 pm
Spangenberg Theatre, Gunn High School

Rachel Simmons, founder of the Girl’s Leadership Institute, will visit Gunn to speak about her new book, Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence.   Rachel is known for connecting easily with her audience and for inspiring and often funny presentations.  In this event she will touch on reasons why girls often believe that it is more important to be liked than to be an individual. She points out, however, that in order to become a successful, well-adjusted real girl, she needs to know how to say no to peers, ask for what she needs and express what she thinks.  Parents will find concrete strategies and tools—confidence-building exercises that emphasize emotional intelligence, self-evaluations, and lots of first-person stories—to help guide a girl's growth into a young woman who can respect and listen to her inner voice, say what she thinks, embrace her limits and present an authentic self to the world.  (see flyer)

Learn more about Rachel Simmons at her website, www.rachelsimmons.com

Sponsored by the Palo Alto Council of PTAs and The Los Altos-Mountain View Council of PTAs
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William Damon - The Path to Purpose: Helping Our Children Find Their Calling in Life
Tuesday November 17, 2009, 7 PM 
Gunn Library

William Damon is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, the director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence, and a professor of education at Stanford University.  Damon's current research explores how people develop character and a sense of purpose in their work, family, and community relationships. He examines how young people can approach their careers with a focus on purpose, imagination, and high standards of excellence.
His recent book, The Path To Purpose, is a groundbreaking examination of why young people today are struggling to find direction in their lives. “Short-term desires and immediate goals and motives come and go in all of our lives”, Damon writes, but “a purpose is an end in itself.”  Join the Gunn community to hear Damon urge young Americans to look past the pervasive culture of short horizons towards one of grander purpose to find lasting meaning and true happiness in life.  Professor Damon will present case studies of highly purposeful young people who demonstrate incredible commitments to global causes at exceptionally young ages. He highlights the common characteristics and experiences in these highly motivated individuals and spells out the sequence of steps that each has followed on their respective paths to purpose.

Sponsored by the Gunn High School PTSA
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Listen, Learn, and Connect: Understanding Teen Wellness and Mental Health
Thursday Nov. 19, 2009,  7pm
 Paly Haymarket

Paly PTSA is honored to host an expert panel of physicians and mental health professionals who will discuss the mental health and wellness of our teens.  The goal for this program is to educate and equip parents across a spectrum of teen wellness and mental health issues.  It starts with a review of the fundamentals of good parenting - the things we should all be doing on a regular basis to have a good connection with our teens.  It then will proceed to a discussion of stress management, and then to a discussion of how to assess situations and get treatment if you feel your child requires professional assistance.  There will be significant time for audience Q&A, and there will be handouts and resources to be used beyond the program.

Gloria  Moskowitz-Sweet, LCSW, PPSC, Coordinator of the Community Education Center at Parents  Place in Palo Alto, and a professor of graduate programs at San Jose State University.  She has 20 years of teaching, coaching and consulting experience with adolescents. www.parentsplaceonline.org/ 

Dr. Amy Saltzman, M.D. who will speak on stress management.   Dr. Saltzman trained in Internal Medicine and is an expert on holistic medicine; she has conducted research studies evaluating the benefits of teaching mindfulness with Dr. Philippe Goldin in the Clinically Applied Affective Neuroscience Lab at Stanford University.  Dr. Saltzman has a private practice in Menlo Park where she provides holistic medical care and individual mindfulness instruction to children and adults. www.stillquietplace.com/about_dr_amy.html 

Dr. Tom Tarshis, M.D., is a child psychiatrist and founder of Bay Area Children’s Association, whose mission is to set a new standard for providing care for children and families with mental health problems.  Dr. Tarshis is a member of the HEARD Coalition that has been formed to address teen suicides; he is also an Adjunct Clinical Faculty member at the Department of Psychiatry at Stanford. He also has a book coming out next Spring titled Living with Peer Pressure and Bullying bayareachild.org  

Dr. Meg Durbin, M.D.,  is a pediatrician and internist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. She is involved in many primary care initiatives at PAMF working to improve systems of care and is an active member of HEARD, the Healthcare Alliance in Response to Adolescent Depression. A primary focus of her work with HEARD is helping to develop and implement education for primary care physicians (PCPs) in the community. Meg is also a Gunn High School parent. 

Sponsored by the Palo Alto High School  PTSA and co-sponsored  by Gunn High School PTSA

Questions? Contact (Paly) Maureen Simons mtsimons@sbcglobal.net or (Gunn) Homa Yazdani homa_yazdani@yahoo.com 
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Dr. Ken Ginsburg - A Parent’s Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens
Thursday March 25, 2010, 6:30 PM 
Gunn Spangenburg Theater 

Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, MD, MS Ed, FAAP, is a nationally recognized pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).  Dr. Ginsburg recently authored "A Parent's Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Your Child Roots and Wings."
Using humor, real-life scenarios and poignant cases, Dr. Ken Ginsburg teaches adults how to raise resilient children who can deal with stress in an increasingly complex world. His unique perspective emphasizes the developmental strengths of youth, equipping participants with skills needed to better teach kids to help themselves.
Dr. Ginsburg will address topics including:
• Developing concrete communication techniques. 
• Promoting resiliency in youth (ability to bounce back and cope with stress). 
• Recognizing red flags that may indicate when a child/teen is at risk. 
• Supporting children and teens to develop positive coping strategies. 
(see detailed flyer)

Sponsored by the Gunn High School PTSA, SHARE, and the PTA Councils of Palo Alto and Los Altos-Mountain View
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Parent Ed Programs 2008-2009 School Year

LOOKING OUT FOR OUR TEENS
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 7 p.m. 
Library, Gunn High School

Learn to recognize the often subtle clues of teen depression and anxiety.  Hear guidance from a panel of counselors and psychologists in distinguishing “normal teen angst” from clinical depression.  Listen to trained counselors from the Center for Living with Dying and KARA how to help your teens cope with grief over the loss of a classmate.  Learn techniques to encourage your student to open up, express their own concerns and issues openly in a non-threatening environment, and to reveal concerns they may have about their peers.  Gain access to the resources available in the community to help with issues of teen depression and anxiety.

FACEBOOK FOR PARENTS:  What you Need to Know
Tuesday, May 12, 2009, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Spangenberg Theatre, Gunn High School

Learn how Facebook is transforming this generation’s social interactions – the pitfalls and potentials—from noted expert Dr. B.J. Fogg, Stanford University, Linda Fogg Phillips, as well as panels of parents ad teens.  This is an exciting opportunity to hear the condensed version of Fogg and Phillips’ hugely popular Facebook for Parents class at Stanford. You’ll hear the latest research, learn to use Facebook efficiently, and be able to help your students reach their full potential safely in their online world.

Sponsored by the Gunn High School PTSA, cosponsored by the Palo Alto and Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Councils

Let's REALLY Talk About College
Wed. April 22, 7:00 p.m.
Haymarket Theatre, Palo Alto High School
All parents and students invited!
Explore paths for success that are right for students in a panel discussion.
Sponsored by SHARE, Co-sponsored by PTA Council & Gunn PTSA

Why People Succeed & How to Foster Success
Tue. April 7, 7 p.m.   Gunn Library
All parents and students invited.
Dr. Carol Dweck, author of Mindset, and world leading researcher in the field of motivation.
Professor of Psychology at Stanford University
examines the self-conception people use to structure and guide their behavior
Self-conceptions, their role in motivation & self-regulation, and their impact on achievement and interpersonal process.

HEARING FROM OUR TEENS:  Student Attitudes & Experience re Alcohol, Marijuana & Bullying. 
Mon. Mar 2, 7 p.m.  PAUSD Board Room, 25 Churchill 
An evening for parents, students, staff, & community
Exploring Oct 2008 student survey data from Gunn, Paly, JLS, Jordan and Terman with a panel of health professionals, students, & survey experts.
Sponsor: PA Drug & Alcohol Community Collaborative (PADACC).

BE COMFORTABLE IN YOUR GENES: Wear Jeans That Fit the True You 
Tues. Feb. 24,  7 p.m.  Gunn Library 
Parents, students and community invited - free!
Barbie dolls, Ken dolls, high fashion models, TV stars, video game avatars, celebrities – they're fun, but are they for real?
National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAW) brings a panel of experts to speak to parents and students on the influence of genetics on body size and shape, and adopting a healthy lifestyle for your body type. Discussed will be the basic facts of eating disorders, prevention, exercise, eating mindfully, talking with teens about body image, cultural issues, food and the holidays, plus questions from the audience will be taken. On the panel will be Carol Dietrich of the El Camino Hospital Eating Disorders Program, NanDellheim co-author of "How I Look Journal," and Gunn teacher Kristina Gossard. Ms. Gossard will also tell us about activities at Gunn that she is coordinating in recognition of NEDAW. 
Sponsored by Gunn PTSA. 

SMART PARENTING IN AN ONLINE WORLD - a high-powered panel of guests! 
Tues.  Jan 27, 7 p.m. 
Spangenberg Theatre, Gunn
All Gunn parents and students invited! Free!
Let's face it: Today's children inhabit an online universe that few parents understand how to navigate, much less monitor effectively. The brave new world of texting, social networking, blogging, YouTube and video conversations has radically redefined the parent-child relationship, and has provided young people with unprecedented, 24/7 access to friends, strangers and influences outside of traditional parental control.
The Common Ground Speaker Series and Gunn PTSA Parent Ed are proud to present a panel discussion of leading experts currently working to address this issue. Each panelist brings a unique perspective and technological expertise, offering parents and educators valuable insights into the opportunities, risks and challenges presented by the online world. Please join us for an evening "offline" as we come together to increase our understanding and learn how to navigate this new frontier.

BJ Fogg, Ph.D.:
Researcher, instructor and innovator at Stanford University, where he offers a course called The Psychology of Facebook. Author of numerous books and articles on how technology influences the way we think and act, including Persuasive Technology and Mobile Persuasion.

Larry Magid, Ed.D.:
Well-known syndicated technology columnist and KCBS broadcaster, founder of SafeKids.com and SafeTeens.com, and author/co-author of several books, including MySpace Unraveled: A Parent's Guide to Teen Social Networking.

Larry Rosen, Ph.D.:
Professor of Psychology at California State University, Dominquez Hills and author of Me, MySpace and I: Parenting the Net Generation and TechnoStress: Coping with Technology at Work, at Home and at Play.

Anne Zehren:
Former media executive at Teen People, Glamour and Newsweek. Founding President of Current TV, Al Gore's user-generated cable network. Currently, President of Common Sense Media, a national organization dedicated to improving the media lives of children and teens.

Co-sponsored by Gunn PTSA.