Zippy Introduced to River Edge Schools

Monday, April 23, 2007

By Joseph Ax, Staff Writer, Bergen Record

The kindergartners listened attentively as Gianna Apicella, the psychologist at Roosevelt School in River Edge, narrated the story, using drawings to help them understand.
Lela, one of the child characters in the story, had decided to walk with Jill on a field trip, rather than with her best friend Sandy. Sandy, in tears, seemed unsure if the two of them would still be friends.

Apicella turned to the class and asked how the students thought Sandy was feeling.

"Sad," said Tara Daly.

"Why was she sad?" Apicella asked.
"Because she couldn't go next to her friend," Tara answered.

"She went to a different partner," explained Chris Buchta, another child.

The class was taking part in a new program known as Zippy's Friends that started this year at both Roosevelt and Cherry Hill schools in the borough. The Martin Luther King Jr. School in Paterson and Our Lady of the Valley School in Wayne also are trying out the program, which originated in England and was devised by Partnership for Children there. 

The schools are the first in the United States to introduce the classes, which are intended to help children develop coping skills and express themselves emotionally. The hope is that children will learn how to handle feelings of loss, jealousy, anger and sadness at a young age.

The Todd Ouida Foundation, named after a 25-year-old River Edge native who died in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, is sponsoring the program. Herb Ouida, Todd's father, said his son suffered from anxiety problems from the fourth to sixth grades, when he developed an intense fear of school and missed more than two years of classes. The foundation is dedicated to helping children suffering from anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.
"Early intervention, that's the key," Ouida said. "That's exactly what Zippy is all about. Todd didn't have that coping skill -- he didn't verbalize to us."

Gerard Costa, a psychologist with Youth Consultation Service, which is helping to spread the program, said the lessons address the "inner life" of children, giving them a way to grow, rather than simply trying to teach them how to behave.

"This program really helps children to express those feelings and helps them understand how to resolve those feelings," he said.

"Zippy" himself is a praying mantis who's a friend of one of the central characters of the stories. The students get two lessons per week, with a new story each week that focuses on different issues. The story about Sandy, for instance, deals with making and breaking relationships, Apicella said.

After the story, the children spent a few minutes drawing pictures of a friend, and then took turns explaining who the friend was. Many were other members of the class.

One girl, Caroline Forte, seemed upset.

"I guess nobody likes me in this class, because nobody drew me," she said.

But Apicella sprang into action.
"You're allowed to have more than one friend," she said, drawing on one of the story's lessons. Several children spoke up: "I'm your friend," they told Caroline.

"Raise your hand if you're Caroline's friend," Apicella said, and every child's hand went up in the air. Even the Zippy puppet -- with help from another teacher -- raised his hand.
"I love you, Zippy," Caroline said.