Ham-Par Happenings
Volume 45/Issue 3
MRS. HASSE'S SPOTLIGHT
At this time last year we were launching and sharing what growth mindset was to our school-wide community. Now, it's more relevant than ever in these trying times.
Over 30 years ago, Carol Dweck and her colleagues became interested in students' attitudes about failure. They noticed that some students rebounded while other students seemed devastated by even the smallest setbacks. After studying the behavior of thousands of children, Dr. Dweck coined the terms growth and fixed mindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. When students believe they can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger. Therefore they put in extra time and effort, and that leads to higher achievement.
"In a fixed mindset students believe their basic abilities, their intelligence, their talents, are just fixed traits. They have a certain amount and that's that, and then their goal becomes to look smart all the time and never look dumb. In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don't necessarily think everyone's the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it.” -Dweck
This also spills over into our habit this month, Be Proactive! Habit 1: Be Proactive is about taking responsibility for your life. You can't keep blaming everything on your parents or grandparents. Proactive people recognize that they are "response-able." They don't blame genetics, circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior.
In this way, proactive people CHOOSE their own moods and reactions. They have the freedom to choose having a growth mindset even if it's a work in progress.
We will be taking an month long in-depth look at being proactive in each of our Young Five through fifth grade classrooms. We encourage you to use the resources below to have frequent conversations with your child to instill the values and leadership that you uphold. We thank you for your continued partnership!
PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
Dear Hamilton-Parsons Parents,
We are requesting your presence at our Virtual Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences on November 18th or November 19th from 5 to 8pm on Google Meet. Unlike the past, we will not be having a student-led conference due to the time constraints that could be present and the nature of conferences this school year. However, many of our teachers would like your child to be present for the conference. Further direction will come from your child’s teacher directly regarding their attendance.
*For families who have recently declared to move to in person learning from being a cohort #3 student (online learner only) you will schedule your conference with your child’s teacher from the first trimester.*
If you have more than one student to attend conferences for, we ask that you schedule your child’s next conference at least ten minutes apart.
Please plan to arrive right on time for the conference. Conference times are tightly scheduled so please be prompt. It is preferred that you use your child’s Romeo device (either iPad or Chromebook). We ask that you do not enter the Meet early as the teacher will be meeting with all families on one universal Google Link. When it is your correct time, the teacher will approve your entry. The conference link is the same Google Link as the daily classroom meetings. If you are waiting for a conference to begin and are denied entry, please continue to try to enter the conference via Google Meet and your child’s teacher will let you in when the conference will start. We will work to be prompt and follow our conference schedule as listed.
If you have further questions or concerns regarding the conference or need to reschedule, please contact your child’s teacher as soon as possible.
Thanks so much for your continued support!
HABITS @ HOME
Habit of the Month: BE PROACTIVE
All of these external forces act as stimuli that we respond to. Between the stimulus and the response is your greatest power--you have the freedom to choose your response. One of the most important things you choose is what you say. Your language is a good indicator of how you see yourself. A proactive person uses proactive language--I can, I will, I prefer, etc. A reactive person uses reactive language--I can't, I have to, if only. Reactive people believe they are not responsible for what they say and do--they have no choice.
HP Leads the Way
We are proud to say we are the first Romeo school and the 120th Leader in Me school out of 400+ schools in Michigan and growing! For those of you that are unfamiliar, the Leader in Me incorporates a whole-school transformation model that acts like the operating system of a computer; it improves the performance of all areas of our school. We have seen increased academic performance, fewer behavior problems and higher engagement of students in the classroom and throughout the building over the course of five years.
We are proud that we have been identified as a school with many exemplary practices by our Franklin Covey coaches.
We integrate the seven habits of leadership into our day, school activities, and operations at HP. You will hear us begin to use that language in our announcements, handouts, classrooms, and hopefully with your child in application. The 7 Habits empowers our students to make positive, effective, and responsible choices as Bulldogs.
These habits are:
Habit #1: Be proactive - take responsibility and initiative (November)
Habit #2: Begin with the end in mind- plan and set goals (December)
Habit #3: Put first things first- set priorities and practice discipline (January)
Habit #4: Think win-win - consider others and seek alternatives to conflict (February)
Habit #5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood - listen to others, learn from their views (March)
Habit #6: Synergize - value others’ strengths and team with others to solve problems (April)
Habit #7: Sharpen the saw - taking care of one’s self, learning, and finding meaning outside of school (May)
As we move into our year, we will take a school-wide classroom focus on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Kids. This focus on the whole-child helps us develop many lifelong skills and allows us to explicitly teach students many strategies
For more information...
- Visit The Leader In Me's official website
- Visit A.B. Combs Elementary School's website to learn about why Leader In Me was created
- Visit Beaumont Elementary School's website to learn about how the program is implemented at other schools (Michigan's 1st LIM school located in Waterford)
- Visit the Sean Covey website for 7 Habits games and activities for kids
ABOUT US
Hamilton-Parsons Elementary is a K-5 elementary school in Romeo Community Schools. Ham-Par, for short, is Michigan's 120th Leader in Me school and the first school in Romeo to adopt the LIM processes as a part of best practice from the Franklin Covey Foundation.
Vision Statement: We choose to empower students by teaching life-long habits so that they are prepared to succeed today, tomorrow, and always.
Mission Statement: Hamilton-Parsons... Learners, Leaders, Bulldogs Forever!
Mrs. Andrea Hasse, Ed.S., principal
Mrs. Michelle Elter, secretary
Email: andrea.hasse@romeok12.org
Website: https://romeok12.org/schools/hamilton-parsons-elementary/
Location: 69875 Dequindre Road, Leonard, MI, USA
Phone: (586) 752-0280
Facebook: facebook.com/hamiltonparsonselementary
Twitter: @HasseAndrea