Guidance Happenings
Buies Creek Elementary: October through December 2014
Fall Outreach Programs
It is wonderful to be a school where such enthusiasm is shared among students, teachers, and parents! As a means of keeping you up-to-date on the happenings of the guidance department, I thought I would share this newsletter with you. I hope you enjoy it!
So far, this fall has been an opportunity for the school and community to work together. In October, we were able to coordinate with the Harnett County Sheriff's department for our Red Ribbon Week Celebration. Sgt. Meredith, Deputy Swagger, and Canine Kilo came to our school to share safety tips for Halloween and demonstrate Kilo's awesome ability to assist the officers with drug-related cases.
Also, we are still coordinating with area churches to maintain our backpack buddy program, and many community clubs, churches, and organizations are offering Thanksgiving and Christmas assistance to families within our school.
The K-Kids Club has also been busy this fall. The UNICEF Trick-or-Treat Project was held in October, and the K-Kids hosted a yard sale on November 15th. These projects raised over $400 for the ELIMINATE project! This money will be used to provide over 200 Tetanus shots to expecting mothers in under-developed countries.
The K-Kids also had their annual induction meeting, where parents and community members attended to support the club members as they received official membership pins and certificates. Currently, the K-Kids are wrapping up their annual food drive for the local food pantry, and they are looking forward to their Christmas party of December 18th where they will make placemats for the local soup kitchen to use during the holiday season.
Classroom Guidance
Kindergarten through third graders will soon finish a unit called "Understanding Feelings". The goal of this unit is for students to be able to accurately identify their emotions based on the way their body feels (for example, if a students notices that his face is hot and his heart is beating quickly, he may be better able to voice that he is angry). As we build on this unit, students will learn positive coping skills and stress management techniques.
Fourth and fifth grade students have been learning about adversity, resiliency, and self-esteem. Through Red Ribbon week, students learned about the importance of making positive and healthy choices, and they will focus more on this when they learn about goal-setting and perseverance in January.
Finally, I am also excited to bring a literary connection to the third, fourth, and fifth grade classes throughout this school year. As we discuss these important concepts, the students will also be using classic literary texts to help further their understanding and help them to bring these concepts to life.
Third graders will be discussing Black Beauty, forth grade will discuss Anne of Green Gables, and fifth grade will discuss The Secret Garden. (Excerpts from these texts are embedded into the guidance lessons).
Thank you for sharing your students with me, and for giving me the opportunity to share these life skills with them.
Victoria Butler
Buies Creek Elementary School
Email: vbutler@harnettstudents.org
Phone: 9108933505