Bulldog Bulletin
December 9, 2019
Belair Cares
Celebrations:
Welcome Zandra Kent! She is our new ELL tutor who will be in our building from 11:00-2:30 three or four days a week. She will replace Jamie Borgmeyer who has taken a position outside the district.
Look forward to a well deserved break:
10 school days until Winter Break!
Happy December Birthday to...
Sarah Wagenecht - 4th
Heather Meyer - 8th
David Austin - 11th
Amanda Burks- 14th
Encouragements:
Mrs. Propst's Mother-In-Law is recovering from a surgery! Prayers!
Mrs. Rackers'' daughter, Ally, broke her ankle and is recovering! Prayers!
Ms. Cathy is still recovering! Please pray for her!
Condolences:
Have we missed something? Let us know!
This and That
Staff Meeting Change for December
Our staff meting will change from December 19 to December 17. Instead of meeting at school, staff will meet at the Food Bank to pack Buddy Packs.
JCPS Foundation Grants
You can find the link to the JCPS Foundation Grants directly below this box of text. Please consider submitting a grant for supplies or professional development for yourself, your team, or our school. If you want help or to see an example of a successful grant, please let me know!
Monitoring iReady
Now that licenses are assigned, it is the classroom teacher's responsibility to monitor that licenses are being used. Students who have licenses should know when they can login for their iReady minutes. Encourage not just the amount of time, but the quality of time on lessons (meaning HIGH pass rate).
Classroom Doors and Valuables
Classroom doors should be locked when you are not in your classroom. Chromebooks carts that are stored in the hallway should be locked when not in use. Personal items should be put away, and if possible locked.
SMART Board Filters
Clean at least once a week - FILTER FRIDAY! If you have not cleaned them yet - do so! If you don't know how - ask Jen Bearden for help!
Adult Restrooms
Keep the adult restrooms shut and locked at all times!
Grades in Infinite Campus
Put in grades twice a month (approximately the 15th and 30th).
Birthday and Lounge Duty
School Success Squad assigned birthday treats and lounge duty for the year. If your grade level or team is on the duty for the month, please also have your students make some art work or cards for our business partners (Scholastic, Missouri River Regional Library, and Oasis United Church of Christ). The schedule is included below.
Help for Billy
Read Chapters 4 and 5 in Help For Billy.
Be ready to discuss some questions with a small group of staff members.
Children, Terrifying Events, and the Trauma Response
Angela Cook, MSW, LCSW
Imagine a world in which Columbine High School alumni have no memory of April 20, 1999, because it was just an ordinary day. In which moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado, emerged from seeing The Dark Knight on July 20, 2012, with their only haunting image being Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker. Imagine that the devastation and subsequent terror from hurricane Katrina did not affect generations to come in New Orleans. Unfortunately, the pleasant wistfulness of these three scenarios can exist only in our imaginations. The terrifying truths are now an ugly part of American history. Affected families, friends and communities mourn the victims of the natural disaster in Louisiana, the shootings in Columbine and Aurora, and too many other events to name. As for the survivors, they have been forced to deal not only with feelings of intense grief, but also, for many, deep trauma.
Terrifying events feel all too common. Just turn on the TV and you are bombarded with horrific stories of traumatic loss and violence. But what makes an event traumatic? And why do some children become traumatized, while others are more resilient? Children, like adults, often deal with extremely stressful situations. What sets trauma apart is how the child reacts and the subsequent psychobiological impact on behavior, emotional regulation, and brain functioning. A trauma is often sudden, shocking and unexpected; one's perceived sense of safety and/or life is threatened. A perceived sense of intense fear or horror is often present. To a child, the world is no longer a good and safe place. Examples can include one-time events, such as natural disasters, a severe car accident, crime victimization, or sexual assault. Ongoing situations can also create trauma. These can include exposure to domestic violence, food scarcity, parental addictions or mental illness, abuse or neglect, medical hospitalization or procedure, bullying, or ongoing community violence.
Research validates what therapists have known for a very long time: children exposed to trauma are, in many ways, forever changed. Now scientific research works to explain the effects on the brain and body that have lasting effects and put one at risk for heart disease, dementia, depression, anxiety, learning problems, and relationship issues. Everyone has a built-in "survival switch" in his or her brain that is turned on when feeling threatened in some way. The classic example is the caveman who gets a surge of adrenaline, which helps him get to safety when chased by a predator. The stress hormone Cortisol is released and the fight, flight or freeze response is activated, which helps the caveman get to the safety of his cave. Small amounts of this neural hormone is helpful in dangerous situations - but bathing in high levels of Cortisol for long periods of time is detrimental and results in malfunction of the on/off survival switch. The emotional regulation 'thermostat' struggles to adjust and gets stuck in overdrive. The brain finds it hard to differentiate true emergencies from everyday reminders of the traumatic situation, so the survival switch is easily triggered. Flashbacks, nightmares, smells, pictures, situations and sounds can elicit the same fight, flight, or freeze response.
Not all children who experience terrifying events will experience traumatic reactions. Despite the negative impact on the brain, healthy supports, coping skills, and validation of the trauma can reduce the negative impact of the event and shorten trauma-related symptoms. Symptoms of trauma, such as sleep disturbance, acting out, frustration intolerance, depression, excessive anxiety, flashbacks, memory and concentration impairments, hyper-vigilance and poor emotional regulation, can be resolved. Research has come a long way and can now verify how the brain circuitry can be reversed to the way it was prior to the traumatic event, with the right treatment. Current treatment protocols are evidenced-based and are proven to be successful at helping kids learn how to self-regulate their emotions, trust people again, and gain the coping skills needed to fully process the unresolved trauma.
Being trauma informed can help you know what signs and symptoms to watch for that would indicate a need for counseling. Keep in mind, you do not need to be a trained therapist to help a trauma-exposed child. You can help by promoting a strong sense of safety and a positive environment. Know that, as a parent, teacher or friend, the best thing to do is just to listen and be supportive of whatever the child wants to disclose and to remain as nonjudgmental and non-reactive as possible.
Belair School Improvement Goals With Current Data
- Beginning of the Year Data: 37% of students are reading on or above grade level at the Beginning of the Year iReady assessment.
- Current Data: 51% of students have showed growth according to GRL from beginning of the year to current levels and 62% of students are on or above grade level according to current GRL.
Increase the number of students on or above grade level in math, according to the iReady assessment, from 66% to 75% at the end of the year.
- Current data: 19% of students are on or above grade level at the Beginning of the Year iReady assessment.
Decrease the number of major office referrals by using SAEBRS data to identify students for social, emotional, or other at risk factors, and providing interventions appropriate for those students.
Current data: Number of office referrals in 2018-2019 from beginning of the year through end of November was 125. Number of office referrals in 2019-2020 from beginning of year through end of November was 38.
Students being served through a Tier 2 intervention:
December Team Updates
Instructional Rounds continue with Mrs. Carel.
Leadership Team will continue the discussion of Instructional Rounds staff to staff.
Lunchroom discussion continued. If you have ideas of how to make the lunch room work better for 2020-2021, please inform your Leadership Team representative.
School Success Squad:
STEM Night was a success! 90 families checked in and 75 completed a survey. Majority of families had an awesome time! Santa pictures have been shared via Facebook and will go out in an email to families this week.
Next Parent Involvement Night will be in March 2020.
Belair Cares has two events coming up! December 19 is a Christmas Light/Limo Ride trip. RSVP went out a few weeks ago.
January 10 is the Belair Staff Christmas Party. We will play the Lottery Ticket Game! Bring snacks to share and 3 $1 Lottery Tickets per person. All are welcome to attend!
Social Emotional Learning Team:
CICO - We have several students on CICO! Please turn in your data sheets to BHillis at the end of each week. If you have a student who would benefit from CICO, see your SEL Team member for more information.
SEL Team has worked hard on a processing plan flow chart for staff. Flow chart will be sent out in a separate email.
We looked at our Fall SAEBRS information. It is located in our SEL Team Folder in Google Drive if you would like to see classroom/individual student information.
Discipline data discussed. Below is a snapshot of our Triangle Report thus far for this school year. 95% of students have 0-1 referrals. 3.8% of students have 2-5 referrals, and 0.46% of students have 6 or more referrals. Great job on Tier 1 process and procedures! We have great students and staff at Belair!
Important Dates
Monday, December 9
IEP (Watson/White), 8:10
SST (Hoffman and friends), 9:00
Pizza and Partnerships, 3:00-7:00, please RSVP
Board of Education Meeting, 6:00
Tuesday, December 10, Teamwork Tuesday
Staff Kids Christmas Craftivity, 3:00, Library
Wednesday, December 11
SST (Germer/Long), 3:00
Thursday, December 12
Milhollin/Carel out ALL
Literacy Cadre (Kindergarten out AM/2nd Grade out PM)
SST (Hall/Kimbell), 3:00
Friday, December 13
Hall and Watson out ALL
December Birthday Treats in Lounge
SST (Smith/Forsha), 9:50
Monday, December 16
IEP (Wagnencht/Mundell), 8:10
SST (Germer/Case), 9:00
SST (Roberts and friends), 12:00
SST (BHillis and friends), 3:00
Tuesday, December 17 - Teamwork Tuesday/Literacy Team Meetings
4th Grade Fieldtrip to Capitol, 9:30
Staff Meeting, Buddy Packs, 3:15-4:30
Wednesday, December 18
Bearden out PM
Evaluation Determination Meeting (Hoffman/McCrary), 9:00
IEP (Owens/Gladow), 3:00
Thursday, December 19
4th/5th Grade Skating Party, 9:30-11:30
Papa Murphy's Pizza Giveback Day, ALL DAY
Staff Christmas Lights, 6:00-8:00
Friday, December 20 - 3 Hour Early Release
Awards Assembly, 8:00
3rd Grade Economic Sale, 9:30-10:30
School Dismisses at 11:40
Important Links!
BE THE ONE FOR KIDS!
Belair Elementary
Email: elizabeth.milhollin@jcschools.us
Website: www.jcschools.us/Domain/8
Location: 701 Belair Drive, Jefferson City, MO, United States
Phone: 573-659-3155
Facebook: facebook.com/belairbulldogs
Twitter: @BelairBulldogs