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K, 1 Expected and Unexpected Behaviors

12/18/2016

Dear Kindergarten and First Grade Parents and Guardians,

This week and after vacation, I will be introducing the vocabulary “expected” and “unexpected” to kindergarten and first grade students. These words can be helpful for teaching students the impact their behaviors have on other people. When we do things that are unexpected, it makes others feel uncomfortable, unhappy, and unsafe. When we do things other people expect, they feel comfortable, happy, and safe. When we make others feel good, we feel good too.

If you have a moment, please review the words expected and unexpected with your children. You can even use these words to reinforce expectations at home.

Sincerely,

David Starr
School Counselor, Armstrong Elementary School
PH: (508) 836-7760 Email: starrd@westboroughk12.org

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Third Grade Bullying Awareness

12/10/2016

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Dear Third Grade Parents and Guardians,

This week, we are discussing bullying in third grade. Given the Massachusetts bullying legislation, it is not only incredibly important for us to begin to educate our students on bullying at an early age, but it is also the law.

In our lesson, we defined bullying as repeated unexpected behaviors directed at another student. Often, these behaviors make the target, or victim of bullying, feel scared, angry, or upset.

As part of the lesson, we worked to define the roles people play in a bullying situation. These include:

Person bullying: Person doing the unexpected behaviors
Person who is the target: Person experiencing the unexpected behaviors
Bystanders: People who see the bullying happen

We read the book “Say Something,” by Peggy Moss. The book talks about the role of a bystander in reaching out and supporting the target of bullying.

Next time we meet, we will talk more about the role of bystanders in helping to stop bullying. If you have a moment, please review with your children the definition of bullying as well as the roles students might have in a bullying situation.

Thank you for your help supporting this important lesson.

Sincerely,
David Starr
School Counselor, Armstrong Elementary School
PH: 508-836-7760, Email: starrd@westboroughk12.org

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2nd Grade Gift of Nothing Lesson

12/10/2016

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Dear Second Grade Parents and Guardians,

This week, we are taking care of some holiday shopping during second and third grade lessons. Using the book, “The Gift of Nothing,” by Patrick McDonnell, we are thinking about meaningful gifts we can give to our loved ones. While everyone loves to receive presents we can hold and play, sometimes, the best gifts don’t have to be purchased at all. Simply spending meaningful time with a loved one can be even more appreciated than any tangible present.

For our lesson, each student planned their own “Gift of Nothing.” From baking with a parent to watching a sibling’s favorite movie, our students considered all of the details of the time they would spend with their loved one. They are bringing these gifts home and hopefully will be giving them out over the holiday season.

If you are interested, you and your family can give more “Gifts of Nothing.” Simply click on the link below to download the “Gift of Nothing” worksheet. Once it is finished, you can fold the paper in half, decorate the outside, and give it with your other gifts this holiday season.

Enjoy, and happy holidays!

Sincerely,
David Starr
School Counselor, Armstrong Elementary School
PH: (508) 836-7760 Email: starrd@westboroughk12.org

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K and 1 Feelings

12/4/2016

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Dear Kindergarten and First Grade Parents and Guardians,

This week, I am talking about feelings with kindergarten and first grade classes. One of the most important parts of being a kind member of a community is recognizing how other people are feeling and why. As part of our lesson, we read a story introducing different feeling words. We then looked at and practiced feeling faces. Finally, everyone chose a feeling to write about and illustrate.

This year, I am incorporating a program called the Zones of Regulation into our lessons on feelings and conflict resolution. Understanding the feelings that fit into certain zones helps us learn how to respond when we are feeling a certain way. You can see the different zones in the chart attached to this post. We will use this work on feelings when we discuss problem solving over the next several weeks.

Building a feeling word vocabulary is important for everyone, and you can help at home. Try and find opportunities to introduce feeling words into the time you spend with your children. When they are feeling good, help them instead recognize if they are excited, surprised, confident, silly, comfortable, or proud, and what has caused them to feel that way. When they are upset, help them figure out if they are angry, sad, bored, jealous, grumpy, shy, uncomfortable, frustrated, confused, scared, embarrassed, guilty, disappointed, or lonely. Understanding these more complex feelings is an important step to figuring out the cause of the feeling, and if it is something you don’t like, making it better.

Thank you for your support with this important lesson.

Sincerely,

David Starr
School Counselor, Armstrong Elementary School
PH: 508-836-7760 Email: starrd@westboroughk12.org

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K, 1 Expected and Unexpected Behaviors

Third Grade Bullying Awareness

2nd Grade Gift of Nothing Lesson

K and 1 Feelings

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