Panda Press
Paddock Road Monthly Newsletter
October 5, 2018
Calendar Events
October 10-11 - Outdoor Education 6th Grade
October 12 - Book Fair 3:30-6:00pm
October 15 - Book Fair 3:30 - 8:00pm
October 16 - Book Fair 3:30 - 6:00pm
October 17 - Book Fair 3:00 - 8:00pm
October 15 - Parent Teacher Conferences
October 17 - Parent Teacher Conferences
October 19 - No School Intersession
October 22 - No School Teacher Inservice
October 25 - Picture Re-Takes/Staff Picture
October 26 - Fall/Halloween Parties
November 6 - PRCC Mtg 6:30pm
November 8 - Fall Learning Celebration 5:30-7:30pm
November 9 - Veterans Day Event
Belonging? Or Peer Pressure?
Counselor Corner
“Everyone is doing it!” It is a child’s battle cry. Wanting to do what all of the kids are doing is a part of growing up. The desire to “belong” often becomes a desire to conform. If peer pressure is negative, shifting your child’s healthy activities and positive behaviors toward dangerous ones, you have a right to be concerned. To help your child cope with peer pressure, there are several tactics you can choose. One of the best ones is to be physically and emotionally close to your child from the very start. Studies show that the child who is the most susceptible to negative peer influence is the one who feels least close to a parent.
Additional tips:
· Make your rules clear and don’t ignore problems when your child breaks them.
· Set strong, effective limits.
· Discuss what behavior would be appropriate in a variety of situations.
· Acknowledge how hard it might be to turn down a friend. Stress how “grown up” and “strong” it is to stick to your guns when you know what you are doing is right.
· Above all, stress that children have a choice! They can evaluate the situation, consider the facts, examine their own feelings and values, and arrive at the best choice.
(Taken in part from Pediatric Hints, Children’s Hospital)
Sarah Lieske, NCC, LMHP
School Counselor
Staff Meal for Parent Teacher Conferences
Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports
At Paddock Road, we are creating safe, respectful, and responsible students through teaching expectations and social skills. We follow a proactive teaching approach to behavior called PBiS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports). PBiS is “a proactive strategy for defining, teaching, and supporting student behavior resulting in academic and social gains, as well as a positive school environment”. It is a way to notice all of the positive things students do throughout their day in order to “get more of what we pay attention to”. As part of this work, we strive to have procedures to consistently implement our PBiS goals across all school settings. Some of these procedures include: our matrix defining safe/respectful/responsible behavior, thumbs up recognition, positive office referrals, Student of the Month, Panda Pride assemblies, concern notes, problem-solving sheets, office referrals, and many more.
Often, students and parents wonder about the difference between a concern note, problem-solving sheet, and office referral. Concern notes are written by students as a way to communicate an incident to school staff. Problem-solving sheets are given to students who have exhibited minor behaviors within the classroom. Some examples include and are not limited to: continuing to disrupt the classroom after multiple redirections, being disrespectful to teachers, calling other students names, etc. Typically, these yellow sheets are filled out in the classroom and are sent home as a way to communicate the minor behavior to parents. When a student chooses not to fill out the problem-solving sheet in the classroom or exhibits another major behavior, they earn an office referral. Office referrals are assigned immediately for intentional physical aggression and also assigned for behavior which is persistent throughout the day with multiple teacher reminders. When a student receives an office referral, parents are contacted by Mr. Becker or Mrs. Mclean to share the event and consequences. The most important thing about problem-solving sheets for minor behaviors and office referrals for major behaviors is that both include a teaching interaction which helps students understand the incident and work through a way to make things right with their peers, teachers, or other staff members within the building.
All staff at Paddock Road want students to be successful members of our school community, and the procedures listed above support our students to be able to reach that success. If you have any questions regarding PBiS procedures for positive and negative behaviors, please contact Kira Mclean at mclean.kira@westside66.net or Scott Becker at becker.scott@westside66.net. Thank you!