Montessori Monthly
January 8, 2018
Welcome to 2018!
I hope that your Winter Break was restful and relaxing and that you got to spend at least some time just "hanging out" and enjoying time with friends and family. I had a great time during most of the break---although frozen pipes on one daughter's mobile home in Vermillion, and another daughter's midnight trip to the ER for a ruptured eardrum spiced things up a bit!
Please read these reminders about entry into our building:
1. Students are to be dropped off after 7:40 am. We open our doors at 7:50 am unless it's very cold, raining, or snowing. We will bring the kids in early on those occasions.
2. Drive at a slow speed and observe signs.
3. Watch carefully for students or parents who may be crossing Park Avenue. (However, we prefer that parents DO NOT park on the south side of Park Avenue!)
4. Pull as far forward as possible to ease traffic congestion. It's okay for your child to walk a little extra distance so that you do not back up traffic flow.
5. If a car has not pulled forward and there is space ahead, please pass slowly and move as far forward as possible.
6. Pull over to the sidewalk to drop off, staying in a single line of traffic.
7. Children should be ready to exit the vehicle when dropping off. Have backpacks on laps, ready to get out of the car quickly, so those behind you do not need to wait.
8. Children should exit the vehicle on the passenger side to avoid moving traffic.
9. Do not leave your car for any reason. If you need to come in the building or walk your child to the front doors, park in a designated parking space.
Thank you for helping make our drop off procedure faster and safer for all!
Counselor's Corner
Counseling Corner
Mrs. Johnson
Mindfulness: Getting in Touch With Our Thinking and Feeling
In our busy world, our minds and bodies can get wrapped up in the hustle and bustle, and may have a hard time slowing down. It is also easy to get stuck thinking about things in the past or the future, while forgetting to focus on the here and now. The benefits of mindfulness for children and adults are plentiful, including decreased stress and increased resilience. Mindfulness is bringing our attention to our thoughts and feelings. In our guidance classes this year, students have been learning about mindfulness by practicing a quiet moment and deep breathing techniques. These techniques can help us cope with difficult situations. I am utilizing a program called, Mind Yeti, which is a research-based tool that teaches children how to calm down, focus their attention, and connect better to themselves and to others. For more information about mindfulness, check out www.mindful.org.
Ways to Help Your Child Learn at Home
Even though we are not sending traditional homework home this year, we still want you to be helping your child learn at home.
Check out the link below; it provides fun ideas to help your child learn and make the most of your family time together. Although the text says these are ways to help your child prepare for Kindergarten, I think you can use many of these ideas with any elementary-aged child!
4th graders share Christmas customs
Dates to Remember
January 9-22 Social Skill: Goal Setting
January 17 Orchestra starts again
January 22 NO SCHOOL for students
January 22 PAB Meeting in Art/Music room 6:30pm
January 23-February 3 Social Skill: Showing Understanding of Someone's Feelings
January 29-30 100th Day of School!
Contact us! Stay informed about what's going on at Montessori!
Email: troyberryman@npsne.org
Website: norfolkpublicschools.org
Location: 310 South 3rd Street, Norfolk, NE, United States
Phone: 402 644-2550
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/npspanthers/
Twitter: @NPSLincoln