Page 10 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • September 4, 2013 Area West Bergen offers help with back-to-school issues For many children, fall is an exciting time of new begin- nings. There are new clothes to look for, new supplies to buy, and new friends to make. For some youngsters, start- ing a new school year is a difficult and challenging transi- tion causing anxiety and stress for both the children and their parents. What are normal worries about starting the new school year versus worries that may require professional help? According to Danielle Heller, LCSW, clinical director for West Bergen’s Center for Children and Youth in Ramsey, these are the two questions parents frequently ask at the beginning of any school year. “Students face many adjustments in school,” Heller explained. “From year to year, there are changes in teach- ers, classrooms, class rules, difficulty of the work, and peers. One of the challenges of growing up is learning to successfully navigate these changes.” Although some children are very concerned about schoolwork, many children report more anxiety about friends. They want a group of friends at school who will accept them and want to be around them – whether play- ing on the playground in kindergarten or walking around the halls in high school. Many children find healthy ways of handling emotions on their own, but others may require some professional intervention. (continued on page 21) Alan Koenig, LPC, ADHD coordinator; Kerry Plokhoy, LCSW, staff therapist; Danielle Heller, LCSW, clinical director; Helena Fotopoulos, LPC, staff therapist; Peggy Scheulen, administrative coordinator; Christie Laoudis, access clinician; Veronica Gioffre, access clinician; Giselle Delacruz, administrative assistant; Eva Bland, administrative assistant; Julie Sisselman, LSW, staff therapist; and Roseanne Trapani, LMFT, staff therapist. (Photo courtesy of TKL Marketing, Ho-Ho-Kus.) Area residents invited to honor Gold Star Mothers On Sunday, Sept. 29, the United States will honor Gold Star Mothers and families. In Ridgewood, the Gold Star Mother’s Day Committee will commemorate Gold Star Mother’s Day at Van Neste Park, where luminaria will be lit from 7 to 9 p.m. to honor Gold Star Mothers and their families. However, the com- mittee’s goal is to have thousands of other luminaria lit throughout Ridgewood on Sept. 29 to honor the Gold Star Mothers and families. American Legion Post 53 (Ridgewood), Washington Elm Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 192 (Ho-Ho-Kus/ Ridgewood), and Ridgewood’s Blue Star Families are committed to bringing awareness to the community and to commemorating the sacrifices these mothers and their families have made for the country. The community is invited to join in the event at Van Neste Park and to raise awareness for this event by talking to family members, friends, and neighbors. Donations in support of the Ridgewood event are wel- come. Checks made payable to American Legion Post 53 that state “Gold Star Event” on the memo line, should be send to: American Legion Post 53, P.O. Box 1525, Ridgewood, NJ 07450. In the aftermath of World War I, Washington D.C. resi- dent Grace Darling Seibold formed an organization called Gold Star Mothers to support the women who had lost sons and daughters to the war. Seibold’s son, First Lieutenant George Vaughn Seibold, was an aviator killed in combat over France in 1918. In 1928, the small D.C.-based group decided to nationalize its efforts. In 1936, a joint congres- sional resolution established the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother’s Day. The Gold Star Mothers grew from a support group of 60 women to today’s extensive nationwide network with tens of thousands of members and hundreds of local chapters. “As members of a grateful nation, we owe a debt we can never repay, but hold this sacred obligation forever in our hearts, minds, and actions,” the 2011 Presidential Proclamation commemorating this day states. “We honor their sacrifice, and stand with our service members, military families, and Gold Star families as they have stood for us.”