STC Newsletter

My schedule each day will begin at the VH Jr/Sr High to meet student needs there before the bell rings. The rest of the week will primarily be:

• Monday at Blue Rapids
• Tuesday at Waterville (third Tuesday is Harvesters)
• Wednesday at VH and out and about in our community
• Thursday AM in Waterville/PM in Blue Rapids
• Friday at VH

Meet the Family Advocate, Jayne Whitson by appointment. She is available to help students and families succeed with resources, referrals and donated items to help during a family trauma, crisis or setback.

The best way to reach the family advocate is via cell, 612-202-7366.

Gift giving...Joy is found through giving to others, not only by what you receive. Gift giving is a love language. Giving a gift expresses love and communicates that you care for another in a thoughtful and appreciative way by sharing your time, treasure or thoughtfulness about your relationship, even if the gift isn't materialistic or expensive.

A gift can be a smile, a listening ear, sharing a song, an unexpected phone call, a meme or a photo, a meal or a hug. Gifts don't need to be expensive to let someone you know that you care or appreciate their friendship. Sharing an experience is a gift of joyful time shared like walking the dog, tickets to a concert or event, free babysitting on a date night, taking a class together, painting the back porch, or washing the car in the driveway. Create a "coupon book" or a calendar that offers options to spend time together and spread the gift out over the next year, include things like: a coffee date, bible study, Wal-Mart shopping, game day, doing dishes, baking cookies, take a walk, sunset drive, craft day, pet sitting, clean the garage, volunteer at a community event and more!

Crafts and baked goods make thoughtful gifts too and won't break the bank. Paint or decorate a photo frame with a photo of a loved one, your family or a special event or place. A cookie jar with fresh baked cookies, a favorite family recipe or an IOU for cookies at a later time. Stuff a pillow made from a favorite old shirt, team jersey, or a t-shirt that you purchased at a concert/event/vacation. A memorial gift is a special way to share grandma's muffin tin and a muffin mix or family recipe. Knit or crochet a hat or scarf. Create a playlist of your favorite road trip songs to share with an invitation for a road trip: time and destination to be determined. Create a photo album online to share or print a book. Make a tie blanket! Paint a picture on canvas, a jean jacket, a hardcover book, a wooden box or another found object. There are tons of online crafts for inspiration as well as new snack recipes to try.

Gift giving doesn't have to bust the budget. Shop for or thrift a fun coffee mug and add tea bags, a flavored coffee or gift card. New and used books make great gifts-give a bible or scripture calendar. Pack a spa gift set with your favorite scents. A box of greeting cards, candy, stationary or a journal can be made, printed or purchased for under $10. Family board games make great gifts for the family and can be given as a family gift instead of buying gifts for each person in a family. Consider drawing names or doing a group gift gift exchange game if you have a large family or gathering.

It IS better to GIVE than to receive. Recent studies show that those who give generously actually live longer healthier lives. Gift giving releases the "feel good" hormones in the brain just like eating chocolate, exercising and listening to music can. So don't stress over gift giving this holiday season, giving gifts can actually reduce stress, blood pressure and improve sleep, digestion and memory. Gift giving has many benefits-it makes others happy and it does your mind and body a favor too.

During November, Character Ed lessons with Ms. Jayne reflected on ways we can change our attitudes, moods and thoughts by being thankful for ourselves, what we have, others and things. Students made Thank You cards to give to someone they appreciate and learned that we all have a superpower of gratitude in our hearts. Students in K-2nd grades watched a video book Gratitude is My Superpower. Everyone added a pebble to their take a minute tool kit to hold and help them describe things they are grateful for in their lives and about themselves. Students were thankful for many things including: family members, teachers, their homes, favorite foods, their pets, friends and their athletic abilities, kindness and even their desks and backpacks.

I hope you spend time with your students talking to them about things they appreciate everyday; you may be surprised at the answers you hear. They will learn to be more grateful and appreciative by practicing gratefulness and seeing how you model it to them and others. Be sure to thank them often too and you will see their appreciation of others grow. It is easy to add a little gratitude time to your daily routine- during a car ride, at breakfast or dinner, even at bedtime. Try journaling or drawing a picture each day of something to be thankful for and put it in a place where the whole family can share it or build a collage and see all the things you have to be grateful for over a period of a week or a month. Play a game A-Z and try to think of something that begins with each letter to be grateful for. Or do a scavenger hunt to collect 5 or 10 things you are thankful for and share them to see what other family members chose. Start a list of things you are grateful for about yourselves and each other on the bathroom mirror- use a dry erase marker for easy clean up! There are so many ways to play and show gratefulness. Paying it forward with random acts of kindness is a great way for your family to share it with others. Try some of these and see how it changes the attitudes in your family.

Every day is a great day to count your blessings!

Ms. Jayne is teaching students K-4 to care for themselves and for others in December Character Ed Lessons. There's a lot to care for when you think about caring for yourself. Caring for yourself includes caring for your MIND- your thoughts and how you learn, your HEART-your emotional well being and your BODY- hygiene, health and behavior. Everyone wants to be the BEST they can be and to have friendships with others to care about and to be cared for.

How do students know that you care for them? Have the conversation. Asking them is a way for them to share their gratitude for the love, care and support you offer. You may learn something new: ways that they wish to be cared for might differ from what you previously thought and the little things you may think go unnoticed might just be the most important to them. Caring matters.

Christmas Meals will be available in December. VH students are asking for help from our community to donate to the meal boxes (see flyers below to donate)

If your family or a Valley Heights family you know would benefit from receiving a meal for Christmas, please click to complete the referral by Dec. 5. The Family Advocate will contact referred families with details to receive a meal.

To complete each Christmas Meal Box for families who have had a recent hardship or crisis, a "home-made pie" is a perfect comforting finish! As students at Valley Heights work towards providing a Christmas Meal box to families in our community, we invite you to donate a freshly baked fruit or pumpkin pie. Frozen pies are also accepted. 40-50 pies may be needed, so if you are willing to bake or freeze more than one, we gratefully accept! Please make arrangements with our Family Advocate, Jayne Whitson, 612-202-7366 to deliver the pies by Dec. 10 so we may consider purchasing whatever needs remain. Thank you!

Apply NOW to be come a BIG BROTHER or BIG SISTER and you could be matched next semester to begin meeting with your little!

Playing games anytime of the year teaches social and emotional skills, flexes competition, and builds connections. During the holidays and holiday breaks are great times for families to spend time together and build relationships. Playing some fun games, telling jokes, watching movies and having conversations makes holidays special in many ways and creates family traditions and memories to last a lifetime. What better gift to give this holiday season?

Board games make wonderful gifts and can be found on sale this time of year and are also often available at thrift stores too. If your family is competitive like mine, maybe you'll enjoy a fun round of Minute to Win It games. There are plenty of ideas and fun games to choose from on the web. Let each family member plan and set up a game for everyone to try and provide a prize for each winner...even if it is cheap, cheesy or handmade: a cup of coffee, a cold soda, a Christmas cookie, a quarter, a stick of gum, hot cocoa, a hug. MadLibs are fun for kids and family members of all ages too. They bring out the laughter that heals our hearts across generations. Find some on line to print and enjoy a quiet indoor activity to warm up or calm down for bedtime. Find other games to play this holiday season and all year long that are fun for the whole family at Healthy Happy Impactful, a family resource for building family connections. Make up your own games too! Everyone can be a winner and learn from some inter-family rivalries.

Blessing boxes are available in both Waterville and Blue Rapids. Give what you can and take what you need. In Waterville the Blessing Box is located on Commercial Street near the Citizens State Bank. The Blessing Box in Blue Rapids is located in Riverside Park near the playground by the recycling container.

You may download and print a copy here.

Considering tax benefits of giving at the year's end? Talk to your tax professional about giving to Schools That Care! Your gift to Schools That Care will be used to provide Valley Heights students and families with school supplies, hygiene supplies, household supplies, winter wear and other resources based on need, not income. Families and students may be struggling due to trauma, crisis, a change in life circumstances, or loss of a family member. We're here to help!