Finishing Up With Careers

This week I will be in all PK, kindergarten, and 1st grade classes and we will finish up our lesson on careers. We will read the book "When I Grow Up" by Al Yankovic and play a game where I give the kids clues about hidden career puppets (pictured below) and they try to guess the career. If they guess correctly, they get to hold the puppet or figurine during the rest of the lesson. Believe me, simply getting to hold the puppet is actually VERY exciting to them! ;-)  After we read the story and play our game, the students will write/draw about what they want to be when they grow up. Look for these to come home this week. It may be fun to hold onto this and show them when they are getting ready to go to college and/or choose their career what they wanted to be in early elementary school and see how it compares! In kindergarten I wanted to be an archaeologist for a long time and live in Montana with a bunch of horses! ;-) Boy have things changed!! Not even close to what I ended up choosing to do or where I ended up living!

In January we finished up with "confidence" as our SEL Word of the Month and are now on the word "self-discipline" for February. Many kids got their names on the wall for showing confidence in January! In addition to what we do at school to instill these character traits in our students, please also work with them on developing these traits at home! For this months word of the month, "self-discipline", tell them some stories about times you had to practice "self-discipline" and what the payoff you received for that was. For example, "I worked really hard in school and ______ is what happened because of that." "I practiced baseball every day when I was younger and because of that I got on the team!" There are many examples you can use: going to college, learning to swim or ride a bike, practicing an instrument, etc. Let your kids understand that the reward is the end product you receive from practicing self-discipline and that is a wonderful and natural reward to receive! Help them to also understand they don't have to be so hard on themselves if they make mistakes along the way and that mistakes are normal and can be corrected. Positive praise goes a long way! Have a great week!! :-) 

 

Wrapping Up With "No Name Calling Week" and Career Lessons

Today was our last day of "No Name Calling Week"! We finished up by showing everyone at the assembly today how many mean words we threw in the garbage and how many compliments we put on our "Wall of Compliments"! My No Place for Hate coalition members worked really hard on Thursday helping me tape down all the compliments kids had placed in our "compliment box"!

  

What a fun week it was with all of our activities! This week I also saw all of the PK, kinder, and 1st grade classes for guidance lessons. It was a little different this week because I couldn't walk out to the kindergarten annex because of my broken foot, so all of the PK and kinder kids got to come check out my office and watch a Howard B. Wigglebottom video on getting along!

Here are some pictures from last weeks lesson with 2nd and 3rd grade on careers:

    

We learned about what "interests" are, the difference between a job and career, and also wrote about what our interests are and some ideas we have for careers we may be interested in. We had a discussion about how our interests often match up with the careers we choose. No one wants to be in a career for a good portion of their life, if they have no interest in it! Please continue to have these conversations early on with your kids at home and about how important getting an education is. The earlier we start discussing this with them, the more likely they are to succeed, believe they can do it, and be prepared. College isn't always for everyone and it's okay if that's not what you choose, but we discussed that if you have a college education, you will have more opportunities, more choices of careers, and often times will make more money. It can also make you more desirable to hire and in case the career that doesn't require college falls through, you will have a solid back up plan.

We also talked about how we can always change our minds if we don't end up loving the career we are in; we have so many choices! I used the example that I was a teacher for seven years first and then I decided I wanted a change and went to grad school to get my master's in school counseling and now I love being a counselor! They asked if I would change my mind again and I said, "You never know, but I really don't think so! I love what I am doing and working with all of you!" :-)

Next week I will be in 4th and 5th grade classes to continue with career lessons. Have a great weekend!

No Name Calling Week

This week is "No Name Calling Week" and we will complete or promote an activity each day this week that is related to kindness, not calling each other names, and sticking up for each other and what's right. This will be our second out of three required school-wide activities we need to do to be designated a "No Place for Hate (NPFH)" school again this year. My NPFH coalition of kids will help me this week by making announcements over the intercom each day with facts/statistics about bullying and also help in putting together some of the activities. Here is a breakdown of what this week's activities are:

Tuesday, Jan. 20: Compliment Day- Each student will write a compliment down on a small piece of paper that they have thought about saying to someone and my NPFH coalition will collect all of the compliments in the school and tape them to one big banner. We will display this banner later in the week as our "Compliment Wall". This helps to reinforce saying positive things about each other and looking for the good in each other rather than the negative.

Here's a picture of what our Compliment Box looks like where I am collecting the compliments:

 

This picture was taken this morning, so we are not done collecting all 800+ compliments yet! My NPFH Coalition will have a lot of work to do taping these to our banner!


Wednesday, Jan. 21: Take a Stand Against Name Calling Day- On this day kids will choose to be an ally and not a bystander. If they see anyone being put down, made fun of, or called a name they will stand up for that person. They will let the person who is name calling know that they don’t agree with what they are doing and it is not funny. If necessary, they will tell a teacher or an adult they trust.  They just might end up making a new friend.

Thursday, Jan. 22: Crumple Up Mean Words Day-  On this day all students will write a mean word they have called someone in the past (this can be anyone; it doesn’t have to be at school) on a small strip of paper. Then, they will crumple that paper up and add it to the trash bag that is at the front of the school, labeled “Mean Words are Garbage.” There is only one place at Oak Hill for unkind words and that is in the garbage. We want the kids to see how many mean words we can get rid of by filling up the bag and to make a promise to not use that word again towards someone.

Friday, Jan. 23: Kind Words Day-Let’s spread the love at Oak Hill and forgot all our differences. Students will bring a nice to note to their friends and to someone who they don’t normally play with or hang out with. They could also give a nice note to their teachers or other staff members, showing them their appreciation. Everyone will focus on saying kind and loving things to everyone they come in contact with on this day! Teachers can participate in this, too!

I look forward to all the kindness and love that should be spread this around our campus this week and love seeing the kids get into it, too! I will share a picture of our big "Compliment Wall" when it is all done! 

 
 

Welcome Back and Dress for Success Day

Well it has been an interesting week for me coming back from break! I had a wonderful break! I got to spend Christmas with my boyfriend's family and then my mom surprised me for my birthday, which was January 4th, with tickets to the Alamo Bowl to see Kansas State University (my alma mater) play against UCLA. She lives in Las Vegas, NV, so I was so excited to not only go to the game in San Antonio, but to be able to see her and have her come visit me in Austin. She returned to Las Vegas January 3rd, the day after the game and then came my birthday, Jan. 4. It was a wonderful birthday having dinner with my friends and then upon leaving my celebration I tripped on an uneven surface and broke my foot! :-( I was out a few days this week, but returned on Thursday and have been doing okay; just trying to walk as little as possible, which is quite a joke in my job...I have to walk around ALL the time, so who was I kidding thinking I could try to stay off my feet! ;-) It has not been too bad, though, and everyone has been very sweet about it. I am glad to be back!!

I will be wearing this lovely gem for at least the next three weeks! At least I don't have to have a cast! :-) 

 

It's always so nice to get a "get well" note from a caring student!! :-)

Today was our Student Council Spirit Day, "Dress for Success Day" where the students dressed up as people in careers that they are interested in. It's always so fun to see the kids dress up and see what they aspire to be! We've got a football player, veterinarian, doctor, paleontologist, astronaut, and "the first female NFL player" pictured!! So fun! 

 

 

We also changed our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) word of the month for January. Last month's word was "Honesty" and the third graders performed a fun song at one of our school assembly's last month about being honest and what the word means. Each teacher writes names of students on our word of the month wall each week who have demonstrated honesty, or whatever the word may be. 

Hopefully our new board will be filled up even more for January with kids who are doing a great job demonstrating confidence!! Encourage your kids to be confident and honest at home, too! 

Next week I will back to my regularly scheduled lessons and will be teaching a career lesson to all students in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First grades. We will play a fun game with some career finger puppets, read a really funny story about choosing a career and write about what we want to be when we grow up! 

Have a wonderful weekend and try to stay warm!! :-) 

Personal Safety, Hip Hop, and Happy Holidays!!

It's been a busy, but fun week with the holidays and winter break arriving!! I finished up my personal safety lessons with 4th and 5th grade this week. We played a fun game of Safety Jeopardy, which included the following categories: school safety, first aid safety, personal safety, weather safety, stranger danger safety, and wild card. The kids loved it and did such a good job answering all the questions!! When we get back from break I will begin my career lessons with all grades.

It was also an exciting week for my Hip Hop dance group, as we had our last practice and performed for the school today. They did such a great job and were so fun to work with. Many of them feel more comfortable and are able to follow the steps a lot better if I perform with them, so it's fun for me to get to do that with them also! We danced to "Cool Kids" by Echosmith and presented a great message along with the dance. Here is the video if you would like to see how they did:

If you have a child who is interested in the next session, which will start in January, look for the flyer and Eagle Eye newsletter about how to sign up. That will go our right after break and we will perform to a new song and routine! I have so much fun teaching it and am so proud of my dancers!

I also got to run the Giving Tree again this year, with a lot of help from generous volunteers, and we were able to provide 17 families in need with Christmas gifts. I know from personally working with a lot of the students who received the gifts that they were extremely thankful, appreciative, and super excited!! Thank you very much to all those who donated and helped make someone's Christmas brighter!

In addition to Giving Tree, we had an extremely generous donation from A+ Federal Credit Union for one special family who was in need to receive Christmas presents and a few gift cards! The amount of presents they ended up being able to collect for this family was overwhelming!! I couldn't believe how many people they were able to have contribute and the family was super thrilled to be getting the help! The student gave the people from the bank who brought them and me a huge hug!! Nothing feels better than helping a child and making at least some of their wishes come true! :-)

             A+ Federal Credit Union Employees                       All the gifts for the family!


I love all the giving that occurs this time of year and love getting to be a part of it. I hope you all enjoy the holidays and that your kids enjoy their break!! See you next year!! :-)

Personal Safety

I can't believe how fast the time is flying and that I will finish up with my Personal Safety lessons already next week, which means it's time for Christmas break! Last week and this week I went to all PK, Kinder, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade classes to give the required Personal Safety lesson. This can be an uncomfortable topic for some, probably more so for the parents than the kids, but it is a very important lesson. We would all like to think that bad things can't happen to us, or to our kids, but we know that is unfortunately not always the reality, so it is important to be as educated as possible on some of these more difficult topics. The lessons are delivered in an extremely age-appropriate way and I you should have seen the books they made come home and the letter to the parent. In all classes, we read, Your Body Belongs to You, which was followed up with either the booklet called, "Very Important People"(PK-1) or "Good Touch, Bad Touch" (2nd-3rd). Knowing that kids know how to keep themselves safe makes me very happy.

Please go over the booklets with your children and home and review with them who they can go to if they are ever hurt or touched inappropriately by someone. Knowing it is okay to talk to you about these things, makes it easier for them to come to you if something bad does happen. Here are a few statistics to help you to realize the importance of talking to your children about what to do if anyone ever touches them in their private areas: 

• Experts estimate that about 1 in 10 children are sexually abused before their 18th birthday.
• Youth are 2.5 times more likely to be raped than adults.
• 35% of child victims are 11 years old or younger.
• 9% of all 10-17 year olds receive unwanted sexual requests while on the internet. 
• 23% of all 10-17 year olds experience unwanted exposure to pornography. 
• 80% or more of child sexual abuse incidents happen in isolated one-on-one situations.
• 90% of children who are victims of sexual abuse know their abuser. 
• 10% or less of children who are sexually abused are abused by a stranger. 
• 60% of children who are sexually abused are abused by people the family trusts.

These statistics come from "Darkness to Light's Stewards of Children." You can find more information about them and sexual abuse at this website: http://www.d2l.org/site/c.4dICIJOkGcISE/b.6035035/k.8258/Prevent_Child_Sexual_Abuse.htm#.VItS2NLF9Qg

This information is not meant to scare you, but just to help you be more aware of the reality that this type of abuse does occur and many times it can be people you know and have earned your trust, but have no idea are doing this. If children learn at an early age what to do if this ever does happen, we can help to ensure their safety.

On a lighter note below is a fun game you can play with your children at home if you ever want to get them to open up about their feelings without them really knowing that's what they are doing. :-)  I often play this game with both individuals and my small groups in our counseling sessions. You can take a regular game of Jenga and write your own feelings words on the pieces. As you pulled out a piece, you can read a feeling word and talk about a time you felt that way. The kids love playing this!

Next week I will be in 4th and 5th grade classes and we will also talk about Personal Safety, but we will play a form of "Jeopardy" to learn about how to be sure we are safe. I hope to see some of you at tonight's Movie Night tonight and we are hoping to raise a lot of money for our Student Council!! Have a great weekend!! 

Giving Tree, Responsibility, and Conflict/Resolution

I decided to combine last week's events with this week, since we only have two days of school this week. Last week I finished up with my Conflict/Resolution lessons in 4th and 5th grade classes. We began the lesson by watching this fun, little video clip from the late Robin Williams and a couple of Sesame Street characters:

The kids got a kick out of this clip and how it described what the word "conflict" means. We then went over Kelso's Choices (see previous two blogs for more information on this), watched the Kelso's "It's Your Choice Baby" song, and did some role playing with different scenarios that would cause conflict. Each student was paired up and they were able to role play different types of conflict and each take a turn choosing an appropriate choice to solve that problem.

Next week I will be in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade to give our required lesson on personal safety, stranger danger, and good touch/bad touch.

Today was the last day for our SEL Word of the Month, "responsibility". Some of our 5th graders explained the definition of "responsibility" to the whole school at our assembly this morning, by spelling out the word and each child explaining a little about what it means to be responsible. We got to see a lot of names up on our SEL Word of the Month Wall for being responsible students this month! December's SEL Word of the Month is "honesty".

Today was "Pajama Day" at Oak Hill, as you can tell from the picture below! :-) It is always fun to get to go to work as a grown adult and dress in my comfy PJs!! ;-) A parent volunteer, my intern, and I also put up our "Giving Tree" today, so that it will be all ready for next week! If you are unfamiliar with "Giving Tree," it is a great opportunity for you to give back this holiday season and give to a family in need. We have many families at OHE who could use a little help for the holidays and we will be providing those families with gifts, but we need a lot of help from you! We need somewhere around 272 gifts this year! There are two ways to give: you can get an ornament directly from our Giving Tree starting at the book fair kick-off, Tuesday, Dec. 2 next week, which will have a certain gift and age of a child on it; or you can go on the following website to sign up for a child and gift of your choice: 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G1LmrK4CRLcYkog_tJS1KkzDKxBMdTySgHV7T2IpMJE/edit?pli=1#gid=2

Giving Tree runs from Dec. 1- Dec. 8, so please be sure to sign up for something and bring it in by Dec. 8. We hope to be able to provide all of our families with help this year for the holidays and we really appreciate everyone who donates generosity!! I hope you all have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving break!!