Pulse of the Pride - October 16th
Lyme School Friends,
It has been another great two weeks at school! We have our first middle school activity night from 7 - 8:30PM tonight. In this week's edition, we have a variety of information:
- Spirit Week
- ***School Calendar Update*** - updated board approved calendar.
- Photo Retakes
- Winter Weather Update
- Pumpkin Book Character Show
- PTO Halloween sale Tomorrow
The next newsletter will hit your inbox on October 30th!
Regards,
John P. D'Entremont, Principal
Box Tops Information
You can earn money for the Lyme School by doing something you already do! Just download the Box Tops for Education app, choose the Lyme School, and scan the receipts!
Making Problems Smaller, Not Bigger
Sometime we all have blips in our day when unexpected things happen that cause us to feel upset, frustrated, or even angry. Maybe a classmate cuts in front of us in line, we lose a game, someone says something hurtful or mean, or we just don’t see the situation the same way and we believe that things are unfair. These situations can cause big feelings and make it difficult to respond in an expected way.
One important skill we can help children develop is learning how to keep the problem from becoming a bigger problem.
When children are in situations that make them feel upset, frustrated, angry or even anxious they may respond in unexpected ways like yelling, pushing, crying, and trying to get back at someone. These unexpected responses can quickly make the situation bigger. Making the problem smaller starts by teaching children to stop, think, and choose a response that keeps the problem small.
What Does Making a Problem Smaller Look Like?
Pause and take a breath. Give yourself time to calm down before reacting or responding.
Identify the size of the problem: Is it a cloud problem, sprinkle problem, thunderstorm problem, or is it a tornado problem?
Cloud problems are tiny or glitches that can usually be solved by children.
Sprinkle problems are small problems that can usually be solved by children or they might need a little adult help.
Thunderstorm problems are medium sized problems that children might need adult help to solve.
Tornado problems are big problems that need adult help to solve.
Strategies to use to keep the problem small:
Use your words. Use your words to let others know what you would like to happen differently.
Change location- walk away if the problem is getting bigger.
Think before you act- Ask yourself, will my response make the problem bigger or smaller?
Let little things go- Not every problem needs a response.
Ask an adult for help. If a problem feels too big to handle alone or someone is being unsafe, getting help is a smart choice.
How Can Families Help?
It takes children time to learn these skills. They learn through practice, encouragement, and the examples we set. When your child shares situations that causes them to feel upset, frustrated, anxious or angry, take a moment to listen and acknowledge their feelings. Once they are calm, help them think about how they responded and what they might try next time.
You might ask:
“What size problem was it?”
“What strategy did you use to keep the problem small?”
“Did that strategy help the situation get smaller?”
“What’s one thing you could do differently next time?”
“When might it be helpful to ask an adult for help?”
These conversations help children understand that while they cannot always control what other people say or do, they can learn to control how they respond. We all make mistakes and no one makes the right choice every time, and that's okay. Every challenging situation is an opportunity to learn and practice.
Thank you Well Kept Men!
This morning our local country music celebrities performed for the K-4th graders! Students were given an awesome performance and got to ask questions about the band and their instruments. This ties into our Folk Music Month theme in classes as well as an amazing opportunity to listen to live music!
Thank you, Well Kept Men! Come back any time!
P.S. if you play an instrument as a soloist or group and have interest in coming in to play, please email Shannon O'Leary at soleary@lymeschool.org
We had many relatives of the performers in the audience! :)
Join our Fall Session of STRUM!
Join our fall session of STRUM!
Last year we had a great pilot session in the spring! STRUM is an intergenerational ukulele ensemble that creates music learning opportunities for all ages to learn side by side. This year our sessions will be Thursdays 5-6PM on November 5th, 12, 19th, and December 3rd with our concert on December 9th alongside our Lyme School bands! This link helps you join our email list or you can immediately preregister for the event! Feel free to reach out to Ms. O'Leary (soleary@lymeschool.org).
Fitness for Life, Static Balance, and Pathogen Invasion-it's cold and boo season
Things have been very busy in lower school pe and the middle school elective, fitness for life. In grades K-2, we have wrapped up our balance unit, with students practicing static, or still balance. Despite the most common association with static, our hair flowing in the air, students have learned that static balance is still balance. Our lessons have centered around being able to copy visuals of holding balances on different body parts, as well as being able to move and then freezing, to hold a balance that has been called out by me. Static balance allows young students to practice the ability to maintain control of their body while remaining in one position. This type of balance also helopd develop poture, stability, concentration, and body awareness.
Meanwhile, in the newest session of middle school electives, fitness for life has begun and students have been working through weekly fitness routines that focus on the components of fitness ( cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, and flexibility). Light weight training , a time weekly mile run, plank holds, wall sits, bleach dips, and jump roping are just some of the exercised included in these routines, as students have been working on their personal fitness.
In health education, fifth graders have begun a unit on the immune system, we head into cold and flu season. After a lesson on general hygiene practices, this segway lesson moved into the first lesson on the the first line of defense in protecting us from pathogens, the skin! After a brief discussion, students took part in a short experiment with water, pepper, and antibacterial soap. Pepper was placed in a small bowl of water. Students had a dab of antibacterial soap placed on one of their fingers. When their finger touched the water, the pepper quickly separated, demonstrating how keeping the skin, particularly the hands, clean helps keeps pathogens away and out of our bodies.
The Power of Cognates in Spanish Class
In Spanish class at every grade level, students regularly draw on the power of cognates—words in different languages that share similar spellings, pronunciations, and meanings, such as animal/animal or familia/family. Recognizing these language connections plays an essential role in helping students feel confident and capable right from the start.
Using cognates is central to our teaching approach with Comprehensible Input. The main goal of learning any language is to make meaning out of what we hear and read, allowing students to acquire Spanish naturally through understanding. Because English and Spanish share thousands of root words, cognates appear constantly in our daily class readings and listening activities. Sometimes we call them out directly, but often students pick up on them independently, discovering how much Spanish they already comprehend without realizing it.
If you are visiting the school over the coming weeks, take a moment to walk through the hallways and check out our Display of Cognates. It highlights key facts about how cognates work alongside a variety of Spanish examples for our entire school community to explore and learn.
Lyme School Apparel Store
The Lyme School Apparel Store has a variety of apparel and accessories all customizable with a variety of school logos. The Lyme School PTO earns 12% of all sales. Thank you for supporting our school and go Lions! #LYMESCHOOLROCKS
OUR VALUES
● Fairness ● Acceptance of Others ● Integrity ● Responsibility
● Perseverance ● Individuality ● Compassion ● Courage
John P. D'Entremont, Principal
Elise Foxall, Academic Director
Geoff Tomlinson, Student Services Director