Self-Care

I hope everyone enjoyed the much-needed day on Friday, as a time to catch up, re-energize, and rest.  We enter into a busy time of year, and I want to support the self-care of our staff.  In addition, Kristen and I have put together several self-care ideas to share at our staff meeting, focusing on the strategies of exercise, calming, and gratitude.  I've included some other ideas to consider below.

Have a great week - and take time for yourself!

Sue

7 Tips for Teacher Self-Care

During the Day - small ways to stay grounded

• Tea
• Chocolate
• Protein boost (nuts, granola bar)
• Healthy snacks
• Thank you notes
• Stress ball

During lunch or prep - some 2-minute strategies

• Do a few yoga poses or stretches to get your blood moving
• Get out of the building for some fresh air or a change of scenery (remember to sign out in the office!!)
• Take a mindful moment and pay attention to your breathing to center yourself

Connect with others to fill your tank

• Share projects with other teachers
• Make positive phone calls/emails to parents, friends, or family
• Spend time with loved ones
• Give back to your community by volunteering

Look for the positive and hang on to it for a rainy day:

• Keep a folder of kind notes or feedback from students and families
• Keep a notebook of inspirational quotes
• Record something positive each day in a journal

Get your body moving

• Run
• Dance
• Yoga
• Crossfit
• Walk

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Reclaiming Respect

We've reached a point in the school year where classroom behaviors are spiking a bit - so this week's All School Meeting will focus on RESPECT. Children aren’t necessarily born with a built-in sense of respect for others - they need to be taught to be respectful. From birth, kids have to manipulate their world to get their needs met - starting with crying, which is natural and appropriate. But as kids get older, kids need to be taught respectful ways of getting their needs met. 

It's common to see children and teens arguing with adults (or ignoring them outright!), using foul language, copping an attitude, not using manners, or respecting those in authority. Sadly, this has become the norm for many children and teens. Our world seems to glorify a disrespectful, angry, rude way of dealing with others, which makes it even harder to teach kids to be respectful. So how can you change the culture of your own classroom if disrespectful behavior is starting - or is already a way of life?

Here are 5 things to remember...
1. Catch Disrespect Early
It's good to catch disrespectful behavior early, if possible. IF your students are rude or disrespectful, don't turn a blind eye. Intervene and say, "We don't talk to each other that way in this classroom." When you think a child might be crossing the line, a good rule of thumb is to ask yourself, "Would I let my neighbor say these things to me? Would I let a stranger? My own child? If the answer is no, don't let a student do it, either.

2. Teach Children Basic Social Skills
It may sound old fashioned, but it's very important to teach basic manners like saying "please" and "thank you". Understand that using manners - just a simple "excuse me" or "thank you" - is also a form of empathy. Disrespectful behavior is the opposite of being empathetic and having good manners.

3. Set Realistic Expectations and Plan Ahead
Recognize students' limits, and try to plan accordingly. It is helpful to set limits beforehand, and to be clear with your kids about what you expect of them. This will help your students understand what is expected of them and what the consequences will be if they don't meet those expectations. If they meet the goals, certainly give them credit - but also if they don't, follow through on whatever consequences were set up for them.

4. Talk About What Happened Afterward
If a child is disrespectful or rude, talk about what happened once things are caml. This is a chance for you to listen to the child and hear what was going on with her when the behavior happened. At a later time, talk with the student about what could have been done differently.

5. Don't Take it Personally
One of the biggest challenges for adults is to take the child's behavior personally. Your role is to just deal with the child's behavior as objectively as possible. And that can be tough!

Conclusion
Kids really do want limits, even if they protest. And they will protest! The massage that they get when you step in and set limits is that they're cared about, that they're loved, and that you really want them to be successful and able to function well in the world. Our students won't thank us now, but that's OK! It's not about getting them to thank us, it's about doing the right thing.

We will review RESPECT on Thursday, with the hopes of seeing an increase in our classrooms in the next few weeks!
Sue

Data Roll Throughs

Data Roll Throughs

As we look ahead ot our data roll through on Monday, a few reminders about the process, and the important impact our conversations have on instructional delivery.  

There are three main steps involved in data driven instruction:

• Data collection: Gather information from class assessments and standardized test results, as well as observations from the teacher, and create a database on information.
• Data analysis: Separate essential information from non-essential information. Watch for patterns and dive into the reasons behind these results. Draw conclusions and formulate teaching plans.
• Action: Make necessary adjustments, continue to collaborate, and monitor progress

There are several things to think about when analyzing student data: Why did these students miss key information taught in the class? Is there some sort of distraction that can be minimized? Did the way the information was presented have an effect on their understanding? 

And then plnning next steps includes thinking about how these students can be re-taught in such a way that the information sticks? If they understood other topics that were taught, how did they learn those topics, and how can you apply the same principles to re-teach the information they didn’t learn? Gathering the necessary data to answer the “what”, “why”, and “how” is the basis for data driven instruction.  

Looking forward to these converations on Monday!

Sue

Trauma Sensitive Schools (TSS)

Trauma Sensitive Schools

Trauma Informed Practices Benefit All Students

How do I know if a student has experienced trauma, so I can teach in a trauma informed way?  It can be important to identify students who might need extra support, but it is more important that we use trauma sensitive strategies with every single student because they will benefit all students.

Supporting All Students:
We can never know which students in our class or school has experienced trauma, and which haven't. Some have experienced trauma and have not told anyone, or experienced something that they won't label as trauma until years later.  Some students are living in traumatic situations but they can't or won't share this for their own safety. So when our schools are trauma sensitive for all students, we ensure that the students who can't ask for support are still getting it.

Building Strategies:
A trauma sensitive school helps build our student's protective factors such as teaching coping skills, helping the students develop a healthy self image, and providing opportunities to practice  stress management in a safe environment. While not all students will experience trauma in life, all of us will experience loss, stress and challenges.  By building up our students' resilience, we will help them through these experiences in their lives.

Self Care:
When all of the adults in a school are committed to creating a safe, and caring environment, it increases the chances that children will feel safe asking for help. A very important element of this  initiative is a focus on wellness and self care for teachers. As Kristin Souers put in the book Fostering Resilient Learners, "It's crucial...that teachters not brush aside self-care as an unnecessary luxury; on the contrary, taking care of ourselves is what enables us to take care of our students."

Being a trauma sensitive school will be worth it if one student can ask for or access support who thought they couldn't ask before.  For that one student, it will be worth our caring and thoughtful approach.

This information is based on a Edutopia article Trauma Informed Practices Benefit All Students 

by Alex Shevrin Venet