We are now several weeks into the school year but I still can not believe it is already October! I'm hoping that we are done with our hurricane season now that Matthew has moved northbound. I hope all of you were safe and snug wherever you were!
I live in Lexington County and, on most days, there is a 35-45 minute drive to and from RTE. I was concerned at the beginning of the year that this would get tiresome but I've loaded up on books on CDs and I barely notice the distance. In my classroom guidance lessons, I've been getting to know all of your sweet students. THEY make any distance worth it! I'm amazed by their character and energy. I've been pleasantly surprised about how many love to read recreationally. This is SO very important for life-long learning as well as "sharpening the saw" (our 7th habit). Ms. Symonds in the media center does such a wonderful job in encouraging reading in our students and I love seeing the number of students tracking through the center daily to check out books. Many have shared that this is an important expectation at home as well. Great job parents/guardians!! Keep up the awesome work!
I've recently had the students complete a student needs survey so that I could build this year's program around their particular needs and concerns. I've covered the district initiated bullying lesson with all 5th grade students, and am beginning to discuss the topic with kindergarten-4th grade. This is a timely and relevant subject as bullying and conflicts with friends were indicated as the top issues students expressed interest in discussing during classroom guidance. This is a screen shot of student responses (the 3rd item from top is "dealing with grief/loss" and the 5th item from top is "dealing with peer pressure":
Toward the end of last month (9/23/16), we had our first Leadership Spotlight Breakfast. This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize students nominated by teachers or staff for demonstrating one of the 7 Habits or LIFESKILLS. I love arts and crafts and had a grand time creating this photo op for the students. Everyone seemed to enjoy the breakfast and sharing this time of recognition with their loved-ones.
As we all dry out, please enjoy the beautiful fall weather and keep your thoughts with our friends at Townsville Elementary School as they continue to grieve the loss of one of their precious students and deal with the aftermath of the senseless act of violence that occurred in their school on 9/28. Life is short and childhood is even shorter. Enjoy every second you have with your student!
