Connecting with the Counselors
A Communication from Robinson Elementary's Counseling Team
December 5, 2021
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and beginning to December!
Our Thanksgiving Food Pantry was such a success! At the end of the evening we only had 3 bags of lettuce/salad mix left-- that was it! We want to give our heartfelt thanks to all of you who sent in an item for the pantry. We know we had some families who not only donated, but also shopped the pantry-- that is the beauty of this community and our pantry. Give what you can, take what you need. Thank you.
We must also thank CARITAS for the fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, milk, and the frozen and fresh meal prep. Each month we are so incredibly fortunate to have our partnership with CARITAS and the amazing shoppers who deliver the groceries to us each month.
In addition, we are so grateful to the Moms of Kirkwood group, MOKASA. Each Thanksgiving, MOKASA donates items in the memory of a child who would have been a Robinson student and community member that is no longer with us. This year they brought our pantry many items including 8 turkeys and 16 pies!
Our pantry reminds us each month (and especially at this time of year) that we all need to make an effort to stick together as a community and to support one another. We don't know what challenges others are going through in their lives and homes.
Last Wednesday night we had our 3rd student book study meeting (on zoom) with students in 3rd-5th grades. We are reading Stamped (For Kids), by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. We had an amazing night full of conversations and sharing. The kids attending have shown such incredible insight and maturity. Thank you to the parent-led Robinson Equity Group (REG) for putting this opportunity together and including us.
REMINDER: We will no longer be writing a weekly news piece. Our Connecting with the Counselors is now a monthly update. If there is important information to share, Dr. OH has agreed to include it in her weekly family newsletter.
If you missed November's communication, you can access it from this link:
Have a fantastic week and look for our January update around the 9th!
FREE ROBINSON FOOD PANTRY: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16th
Our free pantry will be open from 6-7:30pm.
If you need further information or have a need but can't make it at that time, please call or email Julie, Indria or Tonya. All contact information can be found at the end of this communication. Thanks!
KEESS November 10th, 2021: CRT - What is it anyway?
In case you were unable to join the KSD KEESS event, here is a link to the recording: https://youtu.be/NiE1B3Ktzhw
December HAPPINESS Calendar 2021
This month, lift your spirits with kindness and love.
Check Out These Movies for a GROWTH MINDSET
FEEL LIKE A PODCAST? HERE IS ONE ABOUT THE ZONES!
Leah Kuypers, Zones of Regulation founder, joined Jabbedu podcast for a talk about "Fostering Self-Regulation & Emotional Control with ZONES."
Leah covers the origins of The Zones of Regulation, being in multiple zones at once and the four steps to support regulation.
REPEAT INFORMATION:
Back to the Basics -- Student Behavior 2.0
Our counseling team has been busy preparing for this week's Back to the Basics of Student Behavior 2.0 or "Boot" camp. Dr. OH shared about this in her weekly newsletter today, and we have copied that information in its entirety below.
A brief summary is this: We are working in a very responsive manner in regard to behaviors at Robinson. Most days we do not get to see children who we are scheduled to see or visits to classrooms are interrupted due to us being in this response or crisis mode. We will be working to change this by resetting or rebooting our very basic behavior expectations.
Next week we will reteach all students at Robinson our expected behaviors-- that we are WISE and we are safe, kind, learners-- every student, everyday, everywhere. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, members of our counseling team will lead the reteaching in the gym. Each day we will have 2 grade levels in attendance-- appropriately distanced.
Things that stand out as reoccurring problems at Robinson are things like talking back to an adult or yelling at an adult or friend, talking over and interrupting the teacher and classmates, putting hands on others, and leaving the classroom or learning space without permission. Thank you for supporting this teaching and reinforcing this learning at home. We can't do this work without all of us talking about what is expected of learners at Robinson.
We have also had an increase in extremely negative reactions to a lost game or a missed catch in recess. Students who do not play at a "select" level in a sport do not feel welcome to even try to play. There is little or no positive team chat when someone is learning a sport during recess. Some recess games have become so competitive and include such grandstanding that we have to cancel games mid-game or ask a student to not grandstand and that causes them to leave the game.
We appreciate your support in this work. This week ask your student what they learned from us. Ask about being a safe, kind learner-- what does it look like? What are they doing to be a safe, kind learner each day in all of our spaces.
Our counselors are going to be working with our students and staff to reset our behavior expectations. We have noticed in first quarter that there was an increase in unexpected behaviors across settings. Students were missing practicing these behaviors last year because they did not eat in the cafe or play whole grade level outdoors. We are also providing staff with professional development on responding and preventing student unexpected behaviors and resetting our expectations.
One action step we are taking is to do recess within sections with our class to practice expectations with increased supervision so that we can provide students the feedback they need to meet our recess expectations. On Fridays students will practice the expectations as a grade level and again receive feedback. Once students are able to apply their learning and follow expectations on Fridays they will be able to resume playing with anyone in any section of the playground on any day.
We recognize that unstructured play is very important to students' social and emotional development and that getting choice to play with anyone in the grade and on any space is important for students. Thank you for supporting this teaching and reinforcing this learning at home so that we can continue recess in a less structured way.
Our essential expectations for recess are:
We are safe. Students need to be safe in both their physical and verbal interactions with one another. We cannot use harmful, shaming, or inappropriate language during our play with others. We need to be physically safe and follow KHFOOTY (keep hands, feet, and other objects to yourself). Students are also safe when they stay in their supervised area where a staff member can see them.
We are kind. Students should welcome others to join in play, use kind words and act kindly towards peers and adults. We should do our best to include everyone who wants to participate in any game or activity we have available at Robinson. This also includes displaying good sportsmanship, accepting wins or losses gracefully, and not using mean/hurtful words, or talking negatively towards the other team or individuals on the opposing team.
We are learners. Students are responsible for learning and implementing all recess expectations, as well as applying problem solving strategies & communicating appropriately with peers and staff when a situation arises. Students are also expected to respond appropriately when given feedback, relearning an expectation, and participating in restorative conversations with peers and staff. Students are expected to put forth effort with fixing harm caused or done to others. All staff members supervising recess duty have been trained and provided with lessons or strategies to teach students how to navigate social situations and apply their social skills in a safe & kind manner.
Contact Information for 2021-22 School Year
ROBINSON COUNSELING TEAM
Indria Harris
School Counselor, preK-2nd grade
Indria.harris@kirkwoodschools.org
314-213-6100, ext. 4061
School Counselor, 3rd-5th grade
julie.cohen@kirkwoodschools.org
314-213-6100, ext. 4470
Tonya Ampey-Elong
Social Worker, KSD
tonya.ampey@kirkwoodschools.org
314-213-6100, ext. 4042
*At Robinson on Mondays and Wednesdays
Ana Shields
Educational Support Counselor
ana.shields@kirkwoodschools.org
314-213-6100, ext. 4065
*At Robinson all day Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday's until noon