Expanding Our Notion of Success
A-B Challenge Success Newsletter - December-January 2017-18
Gratitude
We want to take this opportunity to thank you, our families, for all that you do to support your children's learning and health. We hope that as winter break approaches, you are planning many ways to spend quality time with family, friends, and loved ones, as well as to express gratitude for the goodness in your life!
ABRSD is grateful for you!
Challenge Success Mantra
At Challenge Success, we believe that our society has become too focused on grades, test scores, and performance, leaving little time for kids to develop the necessary skills to become resilient, ethical, and motivated learners. We provide families and schools with the practical, research-based tools they need to create a more balanced and academically fulfilling life for kids. After all, success is measured over the course of a lifetime, not at the end of a semester.
“Our current fast-paced, high-pressure culture works against much of what we know about healthy child development… our largely singular focus on academic achievement has resulted in a lack of attention to other components of a successful life – the ability to be independent, adaptable, ethical, and engaged critical thinkers.” (Pope, et al. , 2015)
GLADYS the GRATITUDE MONSTER
Meet Gladys, the ABRHS Library Gratitude Monster! Anytime before Winter Break, students can stop by and fill out a slip of paper with something for which they are grateful. Then they fold it up and feed it to Gladys.
In January, the high school will display all the things for which its community is thankful, to help them remember to start the new year from a place of gratitude.
Below is a picture of Gladys' Gratitude Wall outside the ABRHS Library!
Joanne Meehan's Elementary CASE Program
Gratitude Trees
Crossgrade Buddies
Gratitude Rocks
Operation Gratitude
In an issue of Scholastic News the cover story was about the sacrifices that men and women serving in the military make. Students wrote thank-you letters through Operation Gratitude to deployed troops, veterans, new recruits and first responders.
How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain
7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude
In Praise of Gratitude
Gratitude Apps for Families and Students
HappyFeed (iOS)
A-B Wellness Website
Over the last few years, our district has engaged in work in the area of health and well-being for all members of our learning community, including social emotional learning (SEL).
We are excited to launch a website with a variety of resources for families, teachers, students, and the greater learning community: http://abschoolswellness.weebly.com. Here you will find a variety of pages and resources to support our mission to develop engaged, well-balanced learners through collaborative, caring relationships.
Partnership with Stanford University's Challenge Success Organization
Website: challengesuccess.org
Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChallengeSuccess
Twitter: @chalsuccess