What is Courage?

Courage is the ability and strength to face something that may be difficult or challenging. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather perseverance in the presence of fear and the willingness to stand up for what is right or try something new even though it may be uncomfortable or uncertain.

Why focus on Courage?

• Courage encourages engagement. Courage helps students raise their hand, participate, try new things, and voice their opinions.
• Courage builds self-confidence. Courage is the choice to act. By doing something, students increase their belief in themselves and their ability to do difficult or challenging things.
• Courage can help reframe a negative. When something does not go as planned or a student gets upset about a mistake or failure, courage can help reframe the event in a positive light.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, March 7th at 6 p.m. We will be discussing the top 10 key skills kids need to thrive in middle school and how parents can help from the book "Middle School Matters." We hope you can join us! RSVP here - https://forms.gle/WnvcWJbeqFYAhz2w5

Deadline to register is Monday, March 6th.

This week, March 6-10, is National Social Workers Week! We are so lucky to have Mrs. Starr as our Social Worker! Let's surprise her and shower her this week with affirmations in celebration of National Social Workers Week. If you or your student has had the good fortune of working with her through Be Nice, Links or she has given your family help and/or advice, you know what a gem she is! Let's let her know this week! Please email her at astarr@otsegops.org to let her know your gratitude.

What is Locura de Marzo? March Madness - named after the college basketball tournament that takes place in the United States in March. Students from all over the globe including 1,230 schools from 16 countries are selecting which of the Sweet 16 Spanish songs will be the grand champion this year. Students listen to the songs and vote between the two of them. The winning song advances and the losing song is eliminated until there is only one. This year, OMS participated in the promo video that all of these schools will be viewing. As the students said, "They saved the best for last!" I couldn't agree more. Check out 30:12 in the video below to see our amazing OMS students in action!! A special shout out to our Spanish teacher, Senora Patin, for always seeking fun ways to engage and immerse our students in the target language.

Beginning March 13th, Fellowship of Christian Students will begin meeting before school. This club will meet in the OMS Media Center on Monday mornings from 6:45-7:25 a.m. Students should enter the outside Media Center doors. This club is based on a national group called FCA “Fellowship of Christian Athletes.” The club will be open to all students, not just athletes. At this youth group meeting, students will enjoy a breakfast snack, an ice breaker game and read a weekly devotional. The books that will be used will be “One Day Better” by Dan Britton and “ Wisdom Walks” by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page. The cost to be part of the club is $2/week. The money will be used to help cover the cost of breakfast. If you have any qustions, please contact Mr. Knash at jknash@otsegops.org

Congratulations to Kit Titus for winning the Kindness Poster Contest. We had over 30 entries. Our Be NICE Student Leaders voted for their favorite one. ALL of the posters are "winners" because they all celebrate an important character trait---kindness.

Emotions, emotions everywhere! How can you respond in a helpful way? Our kids are changing and growing so much that emotions are everywhere. The goal for us is to help regulate their emotions without minimizing them. Here are some tips:

Instead of saying “calm down!” try “How can I help you?”

Instead of saying “stop crying!” try “I can see this is hard for you.”

Instead of saying “You’re fine” try “Are you okay?”

Instead of saying “be quiet!” try “Can you use a softer voice?”

Instead of saying “Tell me what’s wrong! I can’t understand you!” try “I’ll sit with you until you are ready to talk.”

These are tried and true responses to intense emotions. If you have questions about this or anything related to your child’s emotional health please do not hesitate to reach out at astarr@otsegops.org or 269-694-7510.

988--Suicide Prevention HotlineThe 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 160 crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress

Gryphon Place: 269-381-4357 (HELP). Gryphon Place is a 24/7 service for immediate emotional support or crisis.

Text Hotline: Text the word HOME to 741741. This is a resource for texting support when someone is in emotional distress.