The Pegasus School I Student Life I Health and Wellness

Student Support Programs

The Learning and Support Team provides ongoing support and education for all students, faculty, and parents. This specialized and highly-trained team works collaboratively to reinforce the excellence of The Pegasus School so children can reach their full potential in a confident and guided manner. By teaching coping skills, sharpening student strengths, or helping children understand their opportunities for growth, the Learning and Support Team assures that all needs are met early, thoughtfully, and effectively so that change and success is achieved.

List of 5 items.

Social and Emotional Support

Healthy social and emotional development is critical to developing self-reliance and relationships that foster academic growth and success. In addition to the guidance of classroom teachers and assistants, students are directly and indirectly supported by a variety of learning specialists and a full time school psychologist. In the classroom, community values are intentionally woven into the curriculum through literature, discussion, and games. Teachers and assistants are provided with training to support students in the development of emotional management and decision making. Topics are developmentally appropriate by grade level starting with kindness, friendship, and responsibility in the early grades and moving into stress management and healthy choices in later years. In Grade 5, students engage in a leadership and service course focusing on personal development that culminates in a student-directed community service project. Individual and group support is provided on an as needed basis for targeted skill development or personal support.
Human Growth and Development

The goal of the Human Growth and Development program is to educate and prepare students to make healthy and responsible decisions from elementary school into their adult years. Classes taught are age-appropriate and highlight the physical, social, and emotional changes encountered during puberty.

Human Growth and Development classes are presented to students in Grades 4 and 5. These classes teach them how to care for and respect their bodies, including the importance of hygiene, exercise, and nutrition. Students will learn how their bodies change during puberty and the purpose of various body parts. Additionally, they will understand the value of respecting the bodies of others. Self esteem, body image, and peer pressure are discussed in an age-appropriate fashion to help the students make healthy and safe choices while navigating adolescence.

Human Reproductive Anatomy and Physiology is introduced in Grade 7. The names and functions of the reproductive organs are explored. The goal is to promote a level of comfort among the students so they are willing to discuss difficult or uncomfortable topics. Other topics often discussed in Grade 7 include stress, family life, and reproductive technology.

Reproductive Anatomy and Physiology is reviewed in Grade 8, and then the students progress to lessons on types of contraception, sexually transmitted infections, sleep science, and mindfulness. Many, but not all, students will take a health class in high school, but the class is often taken online, and there is no forum for discussion. These topics can be complicated, and it is important for the students to have exposure to this information so they can make healthy and informed decisions.
Health Office

The Pegasus School’s Health Office (Nurse’s Office) has one full-time nurse who serves as the liaison between the Pegasus community (parents, students, faculty, and staff) and local health providers in order to ensure a healthy school environment. The priorities of the school nurse are to care for students and to keep them safe and healthy. Responsibilities include student health care, student and staff health education, and nursing administration and communication. The school nurse also maintains student vaccination records, allergy, and medical waiver lists; evaluates ill children and communicates with parents about their child's health; leads the First Aid Crisis Team; reports infectious diseases; helps parents with navigating concussion recovery; and assists with diabetes education and management.

The Nurse’s Office is open from 8:15 a.m.–3:15 p.m.
Physical Education

The overall goal of the physical education program is for all students to discover, identify, and develop the physical interests and talents that will enable them to be comfortable with physical activities. By participating in various activities in a safe, non-threatening environment, the students will appreciate their own individual levels of proficiency, and at the same time, will value the abilities and contributions of others. Students learn to feel good about themselves while engaged in physical activities that develop good motor and physical skills.

The intent of instruction is to create an enthusiasm for physical activities and to develop habits of good sportsmanship, appreciate the results of applied effort, respect rules and procedures, and gain an awareness of general sports concepts. It is important that our students learn that it is how you play the game.

Grades reflect performance in the following areas:

Sportsmanship: Students learn to play by the rules. They learn how to feel good about their own contributions while valuing the performances of others. We expect students to offer encouragement to others and not be consumed by winning. Only positive comments are acceptable.

Participation: Participation is essential to learning in physical education. Students are expected to fully participate in all activities regardless of whether they like them or are good at them. Middle school students change into P.E. uniforms, but students at all grade levels must have athletic shoes and be dressed in clothing which allows them to fully and comfortably participate.

Effort: Students must apply themselves fully to each activity. They must try hard and be enthusiastic. They learn to recognize and to appreciate improvement. It is okay to make mistakes — not fear failure but learn from it.

Cooperation: Students show respect for rules and procedures and take proper care of equipment. They play safely, avoid horseplay, avoid distractions, and pay attention to instructions. Students are helpful and have good behavior.
Lunch Program

Pegasus partners with Sapphire at School lunch program, which delivers tasty, healthy, and nutritious menus that promote healthy bodies. Selected food is locally sourced and made from scratch.

The Sapphire at School program is based on the Healthy Eating Plate* to teach nutrition in a practical, evidenced-based manner that can be understood by students of all ages. The
program was created to bring not only the right balance and quantity of foods to children at the different stages of development but also the highest quality of nutritional components to help develop their palates as well their bodies.

Meet the Learning & Support Team

List of 7 members.

Kristen Brady

Middle School Learning Specialist

Bio
Kristen has been a member of the Learning and Support Team (LST) since 2012. Prior to this role, she taught fifth grade for 12 years at Pegasus. Kristen works closely with students in fourth through eighth grade. Kristen holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Northern Arizona University; multiple subject teaching credential; MA in Curriculum and Instruction from California State University, Long Beach; and, a Reading Specialist Certification from University of California, Irvine. She discusses students’ individual needs with teachers and parents in order to support each child's unique profile and learning style. As a specialist, she collaborates with classroom teachers to use assessment results to plan and implement appropriate reading instruction, content remediation, or enrichment. Kristen is an advocate for all students and believes in working with the LST to meet the individual needs of the students in order to foster academic growth. Kristen works with students in a small group setting to strengthen executive function skills in addition to teaching a course on study skills for middle school students. Cross disciplinary collaboration and individualized interventions are used to build student self confidence and promote academic success in a rigorous learning environment.
Michelle Carr

Lower School Reading Specialist

Bio
Michelle has worked as the reading specialist since 1999. Prior to her current role, she was the technology assistant for two years and assisted in setting up the school's first computer lab. She enjoys teaching the bright and curious learners at Pegasus and appreciates the mix of abilities that gives the school a richness of students. Michelle graduated with a B.S. in Education, with an emphasis in reading, from Penn State University, magna cum laude. She holds an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction, as well as both a Pennsylvania and California teaching credential in elementary, secondary and adult education. Michelle also holds a certificate in Differentiated Curriculum for Gifted and Talented Students from the USC Rossier School of Education. She is a Professional Educational Therapist and a certificated California Reading Specialist from the University of California, Irvine. She is trained in all of the Lindamood Bell Reading Programs. Michelle attended The Teacher's College Reader's and Writer's Workshop at Colombia University, and the Universal Design for Learning: Reaching All Learners at Harvard University. She is a member of the International (IRA) and Orange County Reading Associations (OCRA), as well as Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Michelle was a presenter at the ASCD Annual National Conference. Her personal interests include spending time with her three children, who have all attended Pegasus, reading, traveling, and enjoying the Southern California weather.
Dr. Alison Englar-Carlson

Educational Psychologist

Bio
Alison joins Pegasus after working the last sixteen years as a school psychologist in the Garden Grove Unified School District. Alison has held a private practice since 2013, providing consultation, counseling and assessment services to children. Alison’s undergraduate work earned her a B.A. in English and History from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec and a B.S. in Psychology from The University of Toronto, Ontario. She obtained both an M.S. in School Psychology and Ph.D. in School Psychology from The Pennsylvania State University. Alison is also parent to Jackson '18 and Bea '22.
Karen Hurst

School Nurse

Bio
Karen opened the Health Office at Pegasus in 2009. She began her nursing career working in the infectious disease unit at a hospital in Washington, D.C., then served as the head nurse of a medical intensive care unit at a large public hospital in Philadelphia. After moving to California, she worked briefly at Hoag Hospital, attended business school, and worked as a marketing consultant for a medical products company. Karen eventually left the business world to raise her five children, all of whom attended Pegasus from pre-K through Grade 8. From 2007-2009, she served as PTO president. Karen holds a B.S. in Nursing from Villanova University and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Karen loves traveling with her husband to visit their children who now live all over the country. She is an avid reader, and, as anyone who steps into her office knows, is a huge Angels baseball fan.
Kelly Kuolt

Instructional Coach
Brianna Schuchardt

School Counselor
Dani Shapiro

Lower School Math Specialist