Paw Print
Belmont Elementary: A PAWSitive Place to Learn!
Read with BE! (Featuring Mrs. Gontesky)
We LOVE reading at BE! Every person on our team has grown into a reader at some age or another. So we're excited to share our love of reading with your children through our new endeavor- Read with BE! Our goal will be to post a new read aloud to our Read with BE! page found under the FAMILY tab on our website most Fridays. Then whenever your child is looking for a new book to enjoy, perhaps they'll find it fun to explore a book with one of our team members. Everyone gets to pick their own favorite to share, so hopefully throughout the year, you'll find some new favorites, too.
Please enjoy, Strega Nona, written by Tomie de Paola, and read by Mrs. Gontesky, Second Grade Teacher.
Have you heard the one about treating your masks like your underwear?
PSST!! We are happy to provide the occasional replacement mask when a child forgets or an accident happens with a mask during the day, but we're running out! PLEASE send extra masks in your child's backpack and make sure that they know that they are available. MUCH appreciated!
OOOOOOH! Fall Fun Day is Coming Soon!
Students are invited to wear a Halloween costume to school! They will stay in costume for the first part of the day, so it's important to choose a costume that allows them to move freely and see clearly so they don't miss out on any of the fun (and other school responsibilities.) Costumes should be interesting and not too scary. Please do not include blood, guts, gore or weapons of any kind. Accessories may stay at home and be saved for Halloween night trick-or-treating. (Don't forget to coordinate your face mask!)
Wait, what? Adults aren't coming inside to host a party? Nope, but families are invited to join us out back around the track for the most amazing costume parade. Word is that the weather is expected to be lovely, so we'll give it a go! (If it's raining, it'll be a no go.) The parade will be from 9:45-10:00 a.m. Bring a lawn chair if you'd like and park yourself around the inside of the track and we will march on past. You'll have a front row view of all of our little monsters, movie stars, scientists, musicians, scarecrows, animals, super heroes, creators, book characters, princesses, toys, riddles..............oh, my goodness! I can hardly wait!
Build a Bag of Treats back by popular demand! Parents are invited to visit this link to sign up to TREAT THE CLASSROOM! Treats and trinkets will be collected to add to individual student bags to be sent home at the end of the day. Signing up allows us to appropriately plan for each classroom. Thank you so much for contributing to our Fall Festivity!
Celebrating TWO Teammates!
Ottawa University recognizes an OUtstanding Educator with a $200 award to recognize a professional nominated for standing out in the crowd. Darcie Sheppard brings her light to her classroom every single day, and uses her skills to make a difference for our children. We are so proud of this honor for Mrs. Sheppard, and are most grateful that she calls Belmont home.
Arvest Bank surprises a randomly drawn nominee with a $500 award to be used in the recipient's classroom. First year teacher, Mikayla Ussery is excited to add to her already well-established positive classroom environment with her acknowledgement of perseverance for her chosen profession.
Holy cow, but we are blessed around here! The monetary awards are exciting, but the payoff is truly in the lives of the lucky children who call these ladies their teacher. Congratulations and thank you for all you do each day!
Building Mentally Strong Bulldogs!
I mentioned the multi-varied abilities and aspects of maturity that apply to every single child, including yours (and certainly mine, too, back when they were in class.) We are blessed to have so many well-regulated children in our classrooms. We are also blessed to help navigate the waters for so many students with trauma, mental health, neurological, and anxiety-based disabilities in our classrooms. These challenges most often come hand in hand with even more unexpected behaviors that can seem to come out of nowhere. Explicitly taught self-regulation skills are imperative for daily success. We're lucky to have several talented individuals on our team to help with mental health, and so many amazing families that don't run from the hard work of finding the right supports for their child's success. Fair definitely does not mean equal in many situations, and that's hard for children to understand, as well.
You've probably seen the well-known picture of the three kids trying to see the ball game over the fence. They all have one box to stand on, but they still can't all get a clear view of the field. Then, when the boxes are redistributed, one with two boxes, one on a single level, and one without any at all, the magic happens and everyone gets what they need to see over the fence to enjoy the game. As educators, we are trying so very hard to provide what every child needs to enjoy the learning game.
We've got students who don't need any extra boxes to see over the fence. These are our Tier I students- they are most always successful with school-wide expectations, able to self-regulate to participate fully themselves, without inhibiting the success of others with their classroom social and academic behaviors. Generally, this is about 85% of the students.
Our one box standers are our Tier II students. They need something more in order to stay in the game. They might need extra time, extra instruction, extra opportunity to practice skills, extra incentive, or extra attention in order to be successful in school. About 10% of students generally need this level of extra support.
Tier III students generally make up about 5% of the student population and need increased, intentional attention and support to reach the general playing field. These students are still ours, and worthy of our time. They are working hard to become their best selves in order to be as successful in class as our Tier I students.
Over the last couple of years, we've probably all experienced a much higher level of needs in our homes, workplaces, community and classrooms. Our Tier I numbers are lower, our Tier II numbers are higher, and our Tier III needs are more intense. Our classrooms are delicate balances of making everything work for every student, and literally every factor matters. So....for YOUR child...no matter how many boxes they do or don't need to clearly see the daily learning targets...here are some little things that you can manage from outside of the building, that truly make a HUGE difference inside of our building.
S L E E P
Children who do not get adequate sleep at night (WebMD recommendations) come to school crabby and irritable. Crabby and irritable children find it harder to self-regulate when it's time to get down to work, when interacting with their peers, when responding to teacher direction, and when collecting their thoughts to learn. They argue with friends and tune out teachers. Their attendance at school is just attendance. It's not full participation. At the end of the school day, they probably find themselves with a stack of unfinished work to complete and another evening of activities and responsibilities. We definitely do not send them home happy after a crabby day of frustration...and we're truly sorry about that! Establishing a consistent bedtime routine and lights out routine (and making sure that they are truly asleep when you expect them to be snoozing) is an easy-peasy lifestyle change that can make a B I G difference literally all day long. Not yet a believer? Google it. Do the research. Or...just try setting your family up for success by making sure that ALL of you get a solid night of rest to refuel for each and every day. Give it two weeks and I'm betting that you'll all notice the difference in your days, just by paying attention to the nights.
E X E R C I S E
I read some research lately that noted that even about 30 minutes of movement before school, can help your child with self-regulation during the school day. Yes! They can walk to school, or ride their bikes, walk the dog, jump on the trampoline, play in the backyard, sweep the sidewalk, rake the leaves, play hopscotch, jump rope, swing with big leg pumps, vacuum the carpet, run the stairs, play a dance game, or just dance! Moving matters. At school, we take brain breaks to move throughout the day. We encourage taking a lap or two around the track at the beginning of recess. We have PE twice a week. We have active hallways that are utilized all day long to pump up the serotonin, dopamine and endorphins. Raising that oxygen level in the blood increases the brain's ability to think, and the body's ability to regulate. Feeling sluggish yourself? Get moving! Even 10 minutes of intentional movement has value. What does your family do to move?
S T R E S S M A N A G E M E N T
How you manage stress in your family greatly influences how your children learn to manage stress. Let's face it, we've all got it. Whether it's mindfulness strategies, intentional self-care, or family therapy- having a plan to manage stress without creating or continuing an unhealthy cycle of frustration and reactive blowups between family members is important.
P R O T E I N (Including Omega-3)
I am not a dietitian (although my oldest daughter is) but I can read, and I recently found it interesting that Omega-3's could actually have a positive, corrective effect over the inherited genetics of poor self-regulation. I'll continue looking for reliable sources of information, because quite frankly, the epigenetics of self-regulation is truly interesting. On a less specific scale, I think we are all well aware of the power of protein with every snack and meal. Enough of all of the food groups during the day keeps a child's brain fired up and thriving. I am amazed at some of the creative snacks and lunches that come to school with your children. Food is awesome and there's a place in a healthy lifestyle for literally everything...just try not to let your kids get too stuck on any one thing, and keep encouraging a creative and adventurous variety.
I know. This article is way too long, Hargrove. I get it. But if every parent took just one step toward getting a little better with even just the first suggestion....great sleep...every classroom would be positively affected. Don't misunderstand me...these three things aren't going to be enough to alleviate all of the challenges of a child with neurological, mental health struggles. But they are strategies in the toolbox that will fit every child's tune up checklist. Mine, too!
Since 2017, We've Been a Zones of Regulation School. Not Sure What That Means? Here's a Repeat of Information First Shared in the Paw Print 4 Years Ago!
Going for the GREEN Zone!
We've been talking a lot of about collecting green, as in money, for our Bulldogs through the PTO Bulldog Dash FUNdraiser, and as parents, you've heard a lot about that green! What you might not know, is that we talk a lot about another kind of green here at school, and that green is the Green Zone. Throughout the fall, I'll be sharing with you pieces of a great support system we are using as a reference all over the building this year. It comes from a book called, Zones of Regulation : A Framework to Foster Self-Regulation & Emotional Control, by Leah Kuypers. We've found this resource to be a wonderful tool for introducing our students to the concept of self-regulation and understanding their own powerful emotions. One of my favorite aspects is that students hear that all emotions or feelings are okay. It's how they affect us and those around us...so what we do with those emotions, that allows us to be safe and successful. Even better, there are tools that we can all learn to help us with all of these feelings. Love that! The language presents four zones, the zones of regulation, that we all travel through at one time or another. To get started, I'll share with you that the green zone is where we need to be in order to be ready to listen, learn, work, perform on the athletic field, and all of those things we do on our own and with others. All of the mindfulness activities and breathing practice contribute to kids becoming aware of their own bodies and the choices they make with them. It's so very empowering. I'll share more and more over the next few months, but I wanted you to know right off the bat about the green zone and the resource we're drawing from as we grow our growth mindset and executive functioning skills at Belmont! Good stuff! Great kids! Strategies all around!
Uh oh. Don't get stuck in the BLUE Zone.
Last week, we started our highlight of the Zones, from, Zones of Regulation : A Framework to Foster Self-Regulation & Emotional Control, by Leah Kuypers, by introducing the GREEN ZONE, a place where we're ready to learn. This week, we'll highlight a zone that all of us have found ourselves in at one time or another; the BLUE ZONE. Have you ever felt sick or tired? Lonely? Sad? Hungry? Hangry? Left out? Unimportant? Or literally just sick....or tired. I'm guessing you just said, "Yep!" As an adult, you know that there are things that you can do to help yourself out when you find yourself in the BLUE ZONE. As an adult, you've learned those things through experience; and you have the power to access the help you need all on your own. Sometimes as a child, when the BLUE ZONE takes over, we need help getting back in the green. Thank goodness our kids all have great parents and teachers to help!
Here are some reminders you might find helpful when it comes to helping your sweet Bullpups and Bulldogs avoid the BLUE ZONE before they even leave home:
- Develop healthy routines for responsibilities at home like chores and homework so that children learn to find balance- it's a great stress reducer. Success fuels success.
- Develop and enforce quality sleep schedules- kids need more sleep than they believe they need. Tired brains find it difficult to make good choices, but rested brains have greater access to problem-solving abilities.
- Encourage healthy meals and snacks for the entire family- try something new every week and limit treats that add little nutritional value because they are less likely to support great brain growth. Our bodies need fuel to produce at top efficiency.
- Play games together and be sure to include lots of exercise and movement to get that blood moving and oxygen pumping through those blood cells. During exercise, serotonin is released in your body and can positively affect your mood.
- Breathe, listen, breathe, listen, breathe........you get the idea. As parents, when we slow down and provide a positive example of balance, our modeling is well-noted by our children. Taking time to breathe with your children, and listening to them, helps them learn to speak up and self-advocate when they find themselves in the BLUE ZONE and need help to access their strategy. Like, "May I have a snack?" or "May I run a lap?" or "May I read a happy story to relax?" When we as adults, can take time to listen to children, we may find that they truly are able to find their own best solutions without us always trying to fix it for them. And THAT, my friends, is empowering! Here comes the GREEN ZONE!
We're So EXCITED!! (So We're Probably in the YELLOW Zone)
The YELLOW ZONE is another very familiar place for most of us. It's a zone where we're a little bit excited, maybe giggly or wiggly or chatty. Sometimes that's completely awesome and we need to be there! Unless it's not one of those okay times. Or, we might be antsy or nervous. We may be embarrassed, confused or frustrated. We could be worried or distracted by something in our environment or just something rolling through our brain. There are LOTS of reasons to be in the yellow zone and LOTS of behaviors that pop up when that's where we find ourselves. Here's the very BEST news!! Even children, when they possess the right tools in their toolbox, can help themselves settle from the Yellow Zone back into the Green Zone when needed. LOVE that!
Our students have begun learning all kinds of strategies that they can apply whenever they need to get into the green. Some easy-peasy ones that you might ask them to show you at home are: Breathing, taking a stretch or movement break, listening to classical instrumental music (55 beats per minute), positive self-talk, massaging pressure points on the ear lobes, face or hands, or visiting a calming corner or other safe and comfy place to regroup. The use of non-verbal signals or visuals is a great teacher strategy to help kiddos move from yellow to green. Most of these strategies are doable literally anywhere. As adults, we use them, too! Please take time to model for your children by talking through when YOU are making use of a strategy. Are you trying to finish a project for work at home and getting distracted? Say, "Man, I'm having trouble focusing on my work! I think I'll take a quick walk to clear my brain. Wanna come?" Or maybe, "I'm feeling a little bit nervous about that storm out there. I'm thinking if we put on some music and read a story it'll take my mind right off it and I'll be able to relax. What should we read?" You will find that your children will soon be the ones noticing everyone's zone and making suggestions for working strategies. Sometimes the Yellow Zone is a fun and exciting place to be and it's absolutely fine to stay there- like if you're watching a really exciting game. Other times, we've got work to do or responsibilities to attend to and that's when having a toolbox full of strategies can save the moment!
With all of the zones we've highlighted so far, self-awareness is the primary goal. When we recognize what's happening in our bodies, it's easier to know what to do about it so that we can be our best....and recognize that, too! Loving this journey with your children!
Uh oh! We're WAY TOO EXCITED!! Or ANGRY!! Or TERRIFIED!! (So We've entered the RED Zone) Help, please!
Continuing our highlight of the Zones, from, Zones of Regulation : A Framework to Foster Self-Regulation & Emotional Control, by Leah Kuypers, let's check in on the last section....the RED ZONE.
The RED ZONE is absolutely packed with emotion. In fact, it's a zone where our emotions are so big we can't see or function or make good decisions around them. Again, red zone feelings may be positive or negative. The deal is, they take over. When our emotions take over we are straight up in our fight or flight mode if we're scared or angry. Alternately, we could be so elated about something that we just can't focus on anything else to save ourselves. In situations that involve these straight-from-the-amygdala feelings and reactions, we usually need help. As adults, it's our job to be there to provide the structure and support that our children and students need to calm enough to get back down to the yellow zone where they can access the strategies in their own toolboxes to get themselves back to the green zone. Whew! It can be a lot of work to get out of the red. Kids might need space, or time, or physical comfort, or calming talk, or that special item that helps them think of something soothing and gives them time to breathe their racing hearts. We're honored to be here for your children when you can't be. It's always okay to get help when we need it. Please never be afraid to ask for help if you ever need it as an adult, too! It's just another beautiful model for your children. If you find that someone in your house is heading into the red zone quite often, there might be a need to seek out further help. Please, know that Ms. Arbaugh, our counselor, and Mrs. Kuykendall, our Social Worker, are always willing to listen or share community resources as needed. Your children drive my days and fill my heart. You matter to me, too, though, because your children love and need you most! Thank you for sharing them with me. Always reaching for the green!
Coming Up at BE:
October 11 PTO Meeting, 7:00 pm Zoom Link Passcode: Belmont
October 14 End of 1st Quarter
October 15 Professional Development Day - No School
October 18 Professional Development Day - No School
October 29 Fall Parade and Parties
Visit the BE Online Calendar of Events (by clicking on the button below) for a more complete list of activities!
2021-2022 Lunch Schedule
11:25-11:52 1st Grade
11:55-12:22 3rd Grade
12:05-12:32 2nd Grade
12:35-1:02 4th Grade
12:45-1:15 5th Grade
*Student lunches are FREE for the 2021-2022 school year!
**We do not have space for lunchtime visitors this year. Thanks for understanding.
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Community partner Country Club Bank is providing support to ensure this service is available in USD 232.
You'll find us at:
Email: phargrove@usd232.org
Website: be.usd232.org
Location: 5805 Belmont Drive, Shawnee, KS 66226, United States
Phone: (913)667-1810
Twitter: @BEBulldogs