Defer Dragon's Burning News
February 2, 2018
From the Principal
Dear Defer Families,
We had another exciting week at Defer! This week we celebrated students at the Town hall meeting, introduced a student suggestion box located outside the office, and new Leader in Me awards. For the new Leader in Me awards, students can nominate a classmate who demonstrated an outstanding habit on the playground or in the classroom. Students can nominate others for a Peace Award, a Kindness Award, or a Good Thinking award. For example, students working together on a project in class is a great example of synergy!
Dragon Dens on Friday featured a "PepTalk" from Kid President and students sharing positive leadership examples with each other. This weekend you can ask your child about the examples they shared in their Dragon Den. Dragon Den discussion questions included questions such as, what nice things would your friends say about you? Name 1 compliment that you received that made you feel happy. Name one good thing that has happened to you this week? Who is your role model and how are you like your role model? Talk about a good deed that you have done for someone. These are also great questions you can discuss at home with your family.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Dr. Rheaume
Follow Defer on Twitter (@GPDefer) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/GPDefer/)
Office News
Good Health Habits-From the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
Avoid close contact.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
Stay home when you are sick.
If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. This will help prevent spreading your illness to others.
Clean your hands.
Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Germs are often spread when a person touches a surface or object that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
Drop Off and Pick Up Reminders
Please help us keep all the students safe during drop off and pick up at Defer!
- There is No Parking along either side of Nottingham near Defer. Parking on the west side of Nottingham is allowed only during posted times and locations.
- Since there is no parking anywhere on the east side of Nottingham, parents can drop off students at any point along the full length of Nottingham from Vernor to Kercheval on the Defer side of the street. You do not need to wait until you get in front of the Defer gate to drop off or pick up your child.
- Bottom line---Please Stop, Drop and Go! This will help the traffic to flow smoothly.
The Grosse Pointe Park police are aware of our safety concerns with drivers not following the posted signs. Failure to follow the posted signs may result in a written violation. Our goal is to keep all the students safe arriving and departing from school.
Green Squad News
As part of our Earth Day celebrations, our Green Squad is sponsoring an Earth Day Poster contest. Students can pick up a poster and entry form in the office. Posters are due by Friday, February 9th! Please check out the link below for more details.
Defer Diversity Group
We're excited to begin a Defer Diversity Group! We hope to gather parents and school staff to celebrate and engage in topics surrounding diversity and inclusion. There currently is a school system-wide committee that discusses many important topics. Many of the elementary schools have also begun their own school-specific groups to engage in issues and opportunities specifically related to their schools, and we are excited to do the same!
The first meeting will be March 1st from 6:30 - 7:30. During this meeting, we plan to have an open discussion on future topics the group would like to discuss. We will have childcare available for kids 3 and up. Please RSVP to Susan Sutorka at susan_sutorka@yahoo.com for childcare.
Upcoming Events at Defer
February 9 - Earth Day Posters due
February 13 - PTO Meeting
February 19 - 23 Mid Winter Break No School
March 6 - AM School Only
March 14 - PM Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 15 - Afternoon & Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences
March 30 - NO SCHOOL
Leader in Me Family Information - February Edition
Welcome to the February edition of our Leader in Me newsletter!
Published by the Defer Family Learning Team
The 7 Habits are reviewed, practiced and integrated daily at Defer. We will review the 7 Habits with you monthly. We thank you for your partnership in reinforcing your child’s leadership skills.
Would you start a trip without knowing where you are going? Knowing what you are trying to accomplish directs the choices on the way.
Habit 2 - Begin with the end in mind
When we use Habit 2, we think about how we’d want something to turn out before starting it. Goal setting is an important skill for success. Therefore in Habit 2- start with setting a goal. Then, break it down into small manageable pieces.
Home practice Habit 2
Doing puzzles is a great example to put Habit 2 in action. First, demonstrate how to study the picture. Then, sort pieces. Perhaps the edge is the first area of focus. Next, it may be finding all the pieces of one color, and so on -step by-step until it is complete.
To further model Habit 2, point out real life examples: Share stories from your life, or even your day at work, where you had a goal or task that you accomplished. Talk about the steps taken to accomplish your goal. Discuss how breaking it down made it easier. Point out examples from your child’s life such as riding a bike, tying shoes, or another Habit 2 skill.
Making it child specific
Ways to have your child incorporate Habit 2 at home-
There are practical ways to reinforce the importance of Habit 2 at home.
Is there something your child wants that he/she can work for? Better reading skills, learning a sport, playing an instrument, hobby or game? Help your child set the goal and define steps they can take to achieve it. Make sure the goal is realistic so the practice is a positive experience.
This video helps demonstrate student understanding of Habit 2!
VIDEO LINK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARkKyXMCPgE
Begin with the end in mind by participating in this speech contest from LIM!
Library News
Library rotation has started again for grades 3-5. Third graders are starting a dictionary unit and will become Dictionary Detectives! Grade 4 will soon begin research on Planets and Space; and 5th graders are starting off with research for Black History Month and will turn their research into a cool Word Cloud Project. Look for them by the library! Kindergarten finished learning about Penguins, First graders learned about Arctic Animals in nonfiction books, and grade 2 has been studying Story Elements. We're off to an exciting new semester!
Defer PTO
Save the Date!
The Spring Social is May 24. This family friendly outdoor event features entertainment (think bounce houses, challenges, etc.), music and other activities. Pizza slices & ice cream are available for purchase throughout the event. Plan to attend--it's a fun gathering of Defer families and potential future Defer families.
7 Habits of Happy Kids
Grosse Pointe Public Schools
Our Vision: One GP → where everyone learns, every day
Our Mission: Promote Innovation → Maximize Potential → Embrace Community
Defer Elementary School
Email: rheauml@gpschools.org
Website: www.gpschools.org/defer
Location: 15425 Kercheval Avenue, Grosse Pointe Park, MI, United States
Phone: 313-432-4000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GPDefer/
Twitter: @GPDefer