Blue Ash Elementary Newsletter
November 19th, 2021
Have a wonderful and relaxing break! Look for our Smore again on December 3rd!
Specials Schedule November 22nd - November 23rd
Specials Schedule November 29th - December 3rd
Upcoming Dates
November 20 - Silent Auction bidding ends, get your bids in!
November 24 - 26 - Thanksgiving Break No School
December 13 - 15 - CogAT Testing for all 2nd & 4th grade students during the school day (parents do not need to sign up students in these grades)
Elementary Optional CogAT Testing
When?
Dec 13, 2021, Dec 14, 2021, & Dec 15, 2021
Parent Referral Option: In the mornings on December 13th, 14th, & 15th before school starts
Montgomery - 7:50 Drop off in the circle.
Students will not be permitted in the building after 8:00
Blue Ash - 7:40 - 7:50 Drop off in the front circle by the front door.
Students will not be permitted in the building after 8:00
Symmes - 7:55-8:05 Drop off at front office entrance.
Students will not be permitted in the building after 8:10
Maple Dale - 7:40 - 7:50 Drop off at the circle.
Students will not be permitted in the building after 7:55
The student must attend all three mornings to complete the assessment
Families are responsible for transportation.
There will be another testing opportunity offered in the spring.
Where?
Your child’s elementary school
Who?
Kindergarten, 1st, and 3rd grade is by parent referral before the start of the school day.
How?
Register your child for the CogAT here only if they are in grades K, 1st, or 3rd. (All 2nd & 4th graders take the test with their classroom teacher)
Registration deadline is Monday, December 5th, 2021 by 11:59 pm
Questions?
Contact Jamie Jackson at jacksonja@sycamoreschools.org
THANK YOU to our BAE Community for your generosity and kindness during our recent Food, Clothing and Toy Collection!
Parent Tip! Healthy Ways to Handle Holiday Stress
Ready or not, the holiday season is here, along with all the festivities and fun that go along with it: family gatherings, shared meals, gift-giving, party planning, special school and church events, hosting out-of-town family stays, and on and on. It’s enough to make your head spin just thinking about it.
The question is, how do you plan to handle the extra stress that accompanies this time of year?
If your route to relieve stress includes pouring a glass of wine or grabbing a cold beer, you’re certainly not alone. Many adults reach for alcohol to relax and destress. While an occasional drink is ok for most people, depending on alcohol to lift your mood can be problematic, both emotionally and physically, for yourself and your children.
While alcohol is a sedative, and can help ease nerves momentarily, it is a short-term fix to what can become a long-term problem. It is an unhealthy coping strategy that can increase a person’s anxiety and depression, and lead to addiction.
We also must remember that our children are always observing our behavior, whether we recognize it or not. If they learn from us that it is ok to reach for alcohol when we are stressed, worried or feeling down – that is a problem.
Instead, we can teach by example healthy ways to handle stress, that do not involve the use of substances.
The Mayo Clinic offers a stress-reducing strategy called the 4 A’s, that we can put into practice for ourselves and role model for our children: avoid, alter, accept, or adapt. The way it works is that with any given situation that increases our stress, we look for ways to apply one or more of these concepts.
Avoid: Believe it or not, a lot of stress can simply be avoided. Plan ahead, learn to say no, and ditch parts of your to-do list (low priority items).
Alter: Take inventory of whatever stressful situation you find yourself in, then consider ways you change or modify it for the better.
Accept: Sometimes we have no other option than to accept things the way they are. When this is the case, it is important to talk to someone, to forgive, to practice positive self-talk, and to learn from our mistakes.
Adapt: There are times when we need to adjust or revise the standards and expectations we set upon ourselves, which many times are unreasonable. What can help to change one’s perspective is to ask yourself, “Will this matter in a year or in five years?”
Just because you’ve traditionally hosted Thanksgiving doesn’t mean someone else can’t take a turn. If your holiday to-do list becomes overwhelming, look it over and see what you can cut out. If you’re tired of being the punchline of your cousin’s jokes at family gatherings, ask him or her to leave you out of the comedy routine. Give yourself and others grace and do your best to put a stressful situation in perspective.
In addition to a well-balanced diet, exercise, social connectedness, and quality sleep, the Mayo Clinic’s 4 A’s technique can help you balance the stress equation for a more peaceful, enjoyable holiday season for yourself and your children.
Tips For Mentors and Adult Allies
Help young people avoid turning to substances for stress relief by sharing healthy coping strategies:
Maintain a well-balanced diet
- Get daily exercise – outside when possible
- Stay connected to friends and family
- Get good quality sleep
- Put the 4 A’s – as shared in this tip
Sources:
Cleveland Clinic: Why You Shouldn’t Rely on Alcohol During Times of Stress. April 2020
Mayo Clinic: Need stress relief? Try the 4 A’s. July 2021.
Fourth Graders make the best mugs in Art class!! Zoom in to see the amazing detail!
THANK YOU to our incredible PTO for supplying meals for our teachers as they worked late into the evening to conduct Parent Teacher Conferences. We feel the LOVE!
Reminder
Click here for the communication form. If someone other than a parent is picking up your child, the person’s full name should be included on the form. We will ask to see proper ID before releasing your child to anyone.
Learn Sign Language with Us!
There are four new signs for this week! The video I made also includes a short game for the class/student(s) to participate in where they pretend to drive a car and follow my signs to either: Start, stop, go, or wait. It is very silly and I hope they enjoy it!
https://flipgrid.com/s/co-RaYg2oYpY
We are so fortunate to have a sign language interpreter supporting one of our children at BAE again this year. Nicole Schum has been busy teaching all of us sign language! If you would like to join in the learning from home, please CLICK HERE for the Flipgrid account.
Once you log on to Flipgrid, the code for Blue Ash Sign Language is: baesign
CAFETERIA NEWS!!
Click HERE to access the menu.
PTO INFORMATION
Blue Ash Bashes are back for the 2021-22 school year! And our very first one of the year is coming up in December!
Please use the following link to sign up and complete payment through PayPal.
LAST CHANCE! SILENT AUCTION & SPLIT THE POT
Silent Auction & Split the Pot
Bidding ends soon! We have tons of items for everyone on your shopping list and a chance to win $$$$
Go to the Blue Ash Elementary PTO Facebook page to make your bids and buy tickets! And don’t forget to LIKE the PTO page while you are there!!!
https://www.facebook.com/BlueAshElementaryPto
Hurry, Silent Auction bidding ends this Saturday, November 20th @ 12pm, & Split the Pot closes at 11am
***Remember, ALL money raised is a donation to the PTO and goes back into you student’s education!
Student Directory
As a reminder, only PTO members receive access to DirectorySpot, our online student directory app, and you may join the PTO for as little as $10: https://tinyurl.com/59uuj8mz.
If you have any questions regarding the directory, please contact us at baptodirectory@sycamoreschools.org
DISTRICT INFORMATION/FLYERS
Adapt for Life Program in our Schools
In partnership with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, Sycamore Community Schools was awarded state funding to develop mental health programming for students. The grant that we received in the spring of 2021 expands the Adapt for Life Program for grades K-12. We launched the program in our schools this week.
Aligned with our PBIS framework, the Adapt for Life Program features ten lessons throughout the school year. The ADAPT framework—Ask, Describe, Assess, Plan, and Talk—is a model to help students develop healthy behaviors and essential life skills to tackle stress, whether it’s during everyday moments or in times of crisis.
Beginning the week of November 8, classroom teachers will teach lessons in grades K-4 and grades 11-12. In grades 5-10, students will experience lessons with the classroom teachers and trained facilitators from the Adapt for Life team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Lessons teach students how to better manage everyday stress through developing healthier habits and skills such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.
This grant is part of Governor Mike DeWine’s K-12 Prevention Education Initiative, which awarded $18 million to school districts in Ohio through their mental health partners. Sycamore Schools was one of 11 districts in Hamilton County to receive a one-time grant to create sustainable evidence-based mental health programming.
We are excited to be engaging in this exciting partnership with Adapt for Life. For more information about the program, tools for students, and tools for families, please visit the Adapt for Life website at https://www.adaptforlife.org. Should you have questions regarding Adapt for Life, please reach out to Lisa Zelvy, Pupil Services Supervisor, at zelvyl@sycamoreschools.org.