Osprey Outlook April 24th, 2020
Super Cool STEM - Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math
Dear Inquisitive People Everywhere,
This week's newsletter is a compilation of interesting and engaging STEM activities for all ages. With school closed, kiddos are asking, "What experiment can we do today?" This is my answer to them and I'm excited to share it with you. Teachers, you can share this with families, or adapt anything here for your own remote lessons.
If you know of any family that is feeling overwhelmed and needing help, they can call the Child & Family Counseling Clinic and talk to a therapist — free of charge. Ongoing telehealth services are also available to all Sonoma County families. Issues commonly seen are symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and behavioral issues in children such as tantrums/meltdowns, aggression, and frequent conflict with family members.
Parents/Guardians can call the Intake Specialist at (707) 284-1500 to schedule a telehealth consultation.
In health,
Dr. Anna
Yearbook Order Reminder!!
ORDERS DUE MAY 2nd!!
Are you a 6th Grader?? If so, please do not order one...it's coming your way!!
All other students can pre-order their yearbook from:
Just click the order button, sign in if you already have an account or click register new account if this is your first time, and then fill out the order form.
POUSD Instructional Resource Website Updates for this week!
*Question and Answer document:
We added a Q &A Document that addresses the most frequently asked questions from our families. This is a living document and we will add more to it as questions arise.
*New Lessons from Brittany for Music with explanations on the music focus for the week.
*A Translation Button at the beginning of the website that will direct Spanish Speaking Families to all of the info in Spanish and resources for English Language Learners.
*Xfinity Access: If your family is having issues with getting wifi, Xfinity is FREE and all you have to do is connect to it through your computer (It doesn't work if the family is in a Xfinity dead zone!) Please see the website for more details!
*Social, Emotional and Mental Health Button: We added resources for the whole family about social, emotional and mental health. This will be evolving over time too!
*New weeks worth of resources for ELA and Bridges for K-5th grade students.
A roundup of science-themed websites with free lessons & games
- Legends of Learning: Superhero science games for grades 3–8. .
- MysteryScience: Answers to the questions kids ask morning, noon & night. Spanish translation available.
- NASA Education Resources: Never too early to start training to be an astronaut.
- Teach Engineering - Did you know you could use Oreos to make a rover? Tons of activities to do at home.
- Bill Nye The Science Guy: Check out the section on Home Demos. I don't have all of these materials in my (quarantine) home, but I have quite a few of them.
- Switcheroo Zoo: If your kids are into animals and/or imagination games, this is a great site for you.
Science and math
are all around us
and help us understand the world.
Here's a great article from the New York Times...
Stay safe and learn about the world.
On the theme of kindness...
We are all doing our best. Whether that’s keeping up with work demands while at home, educating our kids while they are out of school, caring for others ‘virtually’ or simply taking care of more responsibilities while trying to create a ‘new normal’ in a time of uncertainty. You are doing a great job.
You’ve heard the word resilience, but maybe you’ve never really thought about what it means. Chris Peterson, one of the founders of Positive Psychology, said it best when he described resilience as the ability to ‘struggle well’. We are more apt to thrive when we embrace the life lessons in our challenges, examining with curiosity, the patterns in our struggles. We can cope...with hope.
This is a time to do a few things we normally don’t prioritize:
REFLECT
Use this time to reflect on what you’re doing well. It may not feel like you’re having many successes each day. You may feel lost or hopeless at times. But, if you spend some time each day reflecting on the small victories (completing a task for work or getting a load of laundry done) you’ll find that you’re making it work.
BE GRATEFUL
Aside from celebrating the small accomplishments, recognize things for which to be grateful. Do you have food in the refrigerator? Are you healthy? Can you connect with your family and friends via phone or computer? Did you smile at least once today?
COMMIT TO SELF-CARE
Self-care doesn’t mean you should take a bubble bath or get a massage. It means you should do the things that bring you joy and give you energy. Do you like to cook? Enjoy exercising? Play an instrument? You may find there is more time for you to focus on things you’re passionate about or start something new.
BE PRODUCTIVE
Even though you may not be accomplishing all the things on your ‘to do’ list, make sure you’re getting done what you can so you can feel a sense of purpose each day. Don’t push yourself (see the second point in self-care), but try to set realistic expectations of yourself.
GIVE GRACE
The main thing to keep in mind during all of this—give yourself a break. You are doing the best you can with the situation at hand and putting pressure on yourself to ‘do better’ can make challenging times even more difficult. And, make sure to give grace to those who may be having a hard time being productive while juggling various challenges of their own. Everyone manages stress differently. None of us know what the other person is going through, so be kind.
For more ideas on how to keep being an awesome person during Covid-19, visit us at www.randomactsofkindness.org.
Olivet Elementary Charter School
Email: amoore@pousd.org
Website: http://www.olivet.pousd.org/
Location: 1825 Willowside Road, Santa Rosa, CA, USA
Phone: 707.522.3045