UCS Wellness Podcast

Henry Ford II seniors, Anthony Lanni, Collin Carandang, and Keegan Smith, hosted the first of its kind Student Athlete Wellness Mini Fair in March of 2025. The event featured UCS and community vendors, as well as a keynote speaker - Chris McDonald, a 2008 Henry Ford II graduate, a former Michigan State University and National Football League (NFL) football player.  This UCS Wellness Podcast is hos...

In an effort to help listeners learn to increase their focus and decrease their stress, this episode is broken into two parts with host Erin Chambers, Shelby Junior High physical education and health teacher, speaking with Matt Cecil, Jeannette Junior High physical education and health teacher on the topic. In the first episode, Matt Cecil highlights sleep, exercise and cold exposure and the posit...

In the second episode of this two-episode podcast, the final three tips to increase focus and decrease stress will be shared with listeners. Hosted by Erin Chambers, Shelby Junior High physical education and health teacher, this podcast will cover the positive influence breath, drinking water and ideal nutrition can have on our bodies with the guidance of Jeannette Junior High physical education a...

This UCS Wellness Podcast focuses on nutrition and how to raise, and become, an intuitive eater. Tune in as Shelby Junior High School counselor, Kim Twarowski speaks with registered dietician, Ruth Mach about this topic.   The UCS Wellness podcast is a resource created by Utica Community Schools, a K-12 school district located within Macomb County, Michigan. The UCS Wellness Podcast is released on...

To help give insight on teen mental health and wellness, this episode features members of the Utica High School Student Mental Health Committee, made up of a community of counselors, teachers and students who collaborate on ways to teach staff and students about mental health and help implement activities that improve mental health.  Utica High School counselor, Kelly Bronski, speaks with UHS juni...

Shelby Junior High School counselor, Kim Twarowski speaks with Terri Nekoogar, Caring 4 Students (C4S) coordinator, about mental health programs offered to UCS students through the Macomb Intermediate School District (MISD) and C4S. These programs include Calm Classroom and MIBEST, standing for Macomb Intermediate Behavioral Emotional Support Team.  The UCS Wellness podcast is a resource created b...

The UCS Wellness podcast is a resource created by Utica Community Schools, a K-12 school district located within Macomb County, Michigan. For more on UCS Wellness, visit uticak12.org/ucs_wellness The Detour Project website KnowResolve website  

Vapes, also known as e-cigarettes, have become increasingly popular with youth across the U.S. over the past decade. So much so, that vaping (the use of vape pens/e-cigarettes) has been regarded as a youth epidemic by medical communities, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Missouri State Medical Association. This episode of the UCS Wellness Podcast will cover topics such as identif...

With suicide as the second leading cause of death in the U.S. for those between the ages of 10 and 34, the importance of this topic is unmistakable. This episode of the UCS Wellness Podcast will emphasize the value of 'talking about it' and expressing yourself. We invite you to listen to this valuable conversation between Henry Ford II High School counselor, Catherine Livingston, and KnowResolve F...

Balancing between protecting your child and giving them privacy can be a challenge for parents. This podcast is intended to educate parents and help them stimulate communication with their children around the sensitive topic of sexual assaultive crimes. To help address this subject, UCS counselor, Kim Twarowski, speaks with Sgt. Renee Yax, Public Information Officer of the Macomb County Sheriff's...

Dating violence can be hard to identify, especially since it can be felt emotionally, physically or financially. On this episode of the UCS Wellness Podcast, we discuss social media's role in dating violence, what the signs of dating violence can be, and more. UCS counselor, Kim Twarowski, speaks on this topic with Danielle Watson, community educator and sexual assault outreach specialist with Tur...

CARE of Southeastern Michigan provides free resources, programs and more for Macomb County residents. In this episode, Gloria Licata, UCS school social worker, sits down with two representatives from CARE, Susan Styf, President and CEO, and Teresa Sandner, Program Coordinator for Parent Education, to learn more about the offerings CARE has available. The UCS Wellness podcast is a resource created...

With society relying so heavily on technology, we must learn to adapt our communication while maintaining traditional forms of communication, such as written and verbal. This episode is perfect for parents and students alike to help guide families towards healthy technology boundaries and introduce new ways of bridging the communication gap that can often be felt between parents and children. To c...

Oftentimes when loss occurs, whether it be through death or beyond death entirely, grief is experienced by those impacted by the loss. Yet, the grieving process is unique to each individual, including children experiencing grief.   This episode of the UCS Wellness Podcast explores the different levels of grief and how we can cope as well as what to look for to help identify grief in children. We c...

Though present before, the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of mental health for our well-being and how changes in routine can have a major impact on the state of our mental health, especially in our youth. Touching on anxiety, depression, and suicide, this episode will help parents know what to look for within their children and where to go if they have concerns regarding their chi...