CCE’s Attendance Team has started to send out courtesy emails to families whose student(s) have missed 10% of their school days or more since the beginning of the school year.
- The 10% is calculated using the total number of minutes missed, including full or partial days, whether excused or unexcused absences and/or tardies.
- Please note, that the district is requiring each school to monitor absenteeism and support families to address factors that may impact attendance.
- Our goal at CCE is to be proactive in order to keep families informed of their student(s) attendance and to collaborate with families about attendance needs.
Throughout the month of January, counseling lessons focused on diversity (differences) and being inclusive, kind and welcoming to all people. Students did a great job of identifying so many ways that people can be different from one another - both the differences we can see on the outside and differences, such as interests and beliefs that we may learn about a person when we get to know them. We also talked about how important it is not only be yourself, but also to accept others for who they are.
At the end of each lesson, students in all grades colored their own fish to put on display as part of our "Diversity In Our Community" focus this month.
2nd - 3rd Grade
Students spent time constructing their own Identity Iceberg. Just like an iceberg, we can't know everything there is to know about one another just by what we see on the surface. There are so many things that make us who we are including beliefs, interests, hobbies, culture, ethnicity, family experiences, etc.
4th - 6th Grade
In our lesson about "Oceans of Differences and Beauty" students identified several simple ways to ensure others are being welcomed and included. Even something as simple as a smile or sitting with someone new at lunch can make a big difference. We also identified ways that each of us is unique and discussed the fact that just as we want to be valued and appreciated for our uniqueness, other kids do too.
K-2
Students went a little deeper with mindfulness in January. We listened to a story called Listen Buddy by Helen Lester about a friend who had difficulty being a good listener. We talked about why it is so important to show good listening skills for adults and fellow students. We practiced giving good eye contact, quiet mouths, and calm bodies for our friends when they shared in Friendship Circle. To practice using our eyes mindfully, (or look very closely), we did a scavenger hunt in the Wellness cottage to find different objects. Second graders were timed for one minute to find as many objects as they could on a Google slide.
We talked about situations when we use mindful seeing while at school, and how practicing helps sharpen our focus and develop our prefrontal cortex.
3rd-6th
What you can do at home to support this learning!
Helping your child to use mindful listening at home will support our efforts here at school. A simple set of expectations I use in Wellness is:
Eyes watching
Ears listening
Mouth quiet
Hands and feet still
Brain is turned on
When you are talking with your child and you need them to mindfully listen, you can ask them to give you their eyes or to please be quiet when you are talking. These reminders are helpful for them to hear. Our job here at school is not only to teach our students academic content, but also how to listen. Many students need direct instruction on this important skill. The more they are asked to meet these expectations, the better they will understand.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach out to me! I am happy to help in any way I can.
Stephanie Star