Dear
Families,
Growth
Mindset:
I hope everyone enjoyed their Family Day weekend! Can you believe it's been 10 years since this has been implemented? I'm so happy we recognize and celebrate this as family is of utmost importance to me as I am sure it is to you as well!
PINK
SHIRT DAY:
Today was dedicated to promoting and acknowledging Bullying
Prevention! This is an issue that is near and dear to my heart
and as your child's teacher, I am reinforcing the
importance of creating, building upon, and maintaining happy hearts in and out
of our classroom.
Our
Community of Learners Agreements help guide us every day - Attentive
Listening, Mutual Respect, NO PUT DOWNS, Right to Participate, Right
to Pass. We regularly refer to these agreements as a
reminder for us all to treat our peers, friends, and family with
kindness, dignity, and respect. I feel this will help
in creating a happy, safe, and caring world.
I believe
in all my students and their abilities to reach out to do their part in
making a positive difference for our today and tomorrows ... together
we can help put an END TO BULLYING!!!
Activity:
Happy to Scarred Hearts:
In our
class, I shared an activity to help us create an awareness to the harmful effects of how deeply affected one can
be when they are put down and bullied. I drew a heart
on a piece of paper. Next, we observed the 'Heart' and talked
about how it was feeling. Many replied, “Happy, loved, respected.” Then, I showed them a crumpled up paper and placed it in front of us. Finally, we opened up the heart to see what it looked like.
Following this observation, we had a powerful discussion of how once you hurt
someone's heart (feelings), you create "wrinkles or scars that remain with
that person that are difficult to heal and bring back to its original happy
state."
We also
discussed the term "Bystander" and what it
means. A bystander(s) is a person or group of people who see
bullying happening yet don't do anything to help. In other words,
they witness the bullying and walk away which ultimately continues
and promotes this unkind cycle of hatred.
As a
class we made a plan and signed "The Pledge to End
Bullying" to help do our part! My class is a beautiful,
loving community of learners and it is our hope we will continue to be so and
encourage each other as well as other students in our school about the
importance of NO PUT DOWNS!
In
addition, I had the students create their own paper heart and write down a
message using the following sentence starter: “I will end bullying
by …” Take a moment to ask your child what his or her statement is.
Here are some of the boys and girls responses!
Look at ALL the powerful thoughts! We talked about the importance
of now putting our thoughts into our words, and more importantly into OUR
ACTIONS. It is OUR actions which can ultimately help put a stop to
bullying.
"I will end bullying by NOT being a bystander. I
will help out others when they need it."
"I am not a stand by person. I am a STAND UP
person!"
"I will end bullying by talking to the bully and
telling them it's wrong."
"I will end bullying by being a do something person,
not a bystander. I won't watch it happen. I will stop it from
happening!"
Character
Recognition Assembly:
Today, we
had a school-wide Character Recognition assembly celebrating February's
character trait which is Inclusiveness - "We always include others
in our play, we never send people away." I selected two
students for this award, but could have easily picked numerous others as the
children in my classroom have been working hard at being inclusive, most have
schema (background knowledge) for not being included, so everyone is doing
their personal best to ensure others feel welcome! Congratulations to
Sydney and Zach for receiving the Inclusiveness award! Well done you two!
I know your families are so proud of you
too!
Crossfit Kids Camp:
If you're looking to have your child join a fun, healthy, and active camp this summer THIS IS THE ONE FOR THEM! I am a member of Crossfit Mozomo and it has been such a significant part of my journey to health and wellness. Mozomo offers an outstanding program where kids work out in a friendly, safe, and encouraging environment to help them achieve their fitness personal best. They offer a FREE TRIAL CLASS on Wednesdays or Fridays from 4:30 - 5:10 p.m. If interested, please email Brenda at brenda@crossfitmozomo.com
Visit their WEBSITE:
Bailey:
Thank you Bailey for bringing in and sharing some of the structures you build at home to school. The BBQ and fishing rod turned out great! As always, it is inspiring for your peers to watch you create and build!
Rachael:
Congratulations to Rachael on her achievements in her ski races!! She received a first and second place! Amazing :) Continue to do your best! I am so proud of you!
With All My Heart & Namaste,
Miss Gill
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