September was a busy month, but I think we can all agree that it has been great getting back to school. Our students have done so well getting used to all of the new safety measures and I am so proud of them. I also want to take a minute to thank all of our staff who have been working so hard. I am so thankful to work alongside these awesome people every day.

One of our school goals this year is in the area of social and emotional learning. As a staff, many of us have been learning about Self-Regulation (self-reg) and this year the teaching staff will be learning about self-reg through a book study and PD.

Self-Reg uses science based, brain research to examine behaviour. It is based on the work of Stuart Shanker from The Mehrit Centre. The belief is that all behaviour is caused by stress. Sometimes there is just the right amount of stress, or a blue brain/red brain balance. This is when we learn and perform at an optimal level. Some stress is good. If we never experienced stress we would not learn or grow. There are times for all of us when our stress becomes too great and our red brain takes over. This happens to all of us, all the time. As adults we have learned (mostly) to use strategies to help us return to a blue brain/red brain balance. Some of these strategies might include taking a few deep breaths, taking some time alone, talking to someone and so on. We believe that our young students need help recognizing their stress and then finding strategies to help them restore balance. There is no such thing as a "bad kid". Our job as teachers and parents is to lend them our calm when they are over stressed. They need the adults in their lives to be calm and help them so that one day they can recognize their own stressors and find ways to bring them back to calm and to learning.

If you would like to learn more about Self-Reg the Mehrit Centre has a great website with lots of resources for parents as well as educators. I encourage you to check it out. In the meantime, if you have any questions, anytime, please reach out via email kfraser@hsd.ca or via phone 204 326 6110.

Respectfully,

Karen Fraser

An urban bus catchment area map is posted on the HSD website. Any urban or rural bus that will be late due to weather or mechanical issues is listed on the HSD website under the bus delay tab.

Go to the drop down menu of Services/Transportation Services and you can select:

1. School Bus Delay Bulletins - where any bus that is late is posted with the approximate delay.

2. Catchment Maps

Thank you for checking these options before calling the Hanover School Division Transportation Department with your questions regarding bus delays and Steinbach urban bus routes times and maps. Any questions for transportation please call 204-320-2347.