We have been so excited to have our middle school and high school students back to their full schedules! It has been so great to be able to see our students in our classes doing some really fun projects and working hard at learning new skills.

Please remember that next week, Wednesday is a full schedule (just like Monday, Tuesday and Thursday's schedule). This is because there is no school on Friday for our secondary students because of conferences.

Please continue to reach out with any questions or concerns. Thank you,

Karen Mitchell

Principal

StepUP

This week we have been teaching lessons from the Safe Touch curriculum to students in grades K-5, unless you opted your student out. Safe Touch is a sexual abuse prevention curriculum that teaches children to recognize the difference between okay and not okay touches, how to say “No,” and who to go to for help. If you would like to further the conversation with your student at home, here are some tips for talking about personal safety:

Find opportunities to talk about personal safety. These conversations can lead to covering important concepts like recognizing different kinds of touches. You might explain that safe touches make you feel well-cared for and loved, like a hug from a parent, while unsafe touches make you feel uncomfortable. Help them recognize safe and unsafe situations

Create a family safety plan. Help your child identify safe adults they can call if they ever need help, and make sure they have all the right contact information.

Practice safety skills. Try role-playing or asking “What if” questions to give your child a chance to practice skills such as how to refuse unwanted touch. Your child could practice using assertive phrases like: “Stop. I don’t like that.”

Let them know it’s never their fault. When you teach them that it’s never okay to keep secrets about touching and it’s never their fault if someone touches them inappropriately, they’re more likely to tell.