Counselor's Corner, A Message from Ms. Drimmel
Our Social/Emotional learning at Forest Hills is off to a great start!! This month each classroom reviewed the 3 B’s of our School-Wide Expectations Matrix (Be Respectful, Be Responsible & Be Safe) as well as our Social Thinking key concepts. We use Expected, Unexpected and Quick fix behavior choices as common language to teach, coach & redirect students. These concepts build social thinking skills and the foundations for self-regulation.
Key concepts students learned this month are:
- Whole Body Listening: Eyes watching, ears listening, mouth quiet, hands still, feet quiet, brain thinking, heart caring
- Expected Behavior: Things people do or say that others think is friendly, helpful or respectful to others. You might hear teachers saying, "The expected behavior is..."
- Unexpected Behavior: Things people do or say that others think is hurtful, uncomfortable, or disrespectful to others. You might hear teachers saying, "Is that expected or unexpected?"
- The Group Plan: When everyone is thinking about and doing the same thing. Teachers might say, "Are you following the group plan?"
- Quick Fix: Making a change to be expected and follow the group plan.
In addition to our school-wide guidance, our Kindergarten classrooms have received daily lessons from our Behavioral Educational Assistant, Amanda Bywaters. She has been reading stories about Social Thinking and the response has been wonderful! Our littlest falcons are becoming social thinking experts and we see them using these skills every day!
We are Forest Hills! We are Respectful, Responsible, Safe & Expected! Each and every student at Forest Hills has decorated a falcon feather to showcase our school pride & unity to these agreements!
Book Fair
The Fall BOOK FAIR is around the corner! Mark your calendars, create your wish lists, and get excited for the Arctic BOOK FAIR! This year's fall BOOK FAIR will be held the week of October 21st - 25th.
Monday, October 21 @ 2:30 to 4:30 PM
Tuesday, October 22 @ 2:30 to 4:30 PM
Wednesday, October 23 @ 2:30 to 4:30 PM
Thursday, October 24 @ 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Friday, October 25 @ 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Come support your child’s school library AND your family home library. The BOOK FAIR will have all the new OBOB titles as well as favorites, such as the newest Dogman, Guts by Raina Telgemeier, Babysitters Club, and Wings of Fire graphic novels. The newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid will also be available to pre-order. Shopping the BOOK FAIR is also a great way to get a jump start on your holiday gift.
If you are unable to attend, or want to take a sneak peak of all the available titles ahead of time, go to www.scholastic.com/bf/fhlakeoswego. Shopping the online fair allows Forest Hills to receive 25% back in Scholastic dollars to purchase new books for the library! All online orders will be shipped directly to your home. If you have any questions, or are interested in helping with the BOOK FAIR please contact Emily Ellis, Melissa Hooper, or Venus Holder.
Student Services Parent Advisory Committee (SSPAC) Back to School Night
Dyslexia Awareness Month
What are the symptoms/signs of Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a common condition that affects the way the brain processes written and spoken language. It is primarily associated with trouble reading, but it also can affect writing, spelling and even speaking. Many children have one or two of these issues on occasion. But kids with dyslexia have several of these issues, and they don’t go away. Here are some signs to look for:
Preschool, Kindergarten, & First Grade:
Difficulties:
Difficulty learning (and remembering) the names of letters in the alphabet
Seems unable to recognize letters in his/her own name
Mispronounces familiar words; persistent “baby talk”
Trouble learning common nursery rhymes
Doesn’t recognize rhyming patterns like cat, bat, rat
A family history of reading and/or spelling difficulties (dyslexia often runs in families)
Reading errors that show no connection to the sounds of the letters on the page—will say “puppy” instead of the written word “dog” on a page with a picture of a dog
Does not understand that words come apart
Cannot sound out even simple words like cat, map, nap
Does not associate letters with sounds, such as the letter b with the “b” sound
Complains about how hard reading is; “disappears” when it is time to read
A history of reading problems in parents or siblings
Strengths
Curiosity
Great imagination
Ability to figure things out; gets the gist of things
Eager embrace of new ideas
A good understanding of new concepts
Surprising maturity
A larger vocabulary than typical for age group
Enjoys solving puzzles
Talent for building models
Excellent comprehension of stories read or told to him
Second Grade through High School:
Reading
Very slow in acquiring reading skills. Reading is slow and awkward
Trouble reading unfamiliar words, often making wild guesses because he cannot sound out the word
Has a tough time sounding out unfamiliar words
Avoids reading out loud
Gets tripped up by word problems in math
School and Life
Trouble remembering dates, names, telephone numbers, random lists
Struggles to finish tests on time
Extreme difficulty learning a foreign language
Poor spelling
Messy handwriting
Low self-esteem that may not be immediately visible
Speaking
Searches for a specific word and ends up using vague language, such as “stuff” or “thing,” without naming the object
Pauses, hesitates, and/or uses lots of “um’s” when speaking
Confuses words that sound alike, such as saying “tornado” for “volcano,” substituting “lotion” for “ocean”
Mispronunciation of long, unfamiliar or complicated words
Seems to need extra time to respond to questions
Strengths
Excellent thinking skills: conceptualization, reasoning, imagination, abstraction
Learning that is accomplished best through meaning rather than rote memorization
Ability to get the “big picture”
A high level of understanding of what is read to him
The ability to read and to understand at a high level overlearned (or highly practiced) words in a special area of interest
Improvement as an area of interest becomes more specialized and focused—and a miniature vocabulary is developed that allows for reading in that subject area
A surprisingly sophisticated listening vocabulary
Excels in areas not dependent on reading, such as math, computers and visual arts, or in more conceptual (versus fact-driven) subjects, including philosophy, biology, social studies, neuroscience and creative writing
If you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s learning, please contact the school principal and/or literacy specialist. Another great parent resource would be to contact your school’s Student Services Parent Advisory Committee (SSPAC) representative.
LOSD Dyslexia Information and Resources: https://www.losdschools.org/Page/4772
(Source: http://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/ and www.understood.org)
About Us
Email: patrick.shuckerow@loswego.k12.or.us
Website: https://www.losdschools.org/fh
Location: 1133 Andrews Rd, Lake Oswego, OR, USA
Phone: 503-534-2350