Bailey Bear News
May 2019
News From The Principal
Thank you to our fabulous PTA that helps make this school better for our students and for all the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles that volunteer or support our students at home. We can't do our job without your help! I am looking forward to next year and all the great things that we have planned for your students! Have a great summer! I hope my students will have lots of time to play and be creative and to enjoy their time off!
To a great summer!
Cindy Tesreau
Congratulations to Sithulini Karunarathne who received an Award of Excellence from the National PTA for her Musical Composition and an Award of Merit from the Tennessee PTA for her Safety Poster! We are very proud of Sithulini!
Orientation Day Information for the 2019-2020 school year!
Our school focus next year will be on Social Emotional Learning or SEL. Read below to find out what Social Emotional Learning is about and how it will benefit our children!
I took the following information straight off an internet site that has great information about this area. The site can be found at https://casel.org/in-the-classroom/ I have also included another site below that is excellent about social-emotional learning and how it can help our children.
What is SEL and why is it important?
Imagine a classroom where teachers are supportive, students are inspired, and children care about one another and are working together to solve challenging problems. That’s social and emotional learning (SEL) in action, and it’s happening in classrooms across the country.
We now know that children can learn respect, empathy, responsible behavior, and other social and emotional competencies that help them succeed in school and life. Research shows that social and emotional skills, attitudes, and behaviors can be taught and fostered throughout the day.
SEL in the classroom takes shape in a variety of ways. It is promoted through explicit instruction, often using an evidence-based program, and should also be integrated across classroom instruction and academic curriculum. SEL plays an important role in classroom climate—for example, how teachers build relationships with students, how students build relationships with each other, and how conflict and discipline are addressed.
Another critical element of classroom SEL is the interaction of teachers and students with parents and community members. This includes parent-teacher interactions, service-learning opportunities, and partnerships with community organizations. SEL, when it’s most effective, is part of daily classroom life where teachers use everyday instruction to foster positive working relationships, increase student engagement, and model constructive behaviors.
I am looking forward to working as a school to better reach all of our students, parents, and teachers. I want to focus on those issues that are difficult to talk about, behaviors that cause parents to stay up at night, frustrations for teachers in trying to help ALL the different students that are in our classrooms and still teach the academics. Our children are coming to school more and more with anxiety, depression, out of bound behaviors, disrespect, a sense of not belonging, privileged and the list continues. We as a school and as parents owe it to our children to find better ways to help them cope with the world that is around them today.
Research Information: Previous studies suggest that adding an SEL program is likely to be a wise choice. For example, 57% more students in schools with an SEL program improved their skills compared to students in schools without an SEL program, 27% more improved their academic performance, and 24% more improved their emotional well-being and social behavior. In sum, current data collected from many studies indicate that adding an SEL program to the school curriculum can lead to several real-life benefits for students. Read the 2018 study and analysis by J. L. Mahoney, J. A. Durlak, and R. P. Weissberg.
Bailey Station Elementary Updated Mission and Vision Statements
Many parents struggle with understanding what behaviors are bullying and which ones are not. I shared the simple chart below with teachers and felt that it might be helpful for parents as well!
Wait Until 8th Pledge for using SmartPhones
The Wait Until 8th pledge empowers parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until at least 8th grade. By banding together, this will decrease the pressure felt by kids and parents alike over the kids having a smartphone.
Smartphones are distracting and potentially dangerous for children yet are widespread in elementary and middle school because of unrealistic social pressure and expectations to have one.
These devices are quickly changing childhood for children. Playing outdoors, spending time with friends, reading books and hanging out with family is happening a lot less to make room for hours of snap chatting, Instagramming, and catching up on YouTube.
Parents feel powerless in this uphill battle and need community support to help delay the ever-evolving presence of the smartphone in the classroom, social arena, and family dinner table. Let’s band together to wait until at least eighth grade before children are allowed to have a smartphone.
Every major carrier makes a basic phone that just calls and texts without a data plan if you believe your child will need to get in touch with you before 8th grade. The Wait Until 8th pledge is encouraging parents to delay the smartphone. If you would like your child to have a basic phone that just calls and texts or a two-way calling watch, you still can sign the pledge! The basic phone and two-way calling watch avoid many of the distractions and dangers of the smartphone.
Childhood is too short to waste on a smartphone. Take the pledge today!
Great articles/blogs that I have read and shared with teachers that I feel you might be interested in as well!
End of Year Dates!
May 9th
May Day for Prek- 2nd
May 10th
May Day for 3rd - 5th
May 14th
2nd-grade Musical 9:30 and 2:40
May 15th
Parade of Seniors 1:30
May 15th - 16th
3rd-grade talent shows
May 17th
5th Grade History Fair
May 20th
Chorus and Percussion End of Year Program 9:30 and 2:40
May 21st
5th-grade Luau 11:00
May 22nd
Kindergarten Program 9:30
May 23rd
Student/Faculty Basketball Game
May 24th
Last Day - Dismissal at 12:15