Bryant Blizzard News
April 9, 2020
Stay Connected & Informed
Mystery Announcers this Week!
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
We're in this together
A Note From Mrs. Hennessey
Hello Bryant Blizzards! I have been looking forward to connecting with you all through this weekly connection, all week. It is something small that I love being able to do so that I can reach so many of our Blizzard Families!
Last week I shared about the importance of stopping, naming your feelings, and calming down. I know it was a great reminder to myself - because even though I know the important research that shows simply naming your feelings calms down the feeling part of your brain and gets your thinking part of the brain engaged again.
Grown-ups that belong to 2nd-5th graders - ask your student to show you how we represent the brain with our hands. Bonus if they can name the thinking (prefrontal cortex) and feeling (amygdala) parts of the brain! They impress me with their understanding! Here is a video that helps explain and reiterate what we learn about in counselor during our emotion regulation unit.
You will see many resources about ways to calm down big feelings from the Bryant's SEL team, the SEL tab on District's Learning Site, on our Mindful Moments on our Daily Announcements, or you can ask your kids to tell you their favorite (We were in the middle of making our annual list of all the Cool Tools, before break). While there are so many great options - brain scientists have found that calm breathing is extremely helpful for everyone. We practice Belly Breathing by imagining smelling something amazing - like cookies baking, and blowing out calm & steady - like you would the candles on a birthday cake!
Size of the Problem:
A Lot of time big feelings happen because kids are struggling with how to manage problems - we use this at school, but it can certainly work at home too! After kids take a break and calm down, we can help them connect what the size of the problem is. Sometimes we have small problems that don't match the size of the reaction. Most of our students can use this visual to help themselves or ask for what we need. Keep in mind, people don't always agree on the size of the problem. When I work with kids (mine and yours) I always try to validate their feelings - even if they think a problem is medium and I think it's small. This information is used often and is posted in my classroom all year, every year. We use our hands to show the size of problems - ask your kids if they can show you!
Tiny Size Problems are none problems that we can ignore or walk away from without finding a solution.
Little Size Problems are problems that we can problem solve on our own.
Medium Size Problems we might struggle with solving on our own and we might need help. Someone might get hurt or need our help.
Big Size Problems we need an adult's help because someone is getting hurt or is in danger.
Huge Size Problems are Emergencies that need Police, Ambulance, or Firefighters. They often impact a lot of people - like a natural disaster or pandemic.
Keep Being Safe Everyone!
Love, Mrs. Hennessey
From the SEL Team
Bryant has a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Team who works together to offer additional support to our students and staff. This team includes Speech and Language Pathologist - Mary Balcer, Special Education Teachers and Interventionists - Amanda Van Damme & Teri Thatcher, and School Counselor - Carrie Hennessey. Here is an added message from them:
Supporting our child’s emotional health at home can be difficult during this time of new routines. Especially when they are not able to learn and grow with their peers and friends. It is very important to offer structure and routine, but also time to play. Play is where kids learn to work through some of the biggest challenges that we face. We hope to offer some useful information that may be new or helpful reminders that there are many ways to support the social and emotional growth of our Blizzards - at home, at school, and at play.
Just like us, our kids might be experiencing a roller coaster of emotions. Oftentimes uncomfortable feelings such as stress, worry, anxiety might show up in unexpected ways. It’s our job as adults to find ways to stay calm and support them - this can be especially difficult when we are experiencing our own uncomfortable feelings. Hang in there - we’re all doing the best that we can! See the visuals below for support about these ideas.
Another really important thing to help kids stay balanced and emotionally healthy is to find a consistent bedtime routine. Even though we don’t have to get up and go to school, it is important for kids to have consistent sleep schedules. Try Bedtime Yoga, click on the 60 Bedtime Activities for the list, or check out this article for more tips to help us set them up for healthy success!
We are in this together!
Bryant’s SEL Team
CRack up around the dinner table together
A: With a HARE brush!
Q: How does the Easter Bunny stay healthy?
A: EGGsercise!
Q: Why did the Easter egg hide?
A: He was a little chicken!
Q: What's a rabbit's favorite dance?
A: The bunny hop!
Q: How do you know carrots are good for your eyes?
A: Have you ever seen a rabbit wearing glasses?
Q: What's a rabbit's favorite dance?
A: The bunny hop!
Q: Why can't a rabbit's nose be 12 inches long?
A: Because then it'd be a foot!
Q: What kinds of beans never grow in a garden?
A: Jelly beans!
Q: What did one egg say to the other?
A: Heard any good yolks lately?
Stay Busy
FREE Educational Websites
At-Home Projects
Mrs. Winkle and her family want to share another easy and fun science experiment they did
Gather ingredients:
-Jar filled about half full with water
-Vegetable Oil
-Cup (to put oil in)
-Food Coloring
-Spoon
1 - Pour oil into cup
2 - Add some food coloring
3 - Stir oil and food coloring
4 - Slowly pour oil into water
5 - Watch what happens!
6 - Post a video or picture of you trying this experiment.
Post pictures or videos of you trying this experiment to our School Facebook Page. Have you done another project at home? Create a video tutorial to share with other families and post it to our Facebook Page, or email it to LeAnn.Egnash@superior.k12.wi.us. You could go viral....in a good way! ;)
Egg-celent idea!
Visit the Bear's Den from home
Practice Makes Perfect
Virtual Talent Show
A reminder FROM MR. AMERSON
As we transition into at-home-learning, we are relying more than ever on our devices and online tools to interact with our teachers and classmates. We want our Superior students to recognize the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of living, learning, and working in an interconnected digital world. (From WI Information & Technology Literacy Standards) It is very important that we all practice Digital Citizenship and Online Safety. Here are a few reminders:
School devices and school accounts (i.e., student Google accounts) are to be used for school assignments only. Students should only access and utilize sites, tools and sources that contain content that is appropriate for school. Production and communication tools should be used for school appropriate purposes only. With parent permission, students should use personal devices and personal accounts to communicate with friends and family beyond school assignments.
Practice Digital Citizenship. Be polite to others online. Use appropriate language when speaking and writing online. Report instances of cyber-bullying to your teacher.
Stay safe online. Do not enter personally identifiable information (your name, address, phone number, email address) onto any website. Tell a trusted adult if anything makes you feel sad, scared, or confused.
More information can be found in the Student Handbook and School Board Policies linked on our district website at www.superior.k12.wi.us.
Also, A student will be considered “present” for the week if they are responding to teacher communication, whether that is by phone, email, or another method the teacher is utilizing, throughout the past week. Teachers will mark a student present for all school days in the prior week if the student meets the requirement
Thank you!
Mr. Amerson
Bryant Elementary School
School Secretary - Anne Schultz, ext 20100
Counselor - Carrie Hennessey, ext 20228
School Nurse - Carrie Gallagher, ext 20103
Email: LeAnn.Egnash@superior.k12.wi.us
Website: www.superior.k12.wi.us
Location: 1423 Central Ave, Superior, WI, United States
Phone: 715-394-8785
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Bryant-Elementary
All events are cancelled while school is closed for COVID-19.