Celebrating the Military Child

Collaborating with our MFLC personnel here at HCES is a joy!  They are wonderful with our kiddos and have excellent ideas on how we can celebrate the children and their sacrifices as military children. Below are some photos of our main hallway loaded with student decorated dog tags that represent their unique personalities.  

Eagles Respect

One of the many character traits that our school emphasizes is respect.  Here at HCES, we say eagles respect.  This is one of the plethora of PBIS approaches we take when getting the students attention during morning meeting, in the cafeteria, and any other place in the school.  We simply say "eagles and the students respond with respect".  I am very proud of our kiddos this year, they have grown so much with good character, especially in the area of respect.  Below are a few pictures of displays that the PBIS team has worked on to promote character education at our school.  

April is the Month of the Military Child

As April quickly approaches, I would like to take a moment to remember not only the men and women who serve our country, but also their children.  Military children serve along side their parents all over the world, are resilient, and make many sacrifices.  My wish is that all military children will know that they are appreciated and loved by our school faculty and staff!  

Kelso's Choices is one of my favorite, quick, and easy resources to share with my kiddos!  I have really enjoyed empowering my students with the knowledge of problem solving small problems.  Kelso has several choices that you can choose from when you have a small problem.  The kids love his character as a frog and best of all, the problem solving wheel leads right into "I Messages".  I Messages are verbal expressions of your feelings starting your statement to the other person with I.  An example would be " I feel uncomfortable when you do not include me in the group" or "I like the way you include me in the group". Encouraging I Messages at home are a great way to help your child learn how to express themselves in a healthy way! Below is a Youtube link that I found on Kelso's Choices featuring the cartoon character Kelso and real life situations that the kids can relate to on a daily basis. 

School Attendance

Why is school attendance important?  In order to learn all of the skills for each grade level, we must be in attendance to receive the lessons prepared to teach us!  There is a direct correlation between school attendance and academic success.  If you are not feeling well stay at home otherwise, please be at school. I hope you enjoy this cute video I found on YouTube to help our kiddos understand the importance of school attendance. 

Anti Bullying Video for Primary Grades

My kiddos loved watching this short video on Anti Bullying!  McGruff the Crime dog maybe an old character but, he is still very exciting to primary kiddos!  I love the "stop, talk, and walk" steps he talks about to stop bullying.  I feel this video really empowers kiddos to try and help themselves and others before going to an adult. It's always important to remind them of the differences of big problems and small problems, so they know when to stop, walk, and tell an adult.    

Great Parenting Resource

Parenting resources are something that we all can use! If you need a little help with a child that needs extra guidance, is difficult at times, or just needs healthy boundaries, read Parenting with Love and Logic! This is a great resource that will cover so many issues that we as parents face each day when trying to raise a healthy child. 

PBIS TEAM

This year, I had the privilege to start a PBIS Team!  The Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies Team works on a variety of projects throughout the school.  We support the morning meeting by providing MC's for the daily meeting, our Power Point group creates the slide show daily, our Bulletin Board and Banner group provides inviting PBIS based displays for the school.  All of these subgroups create one large PBIS team.  This team allows kiddos from the fifth grade to be character leaders for the school, provides them with a purpose, and enhances our school climate.  Overall, the PBIS Student Team is a great idea that would work at any school!  If you are interested in learning about PBIS approaches, visit the website www.pbis.org. 

Here are a few of the bulletin Board Designs the PBIS Bulletin Board Team Created!

Bulletin Boards with a Purpose

Bulletin Boards are a great way to connect with our kiddos!  I love creating bulletin boards that not only address the CCR Standards but also are interactive.  This bulletin board was created to highlight Kelso's Choices, a wonderful program that empowers kiddos to solve their own little problems (play doh problems) and seek help from an adult for big problems (rock problems).  I simply displayed the Kelso's Choices poster that is posted on all playgrounds used as a "work it out space".  Then, I used student writing that shared what they felt were small problems and big problems.  The most exciting part of the bulletin board is the note that invites the kiddos to leave a question for Kelso that maybe answered during our daily school wide morning meeting.  You can see I attached several pens, so the students could write directly on the bulletin board.  Of course, my last touch was the College and Career Readiness Standards that the board covered.  Incorporating the standards across all areas of the curriculum is possible and exciting to highlight especially in the area of counseling.  Did I mention that my PBIS Team helped create and put up this bulletin board for me !!! :-)