We at Hermosa Valley School are working to teach our middle school students about mental wellness and how to seek resources if they are worried about themselves or a friend. To provide prevention support, we are using a program called S.O.S. (Signs of Suicide) for our 7th and 8th grade students.

This program teaches students about the symptoms of depression using the acronym A.C.T
-ACKNOWLEDGE that you are seeing signs of depression or suicide in yourself or a friend and that it is serious.
-Let your friend know how much you CARE about them and that you are concerned that they need help.
-TELL a trusted adult that you are worried about yourself or a friend.

Studies have shown that evidence-based suicide prevention programs such as S.O.S. effectively reduce the number of students’ self-reported suicide attempts by 64%.

On implementation day (2/23), students will watch age-appropriate video clips which discuss depression, suicide, and what to do if concerned. Following the video, students will complete a response slip which asks whether they would like to talk to an adult about their concerns or not. Trained staff will conduct meetings with any student requesting to talk with someone.

If you do NOT wish for your child to participate in the S.O.S. program, submit this S.O.S. OPT OUT FORM by WEDNESDAY (2/22) at 5:00PM. If you do not fill out this OPT OUT form by this deadline, we will assume that your child has permission to participate in this program.