The  Growler   December  2014  

Letter  from  the  Principal…  

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Dear Bellview Families,

As we enter into this holiday season, I am thankful to work in such a supportive and positive place for kids and families. I am continually impressed with how the Bellview family comes together to support each other. Donations for the Winter Care Box and Giving Tree projects have been coming in steadily and we will be delivering them next week.

As you read through this Growler you will note several ways that you

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can support your children academically over the break. Read the ideas provided by our Reading Specialist Rebecca Gyarmathy and check out the on-line IXL math program if you have internet access at home. I hope that you all have a wonderful and relaxing break, enjoy your time together!

Sincerely,

Christine McCollom

Mark  Your  Calendars:  ü December  19-­‐  All  School  Pajama  Day  ü December  21  -­‐January  5  Winter  Break  ü January  14-­‐  6:30  PTO  Meeting  ü January  21-­‐  5:30-­‐7  Learning  Night  

Garden Project Donations

This  winter,  our  students  will  be  working  with  our  FarmCorps  volunteer  and  our  School  Garden  Coordinator  (and  Reading  Specialist)  Rebecca  Gyarmathy  to  create  mosaic  stepping  stones  for  our  school  garden.    If  you  have  pieces  of  colorful  tile,  glass  gems,  broken  pottery  pieces,  dishes  or  other  materials  that  could  be  used  to  create  a  colorful  mosaic,  please  bring  them  in  to  the  front  office  by  Friday  January  9th.  We  hope  to  have  the  stepping  stones  created  an  installed  by  spring  break.      

Tis  The  Season  of  Giving!  

The Growler December 2014  

Hello  Families:  

Over  the  holiday  break,  it  is  important  for  children  to  have  a  regular  schedule  and  continue  to  read  on  a  daily  basis  at  home.  Below  are  some    fun  ideas  for  when  your  child  is  home  during  this  Winter  Break:      

• Keep  a  scheduled  time  for  reading  like  you  do  when  school  is  in  session.    Children  should  read  out  loud  to  you  as  well  as  parents  reading  out  loud.    Both  you  and  your  child  could  share  their  favorite  holiday  story,  poem,  or  song!  

• Have  them  write  and  read  that  “wish  list”  to  you!  

• When  cooking,  have  your  child  help  by  reading  the  recipe  to  you.  

• Play  family  games  like  “I  spy”.    “I  spy  something  green  that  starts  with  the  /m/  sound.”  Scrabble,  Boggles,  Apples  to  Apples,  and  Hangman  are  simple  games  that  encourage  literacy  skills.  

•      Take  children’s  books  and  writing  materials  with  you  whenever  you  leave  home.  This  gives  your  child  fun  activities  to  entertain  and  occupy  them  while  traveling.  

•        A  great  gift  idea  is  a  subscription  in  your  child’s  name  to  an  age-­‐appropriate  magazine  for  your  child.  When  relatives  and  others  ask  for  gift  ideas,  suggest  magazine  subscriptions,  books,  or  a  bookstore  gift  certificate.      

•      If  traveling,  use  the  time  spent  in  the  car  or  bus  for  wordplay.  Talk  about  how  jam  means  something  you  put  on  toast  as  well  as  cars  stuck  in  traffic.  How  many  other  homonyms  can  your  child  think  of?  When  kids  are  highly  familiar  with  the  meaning  of  a  word,  they  have  less  difficulty  reading  it.  

•      Please  check  our  parent  resource  board  on  a  regular  basis.    It  is  the  bulletin  board  by  the  Primary  Commons.    I  try  to  keep  the  board  updated  with  literacy  activities  and  information.  

Wishing  you  all  a  safe  and  healthy  holiday  season!    

Rebecca Gyarmathy Reading  Specialist  

November  Skills  for  Learning    Awards    The  following  students  received  awards  for  Showing  Empathy:  Kit  Metlen  Isaiah  Steadmon  Cody  Hutchinson  Oscar  Hernandez  Ava  Moriarty  Ayden  Welch  Evan  Rhoden  Aaron  Rodriguez  Melania  Longiotti  Burke  London  Aidan  Moriarty  Jaiden  Olson  Sonja  Streeper  Alexandra  Acevedo  Della  Freeman  Lillian  Walley  Kade  Price  Lillianna  Santangelo  Lilia  Jones  Angel  Nightshade  Soren  Fox  Ariana  Adler  Sebastian  Stowasser  Sascha  Wells  Scarlet  Poague  Nikko  Wand  Dillan  Peplinski      Our  December  Learning  Skill  is  Showing  Compassion.  Please  talk  with  your  child  about  what  that  looks  like  and  sounds  like  at  home  and  at  school.  Thanks  for  your  support!  

The Growler December 2014 3

New  in  2015:  Lunch  Recess  Games  

 

Looking  for  holiday  gift  ideas?  Consider  getting  your  child  one  of  these  items  that  will  be  one  of  the  lunch  recess  choices  starting  in  January  2015.  Every  month  we  will  offer  a    game  or  activity  opportunity  for  kids  to  participate  in.  Each  month  will  be  different  to  keep  it  fresh!  

January:  Kendamo-­‐  Japanese  cup  game  &    Yoyos  

February:  Pokemon  &  Skylander  

March:  String  games  and  Chinese  jump  rope  

April:  Paper  Airplanes  and  origami  

May:  Marbles  

Get  ready  for  some  fun  in  2015!

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Our  Sparrow:    

Luke  Laurenson  

Congratulations

Mrs. Preskenis’ 4th Grade Class for winning the Fall Box Tops Contest, bringing in a whopping 1077 labels! They will be enjoying a class pizza party as a reward.

Empathy and Compassion-

Good for the heart and good for the head!

In  our  social  skills  lessons  this  past  month  we  have  been  focusing  on  learning  about  and  practicing  empathy.    We  teach  our  students  that  empathy  is  “feeling  or  understanding  what  someone  else  is  feeling”.    “Research  shows  that  young  children  with  higher  levels  of  empathy  tend  to  be  less  aggressive,  better  liked,  more  socially  skilled,  and  make  greater  academic  gains  than  children  with  lower  levels  of  empathy”  (Second  Step  review  of  research,  2011).  

Here  is  a  quick  overview  of  some  great  ways  you  can  support  your  child  with  this  critical  social  skill:  

1) Identifying  feelings-­‐We  can  tell  what  someone  is  feeling  by  paying  attention  to  physical  (face  and  body)  and  situational  clues.  Encourage  your  children  to  be  “social  detectives”  and  figure  out  what  others  are  feeling  in  day-­‐to-­‐day  life  and  while  looking  at  photographs,  reading  stories  or  watching  shows/movies.  

2) Understanding  Perspectives-­‐People  have  different  feelings  about  the  same  thing  and-­‐their  feelings  can  change.    Notice  examples  in  your  own  home…how  somebody  loves  soup  and  somebody  finds  it  disgusting,  how  someone  thinks  an  image  is  scary  and  another  thinks  it  is  hysterical.    Respecting  others’  perspectives  is  essential  to  healthy,  flexible  friendships.  

3) Accepting  Differences-­‐Accepting  differences  and  finding  similarities  helps  us  be  more  respectful  and  less  likely  to  tease  and  use  put-­‐downs.  Help  your  child  identify  ways  differences  and  similarities  make  all  of  us  unique  and  our  lives  more  interesting.  

4) Accidents  Happen-­‐When  we  do  something  hurtful  (physically  or  emotionally)  or  unsafe  but  it  is  “not  on  purpose”,  it  is  an  “accident”.    Coach  your  child  through  this  sequence:  1)  “I’m  sorry,  are  you  ok?”  2)  “That  was  an  accident”  3)  Offer  help  if  possible.  

5) Showing  Compassion-­‐Showing  care  and  concern  for  someone  is  “putting  empathy  into  action”.  Notice  and  praise  your  child’s  words  and  actions  that  demonstrate  compassion  at  home,  school  and  in  the  community.    Talk  about  how  these  gestures  fill  all  of  us  with  good  feelings  and  a  sense  of  connection  and  warmth.  

6) Making  Conversation-­‐Making  conversation  is  essential  to  making  and  keeping  friends-­‐especially  as  children  get  older.  Model  and  teach  good  conversation  skills  with  these  quick  tips:  1)  Pick  a  topic  2)  Ask  questions-­‐who,  what,  why,  how,  when,  where….3)  Make  comments    4)  Actively  listen-­‐eye  contact,  head  nodding.  

7) Joining  In-­‐Being  assertive  can  help  you  join  in  and  invite  others  to  join  the  group.  Coach  your  child  to  join  activities  of  interest  using  the  following  steps:  1)  Move  close  to  the  person  or  group  2)  Observe,  try  to  guess  what  they  are  doing/playing  3)  Wait  for  a  pause  in  the  action  4)  Ask  about  the  activity  and  compliment  (i.e.-­‐“What  are  you  guys  playing?,  it  looks  really  fun”)  5)  Ask  to  join  assertively  (strong,  calm  voice  with  eye  contact).    

Thank  you  for  all  your  support—together  we  can  guide  our  children  to  be  their  best!