SES Student Advocate Newsletter

We hope this newsletter finds you well! October was a busy, positive month for our students as we focused on promoting health, safety, and kindness. All grade levels participated in the following:

National Bullying Prevention Month & Digital Safety

In observance of National Bullying Prevention Month, our skills lessons focused on raising awareness about bullying and fostering inclusion.

• Students learned the definition of bullying (physical, verbal, emotional, and cyberbullying) and how to recognize it.

• The Upstander Role: We emphasized that bullying is everyone's problem and that it is our collective responsibility to be an upstander by making good choices.

• We also discussed the dangers of being online and how we can safely manage our screen time, who we are communicating with or playing games with, and how to stay safe in the digital world.

• Action Steps: Students reviewed what to do if they see or experience bullying: be kind, stay calm, tell the person doing the bullying to stop, tell a trusted adult, and walk away.

Red Ribbon Week

From Thursday, October 23rd, through Friday, October 31st, we celebrated the nation's oldest and largest drug prevention program: Red Ribbon Week!

• The theme this year was "Life is a puzzle, solve it drug free."

• Students participated in daily dress-up days and activities, and even made a puzzle piece picture frame (complete with their photo) thanks to donated materials from the Franklin County Prevention Coalition!

• The campaign successfully inspired our students to be happy, brave, and drug-free!

Students in grade levels kindergarten through 2nd grade participated in the following:

SES Dog Safety Ambassador Program (K-2)

Our Kindergarten, First, and Second-grade students completed intensive dog safety training, partnering with the American Kennel Club (AKC) training materials and reading the books "May I Pet Your Dog" and "Love Me Gently."

• Key Skills Learned: Proper, safe behavior around unfamiliar dogs, respecting a dog's space, and how to avoid dangerous situations.

• Empathy: Students also learned about responsibility, unconditional love, patience, and kindness—skills that apply to all relationships.

• Dog Interaction Event: On October 17th, students met three very sweet adoptable dogs brought by our partners at Animal Harbor (a local no-kill shelter). Students successfully applied their safety knowledge!

• Achievement: All participating students received a SES dog safety certificate and are now Dog Safety Ambassadors!

Did You Know? According to the CDC, approximately 51% of all dog bite victims are children. This training is a crucial step in keeping your student safer around dogs by teaching them to treat all animals with care and consideration.

World Smile Day

We started the month on a happy note with World Smile Day on the first Friday, focusing on the simple, powerful act of sharing kindness one smile at a time!

Thank you for your continued support in making our school a caring and supportive place for all students. I am here to address our students' social and emotional well-being and provide support throughout the year. If you have any questions or would like more information on any of these topics, please feel free to reach out.

Kim Hasty, M.S.

SES Student Advocate

Our November skills lesson on Safety and Smart Choices, will focus on two essential areas: firearm safety and continuing our work on positive choices (bullying and kindness).

Firearm Safety

Students will learn the four crucial steps of firearm safety. This lesson is focused purely on risk awareness and safety procedures and is intended to teach students how to stay safe if they find a gun at home, school, or anywhere in the community. This lesson will reinforce that they should never handle a gun without adult supervision and they should always inform a teacher or another trusted adult if they see a gun.

The 4 Steps of Gun Safety

1.Stop

2.Don't Touch

3.Get Away

4.Tell an Adult

Bullying & Kindness Continuation

We will continue our lesson on bullying, "My Safe Choices, My Voice," focusing on helping students make choices they can be proud of. We will specifically reinforce the value of kindness and empathy in all interactions.

Fire Safety

In addition to these lessons, we are thrilled to welcome the Sewanee Fire Department to our school on Friday, November 7th for a special Fire Safety Program! Students will learn important fire safety procedures and how to stay safe, especially with the upcoming holidays. As a special treat, they will also have the opportunity to tour a real fire truck!

To introduce our Red Ribbon Week theme, "Life is a puzzle, solve it drug free," our students, teachers, and staff each decorated a unique puzzle piece by drawing and writing qualities that make them who they are. All the individual pieces were assembled on the wall to form one giant, complete school puzzle! We then disassembled the giant puzzle and returned each personal piece to its owner for our Red Ribbon Assembly on Friday, October 24th, where we took a group photo celebrating that every piece (every person) is important to our community.

I am looking forward to another great month. I will make every effort to see that your student has the skills and resources necessary for student success. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me for services and assistance to meet your student's needs.

Just a reminder that our school will be closed November 24 through November 28, 2024 for Thanksgiving Break.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kim

Email: kimberly.hasty@fcstn.net

Website: https://sewanee.fcstn.net

Location: 209 University Avenue, Sewanee, TN 37375

SES Main Phone: (931) 598-5951

Office Phone: (931) 361-0090