Schlegel Safari
NOVEMBER 2018
A letter from your Principals!
Greetings Schlegel Families!
The holiday season is just around the corner. This means our students and teachers will be busy learning along with celebrating holiday traditions. We remember when our children were in elementary school how excited they were this time of year. Please be sure to keep your family routines as best as possible-especially a good night's rest.
As we continue to grapple with the benefits and challenges of technology, we would like to share our point of view. Bedtime routines are important for many reasons. We encourage you to make sure your child(ren) turn off technology (i-pads, tablets, tv, gaming devices) at least an hour prior to going to bed. These are items are best kept in a "common family" area versus a child's bedroom. Replace the technology with story time, sharing about the day or just snuggle time-know matter what age your child is-they will benefit from this in their bedtime routine.
Thank you to each one of you for all you do to send your children to school ready to learn!
With smiles,
Francine Leggett & Robin Jennings
Principal and Assistant Principal
WHISKER'S WELLNESS CORNER
Building Resilience
Most people have a natural tendency to adapt and bounce back from adversity. However, parents can help their children learn to face challenges successfully, whether it is the stresses of everyday life, such as academic difficulties or problems with friends, or severe adversity, such as losing a home and being displaced from normal routines for months. Following are five ways to promote resilience in your children and help protect them from long-term ill effects of difficult experiences.
1. Think positive! Modeling positive attitudes and positive emotions is very important. Children need to hear parents thinking out loud positively and being determined to persist until a goal is achieved. Using a “can do” problem-solving approach to problems teaches children a sense of power and promise.
2. Express love and gratitude! Emotions such as love and gratitude increase resiliency. Praise should always occur much more often than criticism. Children and adolescents who are cared for, loved, and supported learn to express positive emotions to others. Positive emotions buffer kids against depression and other negative reactions to adversity.
3. Express yourself! Resilient people appropriately express all emotions, even negative ones. Parents who help kids become more aware of emotions, label emotions appropriately, and help children deal with upsetting events are giving them useful life skills.
4. Get fit! Good physical health prepares the body and mind to be more resilient. Healthy eating habits, regular exercise and adequate sleep protect kids against the stress of tough situations. Regular exercise also decreases negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and depression.
5. Foster competency! Making sure that children and adolescents achieve academically is great protection against adversity. Children who achieve academic success and who develop individual talents, such as playing sports, drawing, making things, playing musical instruments or playing games are much more likely to feel competent and be able to deal with stress positively. Social competency is also important. Having friends and staying connected to friends and loved ones can increase resiliency. Social competency can even be created by helping others.
Protecting our children against all of life’s unexpected painful events is not possible. Giving them a sense of competency and the skills to face adverse circumstances can be a valuable legacy of all parents. Resiliency can be built by understanding these important foundations. The more we practice these approaches; the better able our children will be to weather whatever life brings.
Adapted from: “Resiliency: Strategies for Parents and Educators,” Virginia Smith Harvey, Helping Children at Home and School II: Handouts for Families and Educators, NASP, 2004
Schlegel Road participates in the Backpack Club! We work in conjunction with a Webster church to provide a Friday food distribution to support families who may need a little extra “child friendly” food and snacks to get through the weekend. A bag of food is sent home with each participating child on Fridays. This program has been very successful in the past and families have found it helpful. Please know children’s names are kept confidential and not shared with the church. If you are and interested, please contact Mrs. Riesenberger.
Life brings changes - Confidential support is always available for your child(ren) to assist through transitions of any kind. In addition, we can help in finding support for community resources your family may need. Please do not hesitate to contact us.
Check out the programs at Webster Recreation Center for some great opportunities for your family to be more involved in our community. Their Fall 2018 Program Guide can be found here:
https://www.ci.webster.ny.us/DocumentCenter/View/2499/Program-Guide?bidId=
Joan Riesenberger
School Social Worker
(585) 217-4753
Joan_Riesenberger@webstercsd.org
Diana Gugino-Sullivan
School Psychologist
(585) 217-4723
Be sure to note the following on your Calendars!
Saturday, November 3: Schlegel Craft Show
Wednesday, November 7: School Picture Make Up Day
Monday, November 12: Veterans Day (NO SCHOOL)
Tuesday, November 13: PTSA Meeting, 6:00pm
Wednesday, November 21-23: Thanksgiving Recess, NO SCHOOL
A Note from your School Nurses
NOVEMBER
Cold weather is certainly upon us. Parents, please make sure your children (even teens!) are dressed appropriately for the weather. Wind -resistant jacket/coat (& wind pants for younger students) is the best protection against wind chill (especially with wind chills less than -10°F). Exposed skin can freeze (frost bite) in 30 minutes at –25°F. Elementary students should have boots, hat, mittens/gloves & a scarf or other face covering available to them for recess. Recess for elementary students is generally limited when wind chill is less than +20°F. Also, NY State law requires buses to be turned off after 5 minutes of idling due to emissions. That means the bus will be cold, and your child needs to be dressed appropriately for the weather.
Influenza (the flu) is usually in season from October through March. Remember it is easily transmitted through the air (ie sneezing) & close personal contact. Cold & flu viruses can linger on doorknobs, telephone receivers and other surfaces. It is important to wash your hands frequently & try to avoid rubbing your eyes & nose or putting your hands around your mouth.
Colds/flu, here are some guidelines to use in determining whether your child should stay at home:
-Fever greater than 100.5 orally.
-Child is too ill, sleepy or lethargic to sit all day in school.
-Severe headache, especially if accompanied by a fever (contact your healthcare provider).
-Severe sore throat, with fever or lethargy, lasting longer than 48 hours (contact healthcare provider).
-If your child has had a throat culture for strep, he/she may NOT be in school until the results are known. If your child is diagnosed with strep, he/she MUST be on antibiotics 24 hours before returning to school.
Thank you for helping us keep your children healthy at school!
Sincerely,
Kristen Estelle RN BSN
Rachael Rock RN BSN
Schlegel Road Health Office
(585) 216-6023
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports aka PBIS
Whisker's Pride
We held our bus lessons recently in which the students were grouped by their bus families. Teams of teachers worked with each busload of students. They did an activity for the students to know each other a little better by sharing introductions and something about themselves. The teachers focused on 4 areas for the lessons. We expect students to follow driver's directions, stay seated, keep the aisle clear and to use an appropriate level voice on the bus. We are planning to find more time to get our bus families together so the students can become more familiar with each other and be a support to one another. Our driver's pictures are also included on our Schlegel Staff bulletin board in the building. We want the students to see how we are all connected.