NEWSLETTER - January 2011

Longfellow Elementary School

School Counseling/Family Resource Center

January 2011

Dear Longfellow Families,

Welcome back - and a special welcome to our new Longfellow families!  I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break. 

School Counseling Update

KINDERGARTEN : Classroom guidance continues to work on I-Care Lessons while focusing on the “Getting Along” series (See 1-10-11 Letter for more information).

FIRST/SECOND GRADES: Beginning January 24^th the first and second graders will be learning about friendships and strategies for handling conflicts.  There will be various stories and activities related to conflict resolution. 

THIRD/FOURTH/ FIFTH/SIXTH GRADES:  As explained in the December newsletter, the 3^rd – 6^th grade students have started the STEPS TO RESPECT anti-bullying program.  There are many lessons taught as a part of this program to help students learn respectful behaviors as well as what they can do to prevent bullying here at Longfellow. 

 

Everyone at Longfellow Elementary School is committed to making our school a safe and caring place for all students.  We will treat each other with respect, and demonstrate Longfellow PRIDE (Peace, Respect, Integrity, Dependability, and Excellence).  We refuse to tolerate bullying in any form at our school.

Longfellow’s Definition of BULLYING: Bullying is unfair and one-sided.  It happens when someone keeps hurting, frightening, threatening, or leaving someone out on purpose.

Consequences for bullingOur school is focused on showing Longfellow PRIDE.  Students who bully other students are not following Longfellow PRIDE and their misbehavior may result in a referral to the principal.  All bullying behaviors must be properly reported whether or not principal involvement is needed. 

Family Resource Center Update

All the toys/books/winter gear donations were greatly appreciated – THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY.  Because of all of your support I was able to deliver holiday boxes to ten Longfellow families!

SIBSHIP – A support group for brothers and sisters of children with special needs will be having an event on January 15^th (see reverse side for more information). 

If your family would like extra support please let me know.

Sincerely,

        Nicole Schmidt

NEWSLETTER - January 2011 (Kindergarten)

Longfellow Elementary School

School Counseling/Family Resource

January 2011

Dear Longfellow (KINDERGARTEN) Families,

Welcome back from winter break!  I am looking forward to continuing classroom guidance with the kindergartners!  I hope everyone remembers the lessons taught by I-Care Cat and other puppet friends!

1.                  We Listen to Each Other

2.               Hands are for Helping not Hurting

3.               We Use I-Care Language

4.               We Care About Each Other’s Feelings

5.               We are Responsible for What we Say and Do

The Kindergarteners are continuing to work on these lessons through a series about GETTING ALONG WITH OTHERS.  Each week we have been listening to stories about various animal characters who work on getting along with others by using the I-Care Lessons. 

This week I would like you to talk to your child about bullying.  Longfellow has defined bullying as unfair and one-sided.  Bullying happens when someone keeps hurting, frightening, threatening, or leaving someone out on purpose.  Your child listened to a story called “I Can’t Believe I Said It” which is about Patrick the Pig who has a friend who bullies him.  Patrick the Pig was able to solve this bullying problem by using I-Care Language. 

The Steps to Respect Program at Longfellow explains that students should learn to treat others the way they would like to be treated and to understand that everyone should be treated with respect.  Please continue to talk to your child about these ideas.  Additionally, there is a worksheet on the back that you can discuss with your child in order to help them think about what they could do if they are ever involved in a bullying situation. 

At Longfellow Elementary School we want to prevent bullying so students can feel safe at school!

Sincerely,

Nicole Schmidt

Longfellow Elementary School

School Counseling/Family Resource

December 2010

Dear Longfellow Families,

School Counseling Update

Hopefully your K-2 grader has brought home their I-Care booklets because they are all now “I-Care Experts”!  For the next 6 weeks I will be implementing the “Steps to Respect” program to students in 3-6 grades.  Please see reverse side for more information.  I have been leading 8 small groups; most of them have ended or will end before winter break.  You will be receiving a letter home if your child is selected to be a part of a small group.  Small groups are meant to be a positive experience with the purpose of learning and acquiring specific skills - a great opportunity for all students! 

Family Resource Center Update

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving.  Going along with the thanksgiving theme, I want to give a special thanks  to the student council and our Longfellow families!   We were able to provide several families with boxes filled with food for thanksgiving.  Your donations were very much appreciated.  We will be continuing our giving as we enter December – I am still asking for donations of:  jackets, boots, books, and especially toys for ages 5-12.  I will divide and deliver your donations (drop off in the office) to our Longfellow families in need. 

If your family would like extra support please let me know.

Sincerely,

        Nicole Schmidt

Research shows that bullying can be reduced greatly- but only when the whole school (staff, students, and parents) tackles the problem together.  Steps to Respect: A Bullying Prevention Program is one way to do that.  The main goal of the program is to help create a safe, caring, respectful learning environment in which bullying is not tolerated.

This is a new program for the Iowa City Community School District funded by a grant from the federal government called “Safe Schools/Healthy Students”.  All Longfellow Elementary staff attended a training session so that they will be better able to recognize and respond to student reports of bullying. 

Lessons will be taught in grades 3-6 by the school counselor, Nicole Schmidt, during weekly classroom guidance instruction time.  Classroom teachers will reinforce the lessons throughout the week. 

As part of the Steps to Respect program, students will learn new skills to help them build friendships and deal with bullying.  For example, they will learn how to:

• Make friends
• Join group activities
• Manage conflicts
• Recognize, Refuse, and Report bullying (whether it happens to them or someone else)

NEWSLETTER - November 2010

Longfellow Elementary School

School Counseling/Family Resource

November 2010

Dear Longfellow Families,

It has been a fun first couple of months here at Longfellow!   I have enjoyed getting to know your students better.  My schedule for classroom guidance is typically 6 weeks in and 6 weeks out.  During the times I am “out” I am providing various small groups.  When students return from Thanksgiving break I will be implementing the STEPS TO RESPECT district wide program to 3-6 grade students.  More information will follow about this program.   

Here is an overview of what has been discussed in each grade level:

KINDERGARTEN/1^st /2^nd :  In these classes we are working on the I-Care Lessons.  This program incorporates the following 5 lessons:

1.                  We Listen to Each Other

2.                Hands are for Helping not Hurting

3.               We Use I-Care Language

4.                We Care About Each Other’s Feelings

5.                We are Responsible for What we Say and Do

Each lesson is taught through different activities in each of the grade levels.  Students will be bringing home their I-Care Booklets once all the lessons have been thoroughly taught. 

THIRD/FOURTH GRADES:  All third and fourth graders have completed the feelings unit (expressing feelings and how to appropriately deal with feelings) and turned in their “Feelings Journal”.  I will be writing back to the students for the last time and will return the journals to the students when classroom guidance resumes.  Currently I am providing small groups for various topics and will be returning to their classrooms when we are back from Thanksgiving break.

FIFTH/SIXTH GRADES:   The fifth and sixth graders were working on study skills (they have a booklet called “It’s up to you… make it cool to be in school”).  They were involved in activities and lessons about organization, time management, and work habits.  Like the third and fourth grade classes I have been out of the classrooms providing small groups.  I will be returning to their classrooms when we are back from Thanksgiving break.

Family Resource Update: Donations appreciated!

As the weather gets colder many of our Longfellow families may need some extra support in providing their children with warm clothing.  If you have any extra winter gear please consider donating them.  Also, toys and books would be wonderful for Longfellow children this holiday season!  Please drop off these items in the office any time.  Monetary donations are also welcome; checks can be made out to: Longfellow Family Resource Center.  Monetary donations will be placed into the ICCSD foundation and used for student needs at Longfellow. 

Sincerely,

Nicole Schmidt

NEWSLETTER - October 2010 (6th grade)

Longfellow Elementary School

School Counseling/Family Resource Center

October 2010 ~ 6th GRADE

Dear Longfellow Families,

As mentioned in the last newsletter, the 5^th and 6^th graders have been working on study skills.  However, while the 5^th graders were away at school of the wild there were various activities for the 6^th graders both here at Longfellow and for two days at Kent Park.  Throughout the week my time spent with the 6^th graders was focused on career exploration.  Students learned that career paths are impacted by various factors including: values, personality, interest, ability, life experiences, among others.  Here is a list of the activities the 6^th graders participated in.  You will definitely want to hear about all of these interesting activities from your child!  Your 6^th grader should have brought home some of the worksheets to discuss them with you.

Monday

v  Career Path Lesson and Activity:  Students took a survey about which career path they may be most interested in following (Health Services, Natural Resources/Agriculture, Arts & Communication, Industrial Engineering Technology, Business/Management Technology, and Human Services)

v  Job Types:  Students were divided into groups and were given note cards with a specific job written on each card (ex teacher).  Students placed the cards on the signs for each career path.

v  Ethics in Careers: One group of 6^th graders read hypothetical situations of people doing things in their jobs (ex your co-workers are stealing CDs and they ask you not to tell the boss).  Students created skits and then described: Who was involved?  Who did the situation impact?  What are ethical solutions? 

Thursday

v  “TAKING OPPORTUNITIES INSTEAD OF WASTING THEM”: Students filled out “Applications to attend the Professional Presentations”.  Then students got into two “hiring teams” and decided who they would “hire” based on the application.  Students also ranked their choices of professional presentations they wanted to attend and wrote questions they had for the professionals.

Friday

v  Professional Presenters: Travel Writer, Nurse, Athletic/Personal Trainer, Lawyer, House Flipping/Home Renovation, Dental Hygienist (All students were able to see their first choice and more!)

v  When students weren’t assigned to a presenter they did activities with me.  Students participated in a values activity in which they ranked values and got into groups to describe why they ranked certain values (ex. people define them differently – like the words “beauty”, “wealth”, and “power”).  The other activities involved job interviews.  Students learned about what behaviors are appropriate for job interviews.  Student volunteers participated in various role-plays and scripts of interviews (The character names were Raven and Marvin).    

I hope everyone had fun exploring career paths & continue to do so!

And a special thank you to our parent volunteers!

Sincerely,

Nicole Schmidt

NEWSLETTER - September 2010

Longfellow Elementary School

School Counseling/Family Resource Center

September 2010

Dear Longfellow Families,

I hope that all of you have had a nice start to the 2010-2011 school year!  I am excited to be a part of Longfellow Elementary School as your School Counselor & Family Resource Director.  One of my roles as the school counselor is to provide classroom guidance lessons.  I started off the year by going to each classroom to explain what a school counselor does and gave a tour of my room.  It is important for you to know what your children are learning during classroom guidance because these are significant topics to discuss with your children.  Newsletters will be sent home as we begin covering new topics throughout the year.  

Here is an overview of what has been/will be discussed in each grade level:

KINDERGARTEN:  The first activity involved a puppet named “Felicia the Flower with Feelings”.  This was a lesson about making friends (look them in the eye, say hi, ask them their name, tell them yours).  The next activity was about being unique and we read the story “Timothy Goes to School”. 

FIRST GRADE:  The first two lessons were about being unique.  They colored a rainbow picture and discovered that no one had the exact same rainbow.  Students learned that we have a lot of similarities and differences but that these do not make anyone better or worse.   

SECOND GRADE:  The first activity was a get to know you activity that involved talking about who students live with.  The next activity involved an interactive puppet show that focused on listening and using hands to help rather than hurt others. 

(Kindergarten, first, and second grades will all be spending the upcoming weeks working on I-CARE LESSONS.  This is a district wide program which teaches the following 5 lessons: listen, use hands for helping not hurting, positive language, caring about feelings, and responsibility for the things one does and says)

THIRD/FOURTH GRADES:  The first activity was called “Questions From a Rainbow” in which we learned a little bit about everyone.  All third and fourth graders are currently working on a “Feelings Journal”.  There are many activities about feelings (expressing feelings, how to deal with feelings).  Also I have been writing back to students in their journals.

FIFTH/SIXTH GRADES: The first activity was a get to know you activity called “Tree Climbing” in which we discussed different opinions (and how to respect different opinions without putting others down).  Currently the fifth and sixth graders are working on study skills (they have a booklet called “it’s up to you… make it cool to be in school”).  We will be working on organization, time management, work habits, and goal setting. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Nicole Schmidt