Hillsboro School District WEEKLY HOT NEWS, MAY 20, 2024 - MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH

Hillsboro School District Weekly Hot News Podcast

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, dedicated to prioritizing and promoting open conversations about our social and emotional wellbeing. Mental health encompasses how we manage stress, connect with others, and make healthy choices. Taking care of our mental health is just as important as taking care of our physical health. We can support our mental health by focusing on self-care, establishing a routine, maintaining healthy social connections, developing positive coping strategies, and having open conversations about mental health needs.

In HSD, we encourage students, staff, and families to:

• Learn more about mental health and protective factors,

• Speak respectfully and inclusively about mental health,

• Seek help if they are struggling with their mental health and encourage others to do the same, and

• Create safe and supportive environments for open conversations about mental health.

If you need help connecting to resources in our community, you can talk with a school counselor or explore the resources on our website.

Together, let's prioritize mental health awareness and create a supportive environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to prioritize their wellbeing.

Our featured student is Liberty High School senior Jared Lim. Jared represented HSD and Team Oregon at the International Science and Engineering Fair - or ISEF - in Los Angeles the week of May 12th through 17th. His project, Connexelerator, took first place in the Computer Science and Robotics category at Intel’s Beaverton-Hillsboro Science Expo in March, which both qualified him for the Northwest Science Expo on April 5th, and earned him a trip to ISEF. Connexelerator is an Artificial Intelligence-powered language learning application that Jared felt compelled to develop after his own experiences with learning multiple languages, including Malay, English, Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese. It made its debut during the 2023 Congressional App Challenge; and while it didn’t win, it allowed Jared to meet Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, spurred him to make improvements to his user interface, and has led him to his recent science fair successes. It also gained him a referral to another international program, “RISE for the World,” where he will compete among 500 finalists at this year’s event in June. Learn more about Jared and his Connexelerator app on our website.

There will be no school for all students on Monday, May 27th, in observance of Memorial Day. School resumes for all students on Tuesday, May 28th.

Hot News is produced and emailed to HSD families and staff each week school is in session. Please add the address to your “safe sender” list to make sure you always receive the latest issue. Please also bookmark our district website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hsd.k12.or.us⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay informed about what’s happening in our district and schools.