Paw Print

So. Much. To. Celebrate. What is a Celebration of Learning Assembly? It's a time for our entire school to come together to focus on the PAWSitive Expectations we believe in as a learning community. If you haven't checked your child's backpack, you probably should do that soon! There's a great chance that they have something awesome to show you!

Students were individually celebrated in multiple categories, including the following:

• BE Kind

• Act in a caring and polite manner so others respect your actions and feel safe around you.

• Accept those who may learn, believe, or be different than you

• Engage your self-control to respect the right we all have to learn.

• Communicate truth.

• BE Aware

• Notice and wonder about the world around you.

• Listen and be prepared to adapt to change.

• Report concerns when help is needed.

• See what needs to be done and do it if you are able.

• Work Hard

• Listen actively and respond with my best effort to make a difference in my own learning.

• Keep working, even when tasks are challenging.

• Stick with the job until it’s done.

• See problems as learning opportunities and believe in myself.

• BElieve We Can!

• A person with a GROWTH MINDSET understands that we can all grow if we put in the hard work and effort necessary to get better at something!

• A person with a GROWTH MINDSET knows the power of YET!

• A person with a GROWTH MINDSET uses positive self-talk and knows that it’s okay to make mistakes and learn from them.

• A person with a GROWTH MINDSET sees the positive things around them and looks for the good in others!

• BE the CAUSE of Something Positive
• C is for CARING: We can and should all BE the cause of something positive all day long, every day, no matter where we are or who we are with. We can show others that we care about them and their feelings through our words and actions. We know that our choices matter, because they affect us, and the people around us.
  
• Right on Target (85% or higher, National Percentile)
• FastBridge Scores in Reading and/or Math are Right on Target for continued future excellence! At this pace, you will BE able to BE successful at anything you want to BE when you grow up! Thank you for being a learner who knows how to focus your brain to show what you know. Your efforts make the difference!

As classes, we celebrated reaching Pack Paw goals, and as a school we recognized our current 94% attendance rate. Our challenge is to BE here every day possible!

When we ask, "How did you come to school today?" and our Bulldogs resoundingly reply, "Ready to Learn!" we know they aren't kidding! There are amazing things happening in our halls! Thank you for sending your children to us rested, fueled, and brimming with a learning attitude! We're working hard to send them back to you just a little bit better as humans and scholars every single day.

Executive Function Skill of the Week: Time Management

Full disclosure: Consistent time management is not my strongest executive functioning skill. I get distracted. Like. A. Lot. My superpower is finishing my best work under a deadline. Irritating as all get out for those around me, I'm sure.

When we talk about time management for children, before we can talk about how we use our time, we are talking about learning about how long it will take to get something finished. That's because we ask kids to do a lot of things that they've not done before, so they truly don't have the context within which to understand...yet. Honestly, many children are still learning the concept of time at the concrete level. How long is a day? How long is an hour? How long is a minute? And to be completely real, they developmentally might not yet be at the stage where they can remember past a couple hours. Even our oldest elementary students can only developmentally plan for up to a few hours at a time.

The best example I can think of for poor time management skills is the whiner. If this just got personal, I'm so sorry, but you know what I mean. The whiner spends more time trying to get out of doing the task than it would have taken to do the task two or three times. Yep. It's a common go to. The kid who doesn't want to do the chore. The teen who doesn't want to do the assignment. The adult who doesn't want to finish (or begin) the project. Sometimes the whining is literal. Sometimes it's an internal feet stuck in mud or gross procrastination. I get it. I do.

Here are some strategies that may help you help your child better understand how time works and how to manage it more efficiently:

• Use visuals. Visual calendars, schedules, the famous jar filled with rocks, pebbles, sand and water. Make "time" something that can be seen.
• Visual timers are great, but if you don't have one of those, get an analog clock with a glass face and some expo markers. Color in chunks of the clock like pie pieces to show chunks of time. Before the end of the yellow, log out of your game; before the end of the blue, be ready for bed; read for the green, then lights out.
• Time routine tasks as you teach and your child learns them and work to identify how much time something really takes to accomplish. It's great data to use against, "But that's going to take F O R E V E R!!!"
• Make a list with the FUN at the end to serve as a celebration after busting through the things you don't really want to do.
• Track a day in the life...make a detailed schedule of how you think the day will go, then next to that write out what really happened, and finally look back to identify successes and time wasters. Make a plan to watch out for time wasters and avoid them.
• Natural consequences can be a strong motivator. Hear me out. If we always make excuses for our kids for why they didn't finish something or why they did poorly, they are not going to understand the beautiful teaching moments inherently built into natural consequences. Assignment not finished...no grade and an opportunity to figure out what got in the way of getting it done. Maybe homework should come before soccer practice, or electronic time comes after homework instead of before. There I go sounding like an old lady hag again. But for realz. Study. Do well. Don't put effort into responsibilities, no ticket to Successland. Want to be at the Free Choice party...do the work to earn it.

Okay, that's it for today's time management focus. It's time for me to balance work time with family time. I've got a new grandbaby to snuggle. Hargrove out until Tuesday!

PTO (that's you) sponsors three classroom parties for our students: Fall, Winter and Valentines Day. First up is our Fall Party Day, scheduled for Thursday, October 31st! Last year's format brought all the fun with zero fright so we're sticking with the plan and doing it all again! Start crossing your fingers for BEautiful weather for our parade!

Here's the plan:

• Costumes!
• Party!
• Parade!

Details, details, details....

• Costumes are encouraged for students during the party and parade time, but of course, they are not required. Experience has taught us that it's really not as easy as you'd think for students to manage a costume all day, so costumes should be brought to school in a bag or backpack and should be fairly easy for your kiddo to put on by themselves with minimal assistance. Costumes should be elementary appropriate and not too scary. Please do not include blood, guts, gore or weapons of any kind. Accessories (think..projectiles and things to trip over) should stay at home and be saved for Halloween night trick-or-treating. Masks are fine as long as vision is not impaired for walking in the parade!
• Classroom Party help is encouraged, but will be limited to best accommodate student needs! We would like to invite 3-4 parents from each classroom to plan and lead a craft, game or both for the 2:45-3:15 party in their child's class. These parents will be welcomed into the classroom at 2:30 to set up as well as assist younger students with their costumes if needed. We will NOT be serving food at parties. This helps us to both enjoy more time playing, and alleviate allergy concerns for every child. They'll get PLENTY of candy and treats during trick or treating with your family- and you'll be able to best monitor their safety! If you would like to volunteer to plan and lead your child's classroom party, please click the button below and sign up! Thank you so much for your time!
• Outdoor Parade at 3:!5! YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY is invited for a front row view of all of our little monsters, movie stars, scientists, musicians, scarecrows, animals, super heroes, creators, book characters, princesses, ..............oh, my goodness! I can hardly wait! Here's how we know we can best make this happen- when you arrive for the parade, you may either park in an open parking space and walk up to the front lawn (we'll provide guidance for the best view) or just pull right up in the regular pick up loops, turn off your car and leave it in line, then walk up to the viewing area. After the parade (about 3:32ish) just walk right back to your cars and get ready for the loops to move like normal at regular dismissal time. Please, do not come inside to check your kiddos out early- we'll need those precious minutes to make sure our Bulldogs are all packed up and ready to go with all costume parts intact for the big night. Genius!

It's going to BE Spooktacular!! We hope you can join us for the parade and appreciate the planners who volunteer to lead the crafts and activities!

This is a GREAT week to say THANK YOU to a school bus driver! That job is NOT easy. Whether your child rides a school bus on the regular or just on field trip days, reviewing these safety rules with them, along with your expectations for them to follow the safety rules, will be the best gift we can give to the people working hard to get them from there to here, and here to there.

We are blessed to have such an amazing team here at Belmont! Would you love an opportunity to formally show appreciation...without spending a dime? Through the generosity of the Great American Bank and the USD 232 Education Foundation, we have the opportunity to recognize staff members who go above and beyond in their daily interactions with students. All you need to do is click on the link below and fill out some general information about the deserving nominee. Thank you for helping our team know that their dedication is appreciated. I appreciate your time and gift of gratitude if you've recently nominated, or plan to nominate a Belmont team member for their service.

Making a Difference Nomination Link

October 18 and 21 🌻 Professional Development Day

• No School for Students

October 24 🌻 3rd Grade Music Program, 9:00am and 6:30pm

November 7 🌻 4th Grade Music Program, 9:00am and 6:30pm

November 8 🌻 Picture Retake Day

November 18 🌻 PTO Meeting, Cafeteria (enter on west side), 6:30pm

November 25-29 🌻 Thanksgiving Break

• No School for Students

Visit the BE Online Calendar of Events (by clicking on the button below) for a more complete list of activities!

It's a WatchDOGS revival in the Belmont DogHouse! With at least a week's notice, we'll welcome a DAD (gotta be a significant adult guardian or relation) each Wednesday to work a day at BE. There will be a schedule provided that will include a variety of tasks including building safety, academic assistance in classrooms, and logistical support during lunch, and the reward...RECESS! We guarantee you'll have the opportunity to enjoy lunch and recess with your own child(ren) and around that, we'll put you to work in the classrooms where your extra hands will be the most helpful! Do YOU have the opportunity to take a day off to hang out with about 370 beautiful children and the adults who love learning with them?

Access the WatchDOGS Sign Up HERE.

11:00-11:30 1st Grade

11:20-11:50 Kindergarten

11:40-12:10 5th Grade

12:00-12:30 4th Grade

12:20-12:50 3rd Grade

12:40-1:10 2nd Grade

Reservations are required to join your child for lunch- when we are ready, you'll be able to CLICK HERE to reserve your family table!

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Community partner Country Club Bank is providing support to ensure this service is available in USD 232.

Email: phargrove@usd232.org
Website: be.usd232.org
Location: 5805 Belmont Drive, Shawnee, KS 66226, United States
Phone: (913)667-1810
Facebook: Belmont Elementary Bulldogs
Twitter: @BEBulldogs