Greene Notes
January 12, 2018
Our Flight Pattern
Attendance Line: (513) 686-1756
IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR
January 15 - No School for MLK Day
February 3 - Greene School Carnival
January 17 - Coding Club Meeting in the Media Center from 3:00-5:00
Yearbooks will be available to order in March! More information on how to order will be coming soon.
Transition
Rising 7th Graders
The Junior High has begun the process of transitioning your son/daughter as a seventh grader! We are confident that the outstanding academic foundation Greene has established will carry on here at the Junior High. In addition, the Junior High has a dynamic after school life with many athletic opportunities and clubs. We look forward to your family joining our Junior High community. While the transition process is in the early planning stages, we are very excited to think about your son/daughter joining us in August! Please put the following dates on your calendar:
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 at 7:00pm: Rising 7th grader orientation and Academic Fair at the Junior High.
Wednesday and Thursday, April 25th and 26th, 2018: Rising 7th grade student tours at the Junior High.
Thank you to all of the parents who attended the PTO Meeting this week. Here is the Transition Presentation from the Junior High.
There are many more details that I will communicate to parents and students over the next few months.
E. H. Greene 2018 Carnival
E. H. Greene 2018 Carnival
Saturday February 3, 2018 from 11am-3:00pm
Join us for food, fun, and games for sports fans young and old! This is such a highlight for our students and is also our biggest fundraiser of the year. But we REALLY need the help of all of our school families to make the Carnival a fun and successful event.
Your child is bringing home a bright green Carnival Packet this week filled with helpful information, including Volunteer Sign-Up Info, Donation Requests, a Ticket Pre-Sale Order Form, and Cash Raffle Tickets for your student to sell to win great prizes. All of this information is also available on the Carnival Webpage where you can purchase your Carnival Tickets at a pre-sale discount!
PLEASE VOLUNTEER YOUR TIME ON CARNIVAL DAY!
Moms, Dads, Grandparents, Teens - WE NEED YOUR HELP! There are various shift times available for games, prizes, food, auction, decorations and more! Thank you in advance! Volunteer SignUp
BASKET RAFFLE DONATONS NEEDED
We are collecting cash, gift cards and unique items for these baskets.
Check out the Basket Raffle Flyer for basket themes and details!
BAKE SALE ITEMS NEEDED
Put on your aprons! We need individually wrapped items for the bake sale. See the Bake Sale SignUp for all the details.
BID ’N BUY/SPONSORSHIP
Please consider becoming a Family or Business Sponsor for the Carnival, and we also need donations of goods and services for the Bid ‘n Buy Silent Auction. The attached Bid ‘n Buy/Sponsorship Flyer has all the information you need.
PRE-ORDER CARNIVAL TICKETS NOW FOR A SIGNIFICANT DISCOUNT!
To pre-order your Carnival Tickets, you can either complete and send in the Pre-Sale Ticket Order Form, or you can purchase tickets online through PayPal on the PTO website. Pre-Sale orders are due by Friday, January 26 and will be filled on Thursday, February 1. Order by Friday, January 19 for a chance to get your tickets for FREE!
LET’S SELL SOME RAFFLE TICKETS!
Your student received 5 bright orange Raffle Tickets in the Carnival Packet this week. Tickets are just $10 each for a chance to win a Grand Prize of $1000 or a second prize of $500. There are some great incentives for students who sell tickets, including an Electric Scooter, gift cards, and a chance to be the MC at our Carnival Student Assembly! All of the details are on the Cash Raffle Flyer and you can also purchase additional tickets on the PTO website.
Questions about the Carnival? Contact one of our Co-chairs:
Wendy Andersen wendy@shineyoga.com or Dawn Thaman ddthaman@gmail.com
Growth Mindset for Parents
BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION COLLECTION (JAN 29 - FEB 2)
10 Tips to Teach Your Kids How to Combat Bullying
Forty-nine percent of children grades 4-12 have been bullied at least once in the past month. And 3.2 million kids have been the victim of bullying. As a parent, how can you recognize the signs and offer your child help?
Why do kids bully other kids?
First, we need to understand why kids bully other kids. Bullying can happen at various stages of development for children. Younger children may present with aggressive behaviors as they are learning to control their emotions and respond to conflict. Some kids model behavior they have seen in their environment, while others use it as self-defense if they have been a victim of aggressive behavior themselves. Family conflict can also be a contributing factor. It’s important to remember that the child doing the bullying may have been traumatized and needs help as well.
Signs of bullying
Each child’s response to bullying will be different. For some children, the psychological damage will be minimal while others will experience more significant mental health symptoms. Victims may:
- Show signs of depression and anxiety, such as not wanting to go to school, becoming withdrawn, being tearful or unusually emotional
- Experience physical symptoms such as a stomachache
- Display behavioral problems, including emotional outbursts, refusing to follow directions or participate in activities and conflict with family and peers
How to combat bullying
Effective strategies to combat bullying behaviors include teaching social and emotional skills to increase empathy. Strategies include:
- Talking with kids about how their behavior impacts others
- Having conversations about feelings, especially related to conflict, and helping kids identify and label the feelings they are experiencing
- Encouraging kids to consider other perspectives and find common ground
- Teaching youth self-control also helps students decrease impulsive behaviors and consider consequences for themselves and others.
- Students experiencing bullying can discourage bullying attempts by first trying to simply ignore the behavior. Ignoring the bullies’ antics will be less rewarding for the bully, who will be less likely to continue the behavior with someone who ignores them.
- Setting boundaries and simply telling the bully to stop in a non-emotional manner is another way to disarm them.
- Using the buddy system is helpful as well; there is often safety in numbers. Encourage your child to keep a friend around them to stop bullying attempts.
- If possible, parents or guardians should attempt to contact the bullies’ parents or guardians. There is a chance they are unaware of the bully’s behavior and will disapprove of it and address it accordingly.
- If contacting the parent or guardian is not helpful and the bullying occurs in the school setting, contact the school staff. Many public schools are mandated to have a process to address bullying in their school.
- If there is a threat of physical harm, contact the police.
The Children’s Advocacy Project (CAP4Kids) provides resources for parents. If your child’s school has a school-based behavioral health therapist, have your child talk to them about bullying or click here to learn more about Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s school-based therapy.
Source: Nationwide Children's Hospital
Textile Recycling
- Symmes Elementary: 36 bags
- Sycamore High School: 70 bags
- Sycamore Junior High: 11 bags
- Blue Ash Elementary: 25 bags
- Maple Dale Elementary: 30 bags
- EH Greene Intermediate: 32 bags
You can continue to drop off clothing, footwear, undergarments, handbags, and linens. This is keeping textiles out of the landfill and being recycled!
Know! New Year, New Rules – Cell Phone Contract
The New Year is always a good time to hit the reset button and establish any new rules you may need.
When it comes to our kids and their phones, this may especially apply as we learn the potential connection between smartphone use and depressed and suicidal teens.
Social media can be accessed through a variety of digital devices, but the smartphone is the tool tweens and teens use most often to share posts, pics, and personal info.
There are several key pieces to social media that can cause a teen harm including Cyberbullying, Picture-Perfect Lives, Social Isolation and Sleep Deficit. Please refer to the previous tip, Know! Social Media is Bringing Our Teens Down, for the specific connections to each of those.
Now we must ask ourselves what can we as parents do to help protect our children from the potential downward smartphone spiral? Here are some simple, but effective steps:
When it comes to Cyberbullying:
- It is critical to engage our kids in regular and ongoing conversations on the topic of cyberbullying. Youth must be clear on what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior online (and in-person) and they must know what to do if they find themselves being bullied.
When it comes to those supposed Picture-Perfect Lives:
- Remind your child that the pictures they see online are only a glimpse into another person’s life – and even then it’s likely only the pretty parts and only with the help of filters.
When it comes to Social Isolation:
- Limit the time you allow your teen to be online to two hours or less per day – and encourage activities that benefit their mental well-being, like fresh air, exercise, volunteering, meeting new friends, and participating in group activities (to connect with others in the non-virtual world).
When it comes to Sleep Deficit:
- Remove the temptation of late night texting and internet surfing by charging your child’s phone in your bedroom each night.
Another thing you can do is sit down with your child and create a cell phone contract to establish or re-establish the rules.
The following is a sample contract created by youth advocate and expert Josh Shipp.
The Teen Cell Phone Agreement:
1. I understand that the rules below are for my safety and that my parents love me more than anything in the world. I understand that my parents want to give me freedom, while also giving me enough security to make smart choices. Initial here: ______
2. I promise that my parents will always know my phone passwords. I understand that my parents have a right to look at my phone whenever there’s a need for them to do so, even without my permission. Initial here: ______
3. I will hand the phone to one of my parents promptly at _____ pm every school night and every weekend night at _____ pm. I will get it back at _____ am. Initial here: ______
4. I will not send or receive naked photos. Ever. I understand that there could be serious legal consequences that could put mine and my parents’ future at-risk. Initial here: ______
5. I will never search for porn or anything else that I wouldn’t want my grandma finding. Initial here: ______
6. I understand that my behavior on my phone can impact my future reputation—even in ways that I am not able to predict or see. Initial here: ______
7. I promise I will tell my parents when I receive suspicious or alarming phone calls or text messages from people I don’t know. I will also tell my parents if I am being harassed by someone via my cell phone. Initial here: ______
8. When I am old enough, I won’t text and drive. I understand it’s very dangerous and pretty stupid. Initial here: ______
9. I will make an effort to learn phone and internet etiquette. I understand this is an extension of normal manners. I will turn off, silence, and put my phone away in public–especially in a restaurant, at the movies, or while speaking with another human being. I am not a rude person. I will not allow the phone to change this important part of who I am. Initial here: ______
10. I will NEVER use my phone or social media to bully or tease anyone, even if my friends think it’s funny. Initial here: ______
11. I will not lie about where I have been or how I am using the phone. I promise to answer questions openly, honestly, and directly. Initial here: ______
I understand that this is NOT my phone and that it was paid for by my parents. Having this phone is not a right–it is a privilege that can be taken away. As such, I have read the following document and agree to the above rules. I understand that if I have any questions, I should talk to my parents face-to-face.
Sign here: ___________________________________
Sycamore HS Annual Cabaret Feb. 10!
The Sycamore Vocal Boosters proudly present the 2018 Cabaret @ Sycamore High School in The Hub starting at 7pm on Saturday, February 10th. The Cabaret features members of the HS Choral Program as soloists and in small ensembles in a coffeehouse atmosphere, singing jazz standards, musical theatre, folk, classical and foreign language pieces. Tickets $10. Tickets available starting February 1 @ http://www.aveschoir.org/Cabaret-Tickets. Limited seating. Proceeds benefit the Sycamore High School Choral Program and Sycamore Vocal Boosters.
PERFORM WITH THE FLYERETTES!
The Sycamore High School Dance Team is hosting their annual dance clinic for grades 5-8 on Saturday, January 20.
All dancers will perform with the team during the halftime of the Boy’s Varsity Basketball Game on Tuesday, January 23.
Shop for everyone on your gift list this holiday at smile.amazon.com/ch/31-1298442 and Amazon donates to Edwin H. Greene Intermediate School PTO.
Aviation Station is coming to your neighborhood!
The Aviation Station will be rolling into your neighborhood to provide Homework Assistance, STEAM activities, and free wifi on the following days each week of the school year:
Mondays 4:00-6:00 p.m.: Fields Ertel Townhomes
Tuesdays 4:00-6:00 p.m.: Hazelwood Community Center
Wednesdays 4:00-6:00 p.m.: Sycamore Terrace
Thursdays 4:00-6:00 p.m.: Blue Ash Kohl’s parking lot (Plainfield & Hunt Roads)
If you would like your child to participate in this free service, please fill out the permission form and return it to your child’s school prior to the day of the Aviation Station visit in your community. For more information regarding the Aviation Station, please visit our website at https://www.sycamoreschools.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=2988
Greene School Activity Brochure
Pictures for the Yearbook
Calling all parents! Those cell phones take great pictures! When you capture a moment at the Greene School that you are proud of, PLEASE email the picture in its ORIGINAL SIZE to yearbookgreene@gmail.com.
At the music program, kids having fund together, walk a thon, carnival…as long as it is Greene students, pass it on so we can fill our yearbook with some great photos! Don’t wait til the end of the year! Email your photos right away! THANK YOU!!
Edwin H. Greene Intermediate School
Website: http://www.sycamoreschools.org/Domain/10
Location: 5200 Aldine Drive, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Phone: (513) 686-1750
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EH-Greene-Intermediate-1777365652527973/
Twitter: @EHGreeneSchool