Superstar Snapshots
April 2020
Different but the Same
I wanted to let you know that the staff of St. Helens miss being and working with our Superstar students! They are working hard every day to make sure that there are still learning opportunities and that they care for the students and our families. While the learning may look very different, the heart for students and learning remains the same.
I have 3 children at home. I understand the challenges that families are facing because they are my challenges too! Every day I am amazed at a few things: the resiliency of my children, their capacity to do more than I think they can do, and the patience it takes to put in the time to help them with their school work. I'm sure I could say the same things about our students based on some of the work I am seeing online.
To our Superstar students, keep up the good work. Make sure you are practicing what you have learned at St. Helens: be kind, be respectful, be responsible, and be safe. To our Superstar parents, grandparents, and guardians, thank you for partnering with us. I know that this is challenging. Keep communicating with the teachers as they work to find a happy medium of continuing to provide learning opportunities and assisting families in meeting the daily challenges that learning from home has. If you are in need of assistance with food, please remember that food boxes are available every Thursday from 9 - 11 at the FCRC. To the Superstar staff, thank you for all of your hard work, your heart for our students and families, and your determination to maintain our school family from a distance. Even though we must teach and learn apart from each other, we are doing it! I am proud to be a Superstar!
Stephanie Teel, Principal
BELIEVE YOU CAN ACHIEVE!
Conscious Discipline
Wow what a few weeks it has been. When we left on Thursday, March 12th, we as a staff, had no idea that it would be the last time we saw our students for the rest of the year. Please know that we ALL miss you so very much!!! We were so looking forward to getting us all back together, but once again things have changed and here we are again with another curve ball thrown our way! In my family, we say…keep fouling off the ball! Meaning never give up, keep trying! We keep hearing, we are all in this together, it is so true we ARE in this TOGETHER! We may not be physically together, but virtually and emotionally we can make it through this extremely difficult time.
In the next few weeks, as we begin on-line learning, things may seem weird and maybe even frustrating. That is okay, we are ALL new to this and we are ALL learning how to do this. Don’t forget to take your three deep breaths and walk away for a quick break if you need to! Your teachers are here for you and your parents, reach out to them for help. They will not know that you need help unless you ask. We will all need to show each other grace as we navigate this new way of learning…but with patience and kindness we can get through this together! Encourage one another as we set out on this new adventure. Use words like, try again, don’t give up, you can do this or you’ve got this!
Parents, I know this can be a very challenging time, as you are now home with kiddos at a time when you were not expecting them to be home. If you have not checked out the school district website, they have provided links that you could have your student log into for some extra learning, until we are up and running with online-learning. Having everyone at home all day all the time, may present some challenges! You may want to check out the Conscious Discipline website. They have many different resources to help you during these challenging times. There is a lot of information, so you may want to click around and see all that they have to offer.
I know that we as staff would love to give our students big hugs, see their smiling faces and to encourage them… you can do this…and to never give up! We still believe you and we still love you!!!!
Best Wishes,
Kim Childers Climate and Culture Coach
Counselor's Corner
Hello Superstars families! It is amazing to think of all the events that have occurred in the past month since we were last in school with students. It is certainly a challenging time with many unknowns and new challenges that we’re having to navigate. This month we will be focusing on the skill of Composure which is timely for students and adults. Composure is the ability to become calm and controlled when upset. Or in other words, composure is “self-control in action.”
Practicing self-control does begin with breathing yet often we must do more in order to regain our composure. Strategies such as reading, drawing, listening to music or taking a break are examples of helpful things a person can use to calm down. Keeping our composure helps us be productive as well as kind to ourselves and others. Join us in reminding your students how to breathe & practice using strategies to help keep their composure.
As we begin this journey of remote learning we will be providing Social/Emotional resources each week to help support families and their students. Teachers will be posting these in their Google classrooms. If there are any ways that I can help please feel free to email me at jthomas@longview.k12.wa.us.
Wishing you well,
Joel Thomas
School Counselor, St. Helens Elementary
About Us
Email: steel@longview.k12.wa.us
Website: http://sthelens.longviewschools.com/
Location: 431 27th Ave. Longview, WA 98632
Phone: (360) 575-7362