{"id":27753,"date":"2026-02-13T11:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T16:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/?p=27753"},"modified":"2026-02-18T17:15:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:15:03","slug":"junior-high-and-high-school-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/junior-high-and-high-school-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Junior High and High School Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Adolescents are able to think more abstractly than younger children. They will have a better understanding of the events that have occurred and an understanding that the impact of them is larger than the tragedy itself. Adolescents are very interested in concepts of justice, equality, power and control. They will also have many more questions regarding these concepts and issues of faith. They probably have many fears about the future but may not want to discuss it or admit that they are scared.<\/span><\/p>

Parents need to be there to listen to their teen. Ask questions and spend time with them. As adults, this situation is frightening and we have many questions. When talking with teens, we should be open and honest about what we can\u2019t answer and what frightens us. We should not belittle their concerns by telling them not to worry or telling them everything will be all right. Be strong in your conviction that God will make this better, \u201cWe know that in all things God works for good for those who love Him.\u201d (Romans 8:28)<\/span><\/p>

Activities<\/span><\/h4>

  • Pray \u2013 Teach them about using a prayer rope with the Jesus prayer, \u201cLord, Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me a sinner.\u201d Have them attend Paraklesis service (make sure they have a service book to follow along). Tell them that this service is an intercessory service for those who are sick or suffering. Have them make a list of people they would like prayed for during the service.\u00a0<\/span>
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  • Attend Memorial Services \u2013 Our churches and communities are holding many prayers and memorial services. These are important to help remember those we have lost and to help us heal the loss. It may be difficult for some young people to attend these but it is very important (even for young children).\u00a0<\/span>
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  • Time Capsule \u2013 Have them put together a collection of photos, items, writings (both from the paper and their own) on the event. Have them burry this in a garden (or you can store it in a closet). Bring it out next September 11th in remembrance. Add to it reflections on the event.\u00a0<\/span>
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  • Creative Expression \u2013 Writing, drawing and other creative art forms can help us organize our thoughts on a subject that is too difficult to talk about. Encourage your teen to draw and write what they are feeling. Encourage them to share with others who are grieving this loss (friends, parish community, local newspaper). Be respectful if they do not want to share their creation.\u00a0<\/span>
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  • Volunteer Time \u2013 Find out what the Red Cross needs and have your child either volunteer to help or organize a drive to gather what they need. Consider that many people want to help out with this tragedy so the different volunteer coordinating centers are somewhat overwhelmed with the outpouring of help. Perhaps there is a local charity that needs some attention due to a shift in volunteer focus (convalescent homes, homeless shelters\u2026).<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ul>

    Suggested Reading<\/span><\/h4>

    • The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Definitely one for adolescents and adults as well a children. This talks about unconditional love and the span of life.<\/span>
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    • Putting together the Pieces of your Life by Anthony Conairis \u2013 This book dissects the passage We know that in all things God works for good to those who love Him.\u201d (Romans 8:28). It is a short book that is easy for adolescents to read and helps make sense of bad things that happen in the world.\u00a0<\/span>
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    • Daily Vitamin\u2019s for Hurting Hearts by Anthony M. Coniaris \u2013 The 4th in a series of Vitamin books. This book provides a daily meditation to help those dealing with grief.\u00a0<\/span>
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    • Sermons & Editorials \u2013 As older children are more aware of the whole situation, expose them to different articles and editorials in the paper.<\/span><\/p><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Adolescents are able to think more abstractly than younger children. They will have a better understanding of the events that have occurred and an understanding that the impact of them…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[258],"class_list":["post-27753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-parent-pages"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27753"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27760,"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27753\/revisions\/27760"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/htgocorlando.org\/stag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}