WEEKLY STAFF BULLETIN
November 4-8
WEEKLY STAFF BULLETIN
Good morning,
Happy Monday and first full week of November! This is the month to be thankful for the many ways we are all blessed and to help our students find ways to feel thankful. This month's character trait is perseverance. Teaching is a very challenging job and there are the times you have to be able to persevere through the tough days. Teaching is the most rewarding job even when aren't able to see the success right away. Just know you are having an impact every day and every moment with every student...that is powerful.
Have a great week!
Aim High and Dream Big!!
Trish
What's Going This Week
This week is SS
Monday-
Tuesday- PD
Wednesday- EH- Focus Teams
Thursday- Conferences
Friday- FFA Fruit Sale Ends
Upcoming
November 4- Blended Learning Meeting
November 5- PD day
November 6- DLT Meeting
November 7 - Parent/teacher Conferences- Sports Award@7:00
November 21- PTO Meeting
November 27-29 No School
Friendly Reminders
Submit Weekly Team meeting notes.
Articles/pictures/newsletters for Parent Newsletter
TLC
Week of 11-04 to 11-08 M,W,F- 2:15-2:30
Go over weekly agenda
Set goals for the week
Talk about weekend
Discuss ways they have used their strengths and what strengths they can work on
Gratitude, Bravery and/or Perseverance journal each day
11-05 (Tuesday)
No School for students; PD for teacher; election day
11-07 (Thursday)
Introduce Perseverance
Read over the description of Perseverance (PDF from Mrs. Hiler pg. 11)
What is Perseverance?
A handout will be provided (Charcteredtools.com)
TLC Quarter 2 Surveys
Q 2 surveys are ready to go!
Students will take: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FFMSSIA19 (just make sure that they choose the correct grade level in the dropdown for question 6)
Teachers will take: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Quarter2FFMS
STRENGTH SPOTTING
Please use this form to nominate fellow staff members who do extraordinary things! We will draw from these nominations to raffle gift cards throughout the year. Teachers who submit a strength spotting will also be in a drawing.
This weeks teachers nominated were:
Megan Walker- for showing Love of Learning. Megan continues to develop lessons that are engaging to her students. She encourages creativity and exploration. This is just one of the reasons kids love her class so much!
Trish Hiler- for showing Hope. Even when things have been super difficult, you've been sure to try and end things on a positive and showing us how much growth we have been able to make even when we don't see it.
Heather Lane- for showing Kindness and Sense of Meaning- Heather is always ready and willing to listen. She cares so much for all her students as well as her colleagues. She has gone out of her way to check on me many times! I value her sense of meaning as she reminds me often of out purpose here at school in the lives of our children, and across the community.
Megan Walker- for showing Humor and Perseverance- Megan is an amazing teacher who looks for the best in all situations. She has a wonderful sense of humor and is loved by all.
Trish Hiler- for showing Creativity and Perspective- Trish takes extra time each week to put together a wonderful newsletter that often contains extras that seem to there right when I need them. I appreciate her creativity and her ability to put things in perspective to help me through some tough spots.
Tina Miller- for showing Appreciation for Beauty and Excellence and Gratitude. Tina is as gracious as she is giving. She goes above and beyond t make sure all students and staff members have what they need. I love how she is so excited to be part of our middle school family.
STRENGTH SPOTTING FORM
Professional Development
10 Things About Childhood Trauma Every Teacher Needs to Know
For children who have experienced trauma, learning can be a big struggle. But once trauma is identified as the root of the behavior, we can adapt our approach to help kids cope when they’re at school. Starr Commonwealth Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Caelan Soma offers these tips for understanding kids who have been through trauma plus strategies for helping them.
1. Kids who have experienced trauma aren’t trying to push your buttons.
If a child is having trouble with transitions or turning in a folder at the beginning of the day, remember that children may be distracted because of a situation at home that is causing them to worry. Instead of reprimanding children for being late or forgetting homework, be affirming and accommodating by establishing a visual cue or verbal reminder to help that child. “Switch your mind-set and remember the kid who has experienced trauma is not trying to push your buttons,” says Soma.
2. Kids who have been through trauma worry about what’s going to happen next.
A daily routine in the classroom can be calming, so try to provide structure and predictability whenever possible. Since words may not sink in for children who go through trauma, they need other sensory cues, says Soma. Besides explaining how the day will unfold, have signs or a storyboard that shows which activity—math, reading, lunch, recess, etc.—the class will do and when.
3. Even if the situation doesn’t seem that bad to you, it’s how the child feels that matters.
Try not to judge the trauma. As caring teachers, we may unintentionally project that a situation isn’t really that bad, but how the child feels about the stress is what matters most. “We have to remember it’s the perception of the child. […] The situation is something they have no control over, feeling that their life or safety is at risk,” says Soma. It may not even be just one event but the culmination of chronic stress—for example, a child who lives in poverty may worry about the family being able to pay rent on time, keep their jobs, or have enough food. Those ongoing stressors can cause trauma. “Anything that keeps our nervous system activated for longer than four to six weeks is defined as post-traumatic stress,” says Soma.
4. Trauma isn’t always associated with violence.
Trauma is often associated with violence, but kids can also suffer trauma from a variety of situations—like divorce, a move, or being overscheduled or bullied. “All kids, especially in this day and age, experience extreme stress from time to time,” says Soma. “It is more common than we think.”
5. You don’t need to know exactly what caused the trauma to be able to help.
Instead of focusing on the specifics of a traumatic situation, concentrate on the support you can give children who are suffering. “Stick with what you are seeing now—the hurt, the anger, the worry,” Soma says, rather than getting every detail of the child’s story. Privacy is a big issue in working with students suffering from trauma, and schools often have a confidentiality protocol that teachers must follow. You don’t have to dig deep into the trauma to be able to effectively respond with empathy and flexibility.
6. Kids who experience trauma need to feel they’re good at something and can influence the world.
Find opportunities that allow kids to set and achieve goals, and they’ll feel a sense of mastery and control, suggests Soma. Assign them jobs in the classroom that they can do well or let them be a peer helper to someone else. “It is very empowering,” says Soma. “Set them up to succeed and keep that bar in the zone where you know they are able to accomplish it and move forward.” Rather than saying a student is good at math, find experiences to let them feel it. Because trauma is such a sensory experience, kids need more than encouragement—they need to feel their worth through concrete tasks.
7. There’s a direct connection between stress and learning.
When kids are stressed, it’s tough for them to learn. Create a safe, accepting environment in your classroom by letting children know you understand their situation and support them. “Kids who have experienced trauma have difficulty learning unless they feel safe and supported,” says Soma. “The more the teacher can do to make the child less anxious and have the child focus on the task at hand, the better the performance you are going to see out of that child. There is a direct connection between lowering stress and academic outcomes.”
8. Self-regulation can be a major challenge for students suffering from trauma.
Some kids with trauma are growing up with emotionally unavailable parents and haven’t learned to self-soothe, so they may develop distracting behaviors and have trouble staying focused for long periods. To help them cope, schedule regular brain breaks. Tell the class at the beginning of the day when there will be breaks—for free time, to play a game, or to stretch. “If you build it in before the behavior gets out of whack, you set the child up for success,” says Soma. A child may be able to make it through a 20-minute block of work if it’s understood there will be a break to recharge before the next task.
9. It’s OK to ask kids point-blank what you can do to help them make it through the day.
For all students with trauma, you can ask them directly what you can do to help. They may ask to listen to music with headphones or put their head on their desk for a few minutes. Soma says, “We have to step back and ask them, ‘How can I help? Is there something I can do to make you feel even a little bit better?’”
10. You can support kids with trauma even when they’re outside your classroom.
Loop in the larger school. Share trauma-informed strategies with all staff, from bus drivers to parent volunteers to crossing guards. Remind everyone: “The child is not his or her behavior,” says Soma. “Typically there is something underneath that driving that to happen, so be sensitive. Ask yourself, ‘I wonder what’s going on with that kid?’ rather than saying, ‘What’s wrong with the kid?’ That’s a huge shift in the way we view kids.”
Learn More About Childhood Trauma
You can also check out our video What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Childhood Trauma or one of Starr Commonwealth’s professional development courses for teachers
STAFF GRATITUDE CHALLENGE
Staff Gratitude Challenge Are you ready for a challenge that not only you win but makes others feel good too? Well it’s here our November Gratitude challenge. Read the challenges below and post on social media about each of the prompts.
For every challenge posted you get one entry into a free lunch drawing with your team (up to five people). You don’t have to do the prompt on the matching calendar day you can do them in any order you wish. Do all the prompts and earn an extra 10 entries So how do you post to social media?
1. Use your Twitter handle and tag @felicityffms #cardinalgrateful
2. Don’t have a Twitter handle - Ideally create one - OR send me your photo and blurb and we will post
3. You can also use Facebook if you have me on there.