Counselor Corner
October '19: Anti-Bullying, Respect, etc.
Dear Families,
Thank you so much for a very supportive start to the school year! It is clear to me that all of our parents and families are passionate about the success of their students. Please let me know how I can work alongside you to help each of our students be successful.
October is an extremely busy month. There are so many important topics to cover, and I will not be able to lead lessons in every class on every topic. I hope that through collaboration with teachers, our Meerkat morning announcements, at-home learning, and classroom guidance lessons, our students will be exposed to all of these. During this month, please try to find time to lead discussions with your students about these many topics.
- 9/15-10/15 Hispanic Heritage Month
- October: Bullying Prevention Month and Down Syndrome Awareness Month
- 10/6-12 Mental Illness Awareness Week
- 10/14-18 Down Syndrome Awareness Spirit Week
- 10/16 World Food Day
- 10/21-27 Safe Schools Week
- 10/23 Unity Day ( Please Wear Orange) "Together against bullying. United for kindness, acceptance, and inclusion."
- 10/23-31 Red Ribbon Week
The primary theme throughout the month is that we want our students to make smart, kind decisions, taking pride in who they are, and recognizing and appreciating the diversity within themselves and their peers. If we can continue to instill these lessons in our students, it will be a great year.
I really want to thank the family members who have completed my Google Forms survey. If you have not yet had an opportunity to complete this survey, please do so. I am looking forward to learning more about your students, your families, and how we can best partner together. https://forms.gle/Kvqq9ZJpcxrKbBSq5
Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns at Jeannine.Harrell@dpsnc.net.
Thank you,
Jeannine Harrell
World Food Day
On Wednesday, October 16th, to celebrate World Food Day, we will host a food drive to support the local community. This food will be donated to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, which provides food to the Durham community and around the Triangle.
We ask that students, with the help of their families, bring in non-perishable food to support our community. In the front atrium, you will see boxes for Primary, Lower El, and Upper El. When students arrive they will be asked to place the food in their corresponding box. At the end of the day, we will announce over the intercom which grade level has contributed the most. We look forward to seeing who wins!
The purpose of World Food Day is making an effort to end world hunger and bring healthy meals to all. Please keep this in mind when bringing non-perishable foods.
The foods that are in high demand include:
- Proteins: Beans, tuna, soup, and pasta with meat
- Breakfast: Whole grain cereal, oatmeal, grits
- Canned fruit: No heavy syrup - only fruit packed in water, juice, or light syrup
- Canned vegetables
- Healthy snacks: Raisins, granola bars, fruit pouches
- 100% Juice boxes
Please do not bring items without nutritional value, such as soda, chips, candy, sugary breakfast foods, and Vienna sausages.
Reach out to me or Ms. Jackie Love with any questions.
Down Syndrome Awareness Week
Here at Morehead, we have many student with Down syndrome. We would like to take this week (October 14th through 18th) to celebrate these students and spread awareness through our school community.
Quick Facts:
- Down syndrome is the most commonly occurring chromosomal condition. Approximately one in every 700 babies in the US is born with Down syndrome.
- Down syndrome occurs in people of all races and economic levels.
- Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial copy of the chromosome 21. This additional genetic material changes the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome.
Spirit Week:
Monday: Students will make a poster related to Down syndrome awareness for the parade on Friday
Tuesday: Rock your wild socks
Wednesday: Wear something yellow and blue to match with your Down syndrome awareness sticker (they will be handed out when students arrive)
Thursday: Superhero Day! Wear a shirt with your favorite super hero on it
Friday: School-wide poster gallery. Classrooms will hang their poster outside of their class, and classes will have a chance to walk around the school to see all of them.
For more information about Down syndrome, visit www.ndss.org. For any questions related to spirt week, please contact Tarkie.Evans@dpsnc.net.
Respect and Anti-Bullying
At School
As of this newsletter, I have met individually with over half of the student body. I should complete all of my individual student meetings within the next few weeks. Students are now aware of who I am and what I do for the Morehead community. If your student is not sure who I am, please let me know, and I will be happy to reintroduce myself. As a school counselor, a large part of my role is being visible and available to all students.
There is a lot happening in the month of October, and it will be a challenge to keep up with all of it! I hope to introduce each of these topics to students, whether through announcements, bulletin boards and decorations, or classroom visits. As I meet with students, I am finding that they are already very familiar and knowledgeable about bullying and anti-bullying efforts. I hope to continue lessons of this nature with a positive focus on treating others with kindness and respect. While at school, we expect our students to respect themselves, others, and the environment. Bullying is not respectful. It is damaging to our school community and can make students less excited to come to school to learn. We want ALL students to feel that they are safe and welcome at Morehead!
I am saddened to say that some of our students have already experienced bullying and relational aggression within these first few weeks of school. I want you to know that we mobilize quickly when we hear of these situations. Bullying prevention is a school-wide effort involving students, teachers, administration, support staff (like myself), and our families. Building strong school and classroom communities is one of my main goals for this year. Montessori involves lots of group and partner work, which can be really difficult to complete if you do not have positive relationships with your peers. If your child reports bullying or relational aggression to you, please reach out to me, to their teacher, and to our administrators. We want to work alongside you and your student to resolve the situation and make our school a positive learning environment for all.
In the Home
Maria Montessori highlighted the importance of education within and outside the home. One of the many goals of Montessori education is crafting good citizens. Respect is a primary component of this. Some of these conversations can be challenging to have with our students, especially around the topic of drug and alcohol use. I recommend connecting messages about avoiding drug and alcohol use to making good decisions and respecting ourselves. To further student learning at home, please have conversations with your students about respect, bullying, safe schools, Hispanic Heritage Month, and World Food Day, and consider watching or reading material related to these topics.
Some possible conversation starters include:
- What do you think it means to be respectful, and why is it important?
- How do you feel when classmates or peers treat you disrespectfully?
- What can you do when you see other students being mistreated?
- What are some ways that you can be more respectful at home, at school, and in the community?
- Are there any ways that you would like me to be more respectful to you?
- What are some reasons why it can be a challenge to be respectful?
- How can we help our friends and classmates who struggle with being respectful?
- Model positive behaviors for your students. Recognize times when they may witness you being less respectful, and then have a conversation about what you could have done differently in that situation. One common example is when we're driving and stuck in traffic when our students may not be experiencing us at an optimal respect level.
"Children become like the things they love." ~ Maria Montessori
Let us make an effort this month to be loving and encouraging models of respect.
Recommended Books
With so many topics this month, I have decided to focus on book recommendations, rather than movies, and I've had a hard time limiting myself to just six. Please reach out to me if you would like more book recommendations related to friendship, respect, and bullying.
Many of my book recommendations address multiple topics. There is a lot of overlap between respect, anti-bullying, and keeping our schools a safe environment for all students, staff, and families.
At the end of my list, I have also included a book related to drug use and some possible effects it may have on the family. I have used this books in classroom guidance lessons with upper grades, and I've found that students really enjoy the story and the conversations that it sparks. If this is your first conversation about drug and alcohol use with your student, then I recommend providing further guidance and more information. I have found very few really good children's fiction books related to drug and alcohol use, so please reach out to me if you have any recommendations. I would love to be able to share more books and information with our school community.
Dude, That's Rude
This book by Pamela Espeland provides many silly examples of what "rude" looks like. Throughout the book, the general consensus is that our peers do not appreciate when we act rudely. Reading this can encourage our students and remind them that it is cool to be respectful and use our manners.
Weird, Dare, and Tough
The New Girl
The Recess Queen
Wonder
Bird
A little bit more about me:
Ms. Jeannine Harrell
- My favorite color is orange.
- I love chicken and waffles.
- My favorite animals are elephants and manatees, and I could watch them all day.
- I am loving getting to know your students!!
Please reach out to me with any questions and concerns, or to schedule a meeting.
Email: Jeannine.Harrell@dpsnc.net
Website: https://www.dpsnc.net/Morehead
Location: Morehead Montessori, Cobb Street, Durham, NC, USA
Phone: (919)560-3954