School Principals

The ITQS program was introduced in order to help provide skills for coping with various stressful situations. It was implemented by stages.
 

1.	The school staff received basic training from ITQS.
2.	The ITQS staff practiced the ITQS technique with the children in the classroom five minutes a day, using the ITQS Training Disc.
3.	The teachers practiced the technique with the children. After the children learned it, it was applied whenever needed.
4.	An ITQS room was prepared where small groups of children could practice the technique. The room could also be used for individual sessions with children with such with special needs as Attention Deficit Disorder and various emotional and behavioral problems, under ITQS staff supervision.
5.	Teachers were trained to work with groups of children.
6.	Time was scheduled for classes to practice in the ITQS room.

 
Results began to show during in the first term. It was amazing to observe pupils practicing the technique and its effect on them. Children and parents reported the children's applying coping skills when confronted by fears, during fights with siblings, and when dealing with pre-exam anxiety. The children even taught the technique to their siblings and parents. During the time of the Lebanese War, the children had acquired the ability to calm themselves and others during missile attacks.
 

The program’s success was due in no small part to the ITQS team, their commitment, professionalism and pleasant work relations.

Tziona Alkobi, Headmistress, Primary School, Tsfat

The ITQS program, which has been running in our establishment for a number of years, has contributed to a calmer atmosphere. ITQS has provided staff and children with a coping skill which enhances self-control. The children's pleasurable visits to the ITQS room strengthen their awareness of the need for a calmer environment. Without a doubt ITQS has also contributed to more positive social interactions.  Thank you for your contribution to the school.

Haim Krissy, Headmaster, Primary School, Tsfat

ITQS staff began teaching conditioned calming in our school since 2002. I want to commend their commitment and professionalism in working with our pupils, in particular those with special needs and our new immigrant children with special language and social needs, as well as the regular classes and the teaching staff. 

The program has the ability to reach each and every child. Conditioned calming is taught in the school's ITQS™ room and then practiced in the classrooms daily. It has helped improve children’s behavior, in particular interpersonal relations. Many children have reported positive change during times of exceptional stress in situations arising after school at home and in the neighborhood, and when coping with exams. We have also received reports from teachers and parents illustrating how the technique helped children cope more successfully during the Lebanese War, when Tsfat was bombed for over a month. These and many other stories illustrate how conditioned calming has been put to good use. Teachers report positive change in the school climate in the classrooms and during breaks, reflecting reduced tension, less violence, and overall a more pleasant and calmer atmosphere.
 
Community Leaders

The ITQS Centre provided our school and kindergartens with a holistic program for coping with pressure from a place of calm inner quiet. In addition the staff received supervision enabling them to set up the ITQS room and learned to deliver the program independently. 
 
One of ITQS’s advantages is that it can be flexibly implemented over a short, medium or long period. Children and staff are now coping in a much healthier way when tense situations arise. The staff described the program as the best gift they have received from the Local Authority in a long time. I am now in the process of introducing the program to a school serving children with special needs. I warmly recommend ITQS as an educational-social intervention.

Ruth Shitrit, Senior Community Social Worker; Mazal Hadad, Community Social Worker, Tsfat

We want to express our thanks and appreciation to the ITQS staff who volunteered to lead women’s workshops after the Second Lebanese War. The women's participation had a significant impact, providing them with the skills to identify stressful factors in their lives and cope calmly with them. The ITQS workshop provided an immediate, practical way to enhance coping skills and pass them on to others. Preparing the ITQS room had a positive calming effect on participants. The ITQS staff displayed sensitivity, understanding and care in their work. As professional colleagues we very much appreciate their seriousness, responsibility and professionalism.
We hope that more people will benefit from ITQS, which contributes to community resilience.

Ariel Rosenboim, Youth Village Director, Kiryat Yaarim

During the Lebanese War in July 2006, the Kiryat Yarim Youth Village hosted children from Absorption Centres in northern Israel. (Absorption Centers are preliminary residence facilities provided to new immigrants, in this case from Ethiopia.) The children came without their families, after having been exposed to missile attacks and bomb shelters for several weeks. During their stay at the village, the children had to cope with separation from their families as well as fears and anxieties arising from their war experiences.
 
ITQS staff volunteered at the village, immediately setting up an ITQS™ room and providing workshops for children and staff. The goal was to help reduce pressure, regain self-control and connect to positive feelings. The ITQS technique of conditioned calming provided an immediate, pleasant and applicable coping skill for children and staff, and helped restore calm, control and strength. I want to thank the ITQS staff for their contribution at such a sensitive and complicated time in Yarim village.