The Bledsoe Beat
Growing students socially, emotionally, and academically.
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Thank you!
The Last Day to Register to Vote in Primary Elections is Monday, February 5th
Register to vote online by February 5th at https://www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote/
Frisco ISD - Looking Beyond Your Tax Bill - Monday, February 5th at 7 PM
Families attending Reedy Feeder schools are invited to attend this informational session in the RHS Auditorium at 7:00 pm
3GStrong - Classroom Meeting Update
In our efforts to create 3GStrong students at Bledsoe, this week’s class meetings focused on GROWTH MINDSET, GRIT and GRACE in the area of self regulation. Our goal is to help students learn to regulate their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations. This includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and working toward personal and academic goals. We want to empower students with tools they can use to control their behavior in a way that helps to reach their goals and grow personally. Research has found that self regulation is important to success. Having self control is an aspect of showing grit and is more important to reach your goals than having a high IQ.
Our specific focus this week was on the following skills within Self-Monitoring or Self Regulation:
Planning and Prioritizing – the ability to set a goal and decide how to reach it as well as being flexible to replan if something out of your control pops up.
Task Initiation – the ability to start a task. If you don’t understand, ask a question but don’t wait to get started.
Impulse Control – the ability to stop and think before acting. Students meet goals by not quitting a chore halfway through, not rushing through assignments without checking, or keeping from blurting out at inappropriate times. When they become aware of what they’re doing, they try to wait and delay their gratification. Practicing this skill is hard but becomes easier as you practice more.
A famous professor Dr. Walter Michel at Stanford conducted an experiment about self control. The experiment was to see the implications of a student’s level of self control on their lives as they grow up. The psychology experiment gave a child a choice between an immediate small reward of a marshmallow or test of self control to earn two marshmallows. The children earned two marshmallows if they waited 20 minutes in a room by themselves WITH one marshmallow without eating it. If they could do that, then they would get 2 marshmallows instead of just the one. As you can imagine, it’s not easy for a child to pass up a marshmallow that is sitting in front of them for 20 minutes even with the idea of an extra marshmallow, the goal, at the end. Twenty minutes is almost a whole recess for children.
The children that waited had control of their actions to reach their goal to get 2 marshmallows.
Years later they interviewed the kids from the experiment. They found that the children that did used self control were more successful and happier. As you can imagine, in the world of instant gratification with technology, our children have less opportunity to develop delayed gratification to practice this skill.
Enjoy this video of the cutest marshmallow test we’ve seen:
And check out this! The creators of Sesame Street explained why they created episodes to teach "executive function" skills of self regulation to 3 and 4 year old children. They created episodes to show that Cookie Monster can't always have the cookie.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/15/sesame-street-big-bird-education/2809239/
We appreciate your partnership to grow our kids to be 3GSTRONG!
PTA
Our next Spirit Night will be next Wednesday, February 7th at Newks eatery from 4:30-9:00pm.
On February 16th students will participate in Diverse Abilities Day. This event is designed to raise awareness and empathy for friends and classmates with special abilities such as having a Sensory Processing Disorder, Dyslexia, Anxiety or a Hearing Impairment.
For this event to be successful we will need many parent volunteers. Students will be visiting 4 (FOUR) stations in a 60 minute period. . Please consider volunteering for more than one shift.
All materials are included in each station and a quick training will be provided. Please try to be 10-15 minutes before your shift starts.
We will provide a small lunch for volunteers that can stay 3 or more shifts or all day!!
Thank you for your help!
Below is the Sign Up Genius Link.
Valentine's Day Party
Each year our school is involved with a service project during our Valentine's Day party to teach our children the importance to give to others. This year we are excited that their Valentine's Day Party will be held during their specials time where they will participate in Jump Rope for Heart. Your child will receive more information about Jump Rope for Heart after our school kick off on January 25th. PTA has purchased jump ropes and yoga mats to help with both the party as well as future physical education classes. We are asking for parents to not attend the Valentine's Day Service Project/Party.
Students will have a special time in their class to socialize with their classmates and exchange Valentine's Day cards with one another. This is such a great time for students to grow socially and create special memories within their classroom.
We will have a larger End of Year party as well as Field day later this year that we would love for you to attend. Thank you for your continued partnership.
It is that time again... Val-o-Gram time!
Student Council sells Val-o-Grams each year as a fundraiser and uses the proceeds to give back to our school. Each Val-o-Gram costs $1 and will include a message from you and four Hersey Kisses. If you would like to purchase Val-o-grams, please return the pre-order form that was sent home. Pre-order forms are due by February 2nd. Please DO NOT send in money with pre-order forms. Once you receive the Val-o-Gram cards, please write the messages and return cards with the cash or check. We will attach the Kisses and deliver them to the correct classrooms. Thank you for supporting our Bledsoe Student Council!
Bledsoe Celebrates Friendship Week - February 12th through the 16th
Bledsoe’s Friendship Rock Garden Project -
In a few short weeks Bledsoe Elementary will be honoring the value of friendship to support our students with making and keeping friends. We will celebrate Friendship Week from February 12th through the 16th.
During Friendship Week, Bledsoe students will come together as a campus to create a beautiful reminder of the characteristics of true friendship by creating a colorful rock garden. Mrs. Harris, our fantastic art teacher, will be facilitating this project's artistic progress during upcoming art classes. However, we need parents’ help with collecting a rock for your child/ren!
We're asking that EVERY child bring a natural rock (sized between approximately 3 to 6 inches in diameter). Students will then bring their rock to art class to paint their own unique friendship rock beginning Monday, 2/5. Students will be brainstorming a characteristic of true friendship that they will paint onto their individual rock. This would be a great conversation to have around the dinner table between now and the week of February 5th-9th. What character trait is most important to your child when seeking new friendships or maintaining old ones?
Again, EVERY child will be responsible for bringing their own rock to paint; however, your child is welcome to bring an extra to donate to those that may have forgotten to bring one. Bledsoe’s art teacher, Mrs. Harris, will have a box for donated rocks in case a student wasn't able to bring one. In the meantime, it will be a fun scavenger hunt for students to search for their perfect rock while they're out and about with you.
Thank you for your support of Bledsoe’s Friendship Week festivities!
Important Dates
February 6th - PTA Board and Membership Meeting
February 14th - Valentine Service Party Jump Rope for Heart (Only for students)
February 16th - Diverse-Ability Day (No GMB)
February 19th - No School President's Day
February 22nd PTA Student Program - Sky Dome
February 23rd PTA Student Program - Sky Dome
February 23rd Bledsoe Choir Performs at the Legends Game
Email: pedenj@friscoisd.org
Website: http://schools.friscoisd.org/ES/bledsoe
Location: 1900 Timber Ridge Drive, Frisco, Texas 75034, United States
Phone: 469-633-3600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Calvin-Bledsoe-Elementary-1745317625691080/
Twitter: @Bledsoe_Elem