BARBER BULLETIN
Pontiac Elementary Week of October 12-16
From the desk of our Guidance Counselor: Support for our students following this natural disaster
Here are some guidelines for discussion with your students:
1. Acknowledge the loss and destruction, but emphasize the community's efforts to clean up and rebuild. Reassure students that they will be taken care of, and that life will return to normal.
2. Acknowledge their feelings. Listen & empathize.
3. Allow them to talk/ draw/ write about what happened. Classroom discussions help children make some sense of the disaster.
4. Promote positive coping strategies. Brainstorm, "What makes you feel better when you're stressed or worried?" Talk about how to take good care of ourselves- eat right, exercise, do things that you enjoy, spend time with people you care about.
5. Emphasize resiliency. Talk about other communities that have gone through natural disasters and recovered. (However, take care not to show videos of the flood or other disasters as this can frighten young children)
6. Create opportunities to help others. How can we share some of our Pontiac kindness with our community? (for example, your class could make cards for the first responders)
7. Take care of your own needs. It is important that we handle ourselves in a calm, reassuring manner. You will be best able to help your students if you are coping well yourself. Talk and share your feelings with other adults in the building. This event has been stressful for everyone, not just our students. If you need a break, reach out for help.
If you have a student who is unusually upset, irritable, distant or withdrawn, please contact Mrs. Whitney who will be available to support any students who are having a difficult time.
Pontiac Reaches Out
Many of you have reached out to and want to help! Families have contacted the school asking the very same question. We have a plan and hope you can help promote using your classroom sites and blogs!
We will collect individually wrapped items from each grade level to fill three large baskets for our community. These baskets will go to our neighbors, fire/police station, WLTX news crew, and the sanitation workers.
We will ask for a representative from each of the organizations to come accept the baskets on Friday so students can see this exchange on the news show. Quick turnaround but I am confident in our staff and students!
Team leaders agreed upon the following:
Kindergarten: TBD
1st grade: Chocolate
2nd grade: TBD
3rd grade: Gum and Candy
4th grade: TBD
5th grade: TBD
Special Education and Global: TBD
Upper Montessori: TBD
Lower Montessori: Gatorade
Primary Montessori: TBD
October 22 DISTRICT INSERVICE
October 22 District Inservice details
This is a FULL DAY inservice and all certified teachers are required to stay until 4pm. Bring a device!
Blythewood High will be for all ELEMENTARY teachers.
Sessions will be available on October 15. All staff must sign up in PD Express for the sessions of their choice.
Choose (4) sessions to attend.
This is not for renewal credit.
Food trucks will be available for lunch.
Schedule:
8:30am-9:50am Session 1
10:10-11:30am Session 2
11:30AM-1:00PM Lunch
1:00pm-2:10pm Session 3
2:25pm-4:00pm Session 4
Let's show our PES pride and wear our BLUE SHIRTS!
LEADER IN ME
Join the google community and participate in our schoolwide book study!
The Leader in Me "Launch Team" is very excited to announce that our staff will be doing a book study of Stephen Covey's "The Leader in Me." Your copy is available for sign out from the Guidance office.
The deadlines to read the chapters and comment on the posted questions are as follows:
October 30th: Chapters 1-3
November 30th: Chapters 4-6
January 4th: Chapters 7-10
There may be a candy bar incentive for early-bird responses! Thanks for your support as we all learn more about The Leader in Me and what it could do for our school, our lives and the lives of our students.
We cannot wait to get your feedback! See you on the google community!
A Look at our Week Ahead
All homeroom teachers should report to their classrooms at 7:30am. As a support to our parents in the district, we will allow students to come inside as early as 7:30am so as not to pose a hardship on work schedules. All students will be sent to their homeroom classroom unless they request breakfast. Please use this time to reinforce or extend instructional skills. This time with minimum students should be used purposefully. Consider using websites that enhance curriculum, support independent reading, or provide small group instruction. If you do not have a homeroom, a morning supervision schedule is forthcoming. If you have children, please know that you may certainly bring them with you on these delayed starts.
HAVE YOU BEEN BOOED?
Monday: B Day
Penny Wars for Fall Fest begins!
3:30pm Brief staff meeting in media center followed by Team Leaders meeting
Tuesday: C Day
3:00pm Chorus practice
3:30pm-4:30pm ALL CERTIFIED STAFF INVITED Get a jumpstart on your SLO in media ctr
Support Lauren Fink's volleyball team at RVHS! Game time 7:00pm
Wednesday: D Day
SLO development
7:45am-8:45am 5th grade in conference room with Mr. Robinson
8:50am-9:50am 4th grade in conference room with Mr. Robinson
Thursday: E Day
SIGN UP FOR OCT 22 DISTRICT INSERVICE SESSIONS IN PDEXPRESS
SLO development
7:45am-8:45am Primary Montessori with Mrs. Robbins in extra conference room
8:50am-9:50am Upper and Lower Montessori with Mrs. Robbins in extra conf room
7:45am-8:45am 3rd grade in conference room with Mr. Robinson
8:50am-9:50am 2nd grade in conference room with Mrs. Gillespie
1pm IAT meets
Friday: F Day
SLO development
7:45am-8:45am 1st grade in conference room with APs
8:50am-9:50am Kindergarten in conference room with APs
Next Monday, Spec Ed will work with APs on SLOs
Next Tuesday, Global will work with APs on SLOs.