The Greendell Gosling Flyer-11th Ed
October 21, 2020
Dear Greendell Families,
It is the time of year that we are starting to see pumpkins all around us: pumpkin art, pumpkin carving, pumpkin seeds being counted and even pumpkin washing (it is still hot enough for water play!). It is a fun time of year!
And even though we cannot have everyone on campus together, we can still be a community. Below are a couple of opportunities for families to get involved at Greendell. I enjoy seeing families at drop off and on Zoom and I look forward to getting to know families over our year together. If you would like to discover more ways to be involved at Greendell, I'd be happy to help.
Today we celebrated Unity Day together. Please send me any art or words that your child would like to share on what being kind and friendly means and we can add them to our Greendell Friendship Tree. Our Friendship Tree is already filling up with kind thoughts and we saw lots of orange today for Unity Day!
Thanks so much,
Principal Shannon
Pumpkin Art by our Greendell Artists
Opportunities for Families to Get Involved at Greendell
Greendell School Site Council
English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC)
We are holding our first Greendell English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC) of the year over Zoom. The English Learner Advisory Committee is a committee made up of families of English Learners, school staff, and other school community members to promote school activities and provide information on the PAUSD English Learner program and the needs of English Learners.
Interested families are invited to join us on Wednesday, October 28th at 4:30pm by following this Zoom link. Please let me know if you have any questions about our ELAC meeting.
Keri's Corner - Social Emotional Learning and more!
Welcome to the inaugural edition of Keri's Corner. My name is Keri Bates and I’m the school psychologist at Greendell. I’ve been the psychologist at Greendell for the past 16 years. However, my history with the school started many years ago when I was enrolled in the PreSchool Family 18-24 month old class with my mom. My role at Greendell recently came full circle when I became a PreSchool Family parent with my son, Connor. I look forward to bringing you bi-monthly advice/support/ideas, etc.
This week I want to talk about the abundance of emotions your children might be feeling during these unsettling times. This year has been an emotional roller coaster for all of us, especially our children. As parents, we struggle to process our own feeling as well those of our children. One of the ways we can support kids, as they feel both comfortable and uncomfortable feelings, is through the use of validation.
Validation is a tool that shows your child they are heard and understood. That sense of being understood helps children feel connected and supported during these difficult times. It also has the added benefit of helping them develop self-compassion and empathy towards others. Validation is not cheerleading, agreeing or correcting. It is providing space for your child to express themselves and for you to show you are really listening to them. The subtle difference between “I see you are frustrated that you have to stop playing, but we need to go to school” and “I see you are frustrated that you have to stop playing and go to school” can make a difference in how your child responds to the transition to school. Want to learn more? Check out these links below:
Greendell School
Email: scoleman@pausd.org
Website: https://greendell.pausd.org/
Location: 4120 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Phone: (650) 856-0833