[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>
Variety News Staff<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
PUBLIC School System officials told the Rotary Club of Saipan on Feb. 10 that social media is increasingly contributing to student mental health challenges, adding to the pressures schools are working to address across the CNMI.<\/p>\n
Following the presentation, Rotarian Donna Krum asked whether PSS is seeing a worsening trend tied to social media use.<\/p>\n
PSS mental health program coordinator Walter Mendez responded, \u201cSocial media is a big issue. Access to information is a double\u2011edged sword.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Mendez, students today have unprecedented access to information, but constant connectivity carries risks. \u201cStudents now have access to more information than ever before, but it also poses significant risks,\u201d he said, noting that the effects often appear as overstimulation.<\/p>\n
During the presentation, Mendez and counseling program manager Dr. Paulette Tomokane outlined districtwide efforts to build resilience, teach conflict resolution, and strengthen students\u2019 social\u2011emotional skills across 20 schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe aren\u2019t just teaching subjects like math and reading,\u201d Mendez said. \u201cWe\u2019re focused on cultivating our students as citizens, equipping them with life skills that go beyond academics.\u201d<\/p>\n
PSS uses research\u2011based programs including Positive Action in elementary schools and Character Strong in middle and high schools. Counselors conduct classroom guidance and small\u2011group sessions using programs such as Healthy Relationships Plus and Peaceful Alternatives to Tough Situations. Suicide\u2011prevention training through QPR and ASIST equips staff to respond to students in crisis.<\/p>\n
PSS also launched Sources of Strength, which trains students to serve as peer mediators and peer support leaders. The mental health program formally began in 2020, initially tied to post\u2011typhoon recovery efforts after Super Typhoons Soudelor and Yutu, and was later intensified by the Covid\u201119 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Rotarian Vincent J. Seman noted that many students, especially in middle and high school, are tethered to devices, with cyberbullying and classroom conflicts continuing after school hours. Mendez said the district is responding through outreach on both the positives and negatives of device use, including warning signs of overuse and strategies to manage screen time.<\/p>\n
Tomokane added that outreach also extends to families, teaching skills on managing screen-time behaviors and social media use. \u201cDespite funding constraints, we continue moving forward because our students deserve it all,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread\/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1) Public School System mental health program coordinator Walter Mendez and counseling program manager Dr. Paulette Tomokane at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[134,554,555,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-287430","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-mentalhealth","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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