Community Nest
"Relationships are the agents of change." Dr. Bruce Perry
November 8 - November 12
Our Gray Hawk Mission Statement
OUR GRAY HAWK FAMILY works together to help students feel safe, loved, and inspired so they can be empowered learners and engaged citizens.
Gray Hawk Gives Back to OUR Community
Basehor-Linwood Assistance Services (BLAS) has organized a giving opportunity for us to give back to families in need in our community. BLAS is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing a variety of emergency services for residents of the Basehor-Linwood school district. These services may include utility payments, food, school supplies, and holiday assistance.
Gray Hawk is collecting items for BLAS from now until Friday, November 19. We will display all of the items that we receive in the hallway to show OUR kids how their generous giving will truly impact our community as a whole. BLAS has sent out a list of items that they are in need of and a suggestion was made to break up donations by grade levels with our littles collecting lighter items. This was only a suggestion. Please give what you can and remember that all donations go to help support our Basehor-Linwood community. Thank you for your consideration.
Kindergarten - disinfecting wipes, deodorant, cake mix, pancake mix and syrup, instant oatmeal packets, paper towels/toilet paper, toothpaste
1st - 3rd graders - kid snacks, boxed meals, mac & cheese, cereal (for adults and kids), sugar, flour, canned refried beans, toothbrushes, razors
4th - 5th graders - peanut butter, jelly (prefer plastic jars), mayonnaise, beef stew, canned pasta, canned chili, canned fruits, canned chicken, cream soups, vegetable oil, canned pasta sauce, laundry soap
Additionally, Avery Craig, a Junior at BLHS approached us about a passion project that she has created called Share the Warmth. Share the Warmth collects new and gently used coats, new hats, gloves, and scarves to be donated to Newhouse KC, a domestic violence shelter. Many victims in the shelter have children and it can be difficult to get warm coats and outer wear in their present situations. We can help. Please check your closets and talk to family and friends and consider donating any items to help support this amazing organization. Collection will officially begin on November 13 and extend throughTuesday, November 23. It is awesome to see OUR Basehor-Linwood students taking on these passion projects to give back. Thank you so much for your consideration!
Veteran's Day Program
We are looking for photos and videos of some of the different performances. If you have some, please share them with Dr. Springer at dspringer@usd458.org
Thank you to Mrs. Penfield for an amazing event celebrating our veterans.
Featured Literature
Tomie dePaola was a beloved American writer and illustrator who created over 270 books and earned numerous awards including the 2011 Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his “substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children”. He was born in 1934 in Connecticut to a family of Irish and Italian heritage. His work was inspired by his own life experiences as well as folk tales and legends from numerous cultures and religions. DePaola says he is drawn to folktales because they are about people. He likes that they teach a life lesson and that the characters succeed by hard work. In 2019, dePaola came out as gay telling the New York Times that for much of his career, "If it became known you were gay, you’d have a big red ‘G’ on your chest... and schools wouldn’t buy your books anymore.” DePaola died in March of 2020.
Other suggested books include:
The Strega Nona Series
Oliver Button is a Sissy
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
Clown of God
Adelita
Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato
Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs
The Night of Las Posadas
The Legend of the Blue Bonnet
The Legend of the Poinsettia
Now One Foot, Now the Other
PROMOTING DIVERSITY
- I was born on June 27, 1880 in Alabama and lived on a family farm called Ivy Greene.
- When I was around one and a half years old I became very sick. I had a high fever and a bad headache for several days. I did get better but my parents discovered that I had lost my sight and my hearing. I got frustrated very easily and would throw really bad tantrums when people did not understand what I was trying to communicate.
I met the lady that would become my best friend for the next 50 years. Her name was Anne Sullivan. She taught me how to communicate by spelling words in my hand using modified sign language. She also taught me how to read in braille.
Another person named Sarah Fuller taught me how to speak. She put my hands on her lips which taught me how to feel the vibrations coming from sound and how to shape my lips to make the sounds.
I died June 1, 1968 and lead a remarkable life and inspired so many people by never giving up and fighting through adversity.
The answer this week was Helen Keller.
Celebrating Helen Keller
Bite-Size Brain PD
This past week I was fortunate enough to spend 2.5 days at the Bridging to Resilience conference in Overland Park and shared some of that time with four of our staff members in hopes of additional people hearing the message about the role that trauma plays in our lives and how our nervous systems are affected depending on our own windows of tolerance.
On Thursday, I was reminded of the video below by Dr Jacob Hamm explaining how Trauma is like the Incredible Hulk. I encourage you to check it out.
OUR GRAY HAWK PTO ROCKS!
For the latest information from OUR GRAY HAWK PTO check them out on Facebook @grayhawkpto458
Gray Hawk Elementary School
Email: dspringer@usd458.org
Website: http://ghes.usd458.org/
Location: 16000 Garden Parkway, Basehor, KS, USA
Phone: (913) 662-7170
Twitter: @drspringer12301