Summer Safety

In guidance we have been winding down our school year discussing careers and the cool jobs we might want to have when we grow up. During our last cycle, however, we will address important ideas to keep in mind surrounding the excitement of summer break. Summer brings extra time with family and friends, trips, and LOTS of time outside. Associated with all of these exciting things are important safety concerns.

During K-2 guidance, we will address eight topics our 5th grade Eason Pilots and counselors decided were important for young students to know:

1. If playing outside, always play with a "buddy" - never play alone.

2. Wear a helmet when riding a bike or scooter.

3. Be safe when swimming: swim with a buddy and use a life jacket if necessary.

4. Use lots of sunscreen when outside and use bug spray if there are a lot of insects around.

5. Drink lots of water when playing outside and take frequent breaks in the shade.

6. If separated from family members in public, find an adult who can help (employees with name badges, employees who work at service desks...).

7. Always remember to keep your Safe Side Circle BIG. This means to keep a 10 foot radius from yourself and Don't Knows or Kinda Knows.

8. Use the 3-Step Safety Plan if a Don't Know or Kind-of Know tries to talk with you without your Safe Side Adult. (No! Go! Tell!)

Please reinforce these safety tips with your students so everyone can have a fun, exciting summer and be ready for another great school year at Eason in 2011-2012!

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Luymes and Mrs. Doll

Eason Counselors

Coming SOON in Guidance...

Developing Career Awareness!!!!

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):

We are excited to introduce students to a new unit on career development. In this four week unit students will develop an awareness of personal abilities, skills, and interests and relate them to traditional and nontraditional career choices. In order for children to reach their dreams, they will learn how to set goals and plan steps to achieve them with the understanding that there is a relationship between academic achievement and career success. During this process students will realize the value of working cooperatively with others as a team member and use problem-solving skills with their peers.

To engage students in our lessons, we plan to use a variety of methods to promote participation such as the use of fiction and non-fiction books, videos depicting students connecting how school work relates directly to obtaining a career in the future, technology to explore various career options, and cooperative learning activities to produce work that challenges us to think about our greatest aspirations.

Realizing that having dreams and hopes helps plan for the years to come, we as educators and parents can help support their attainment of future career goals. We can serve as models for children by the very careers we have and help them face challenges with persistence and positive attitudes as they pursue their dreams. Please feel free to let me know if you have questions about this unit. I will be glad to provide any assistance needed.

Sincerely yours,

Emily Luymes

Counselor

Grade Level Expectations

Career Development

Kindergarten Activities

Understanding the importance of effort and hard work	¨Play a game together and talk about the importance of effort and not giving up ¨Discuss how effort and belief in self are important no matter what the job is (a game, school, etc.)
Recognizing personal talents	¨Take turns sharing talents you and your child have; compare how your talents are the same and/or different ¨Ask your child what their favorite television or book character is and what their talents might be
Investigating the world of work	¨Talk about different jobs that may be at your place of work (boss, managers, custodians, etc.), or at home (chores and responsibilities) ¨Ask your child where their favorite places to go in the community are (swimming pool, pizza restaurant, school, etc.); talk about the different kinds of jobs people might have at each place

1^st Grade Activities

Understanding the importance of effort and determination	¨Talk about a time you had to work really hard at something and the importance of not giving up
Connecting interests and talents to career choices	¨Play a family game by naming as many careers as possible that start with A through Z ¨Talk about your talents and interests and which careers you might enjoy; ask your child to do the same

2^nd Grade Activities

Understanding how interests may lead to certain career paths

¨Watch TV or read books together; try to match characters to a career path - Business Path - Creative Path - Nature Path - Building/Technology Path - Helping Path - Health Path ¨Play a game naming different interests or talents; have your child think of a job someone might have that matches (for example: “If you like working outside, what job might you have?” “If you are good at science, what job might you have?”) ¨Take turns naming a job and having the other person say the career path it would fit in

3^rd Grade Activities

Understanding how interests may lead to certain career paths	¨Talk about jobs/careers that you have had and what you liked or disliked about each position ¨Have your child help you decide what career path your previous or current jobs would be in, including your job as parent or guardian (business path, creative path, nature path, building/technology path, helping path, health path)
Recognizing that all career paths are important in the community	¨Indentify some of your Community Heroes (someone who makes the community a better place); talk about what makes them a hero ¨Ask your child what kind of community hero they want to be when they grow up and why

4^th Grade Activities

Connecting goals and perseverance to personal dreams	¨Think of your dream job and talk to your child about: owhat goals/steps would be needed (education, effort, etc.) owhat challenges might exist ohow important it is to keep trying, even when things are challenging
Recognizing the different personality types people might have (thinker, doer, creator, persuader, organizer, helper)	¨Ask your child what personality types they are and how that may lead to certain career choices ¨Tell your child what personality types you are and compare with your child’s ¨Make two lists of jobs: one for you and one for your child based on your personality types ¨Ask your child which of their favorite TV or book characters has a personality type most similar to them

5^th Grade Activities

Connecting different jobs to specific career paths (business path, creative path, nature path, building/technology path, helping path, health path)

¨During dinner, ask your child how many different jobs and career paths were needed to make the meal at the table possible; encourage them to think about the businesses the food came from ¨Pick a large business within the community (for example a hospital, airport…) and see if you and your child can come up with jobs from each career path

Understanding how personal interests may lead to certain career paths and jobs

¨Ask your child what their interests are (what kinds of things your child enjoys doing in their free time and subjects he or she like learning about the most) ¨Discuss with your child how your personal interests have changed or stayed the same since you were in 5th grade; talk about how it is okay for interests to change over time ¨Based on your child’s interests, help him or her make a list of jobs they might really like to have when they grow up ¨Brainstorm subjects in school your child would really need to work hard in to have the job they would like

Problem Solving

We have started our new unit in guidance talking about problem-solving skills in Kindergarten through fifth grade. Students are learning about ways to get along with others and how to identify how others are feeling. Below is the GLEX for problem-solving for each grade level. Talk to your children about the different skills we are learning in guidance. Thanks for reading and supporting our guidance program!!

Grade Level Expectations

(GLEX)

Problem Solving

Kindergarten Activities

Recognize feelings of self and others	Name what feeling you think your child is showing; talk about how looks and actions serve as clues to people’s feelings
Manage angry feelings in healthy ways	Plan and practice with your child what to do when they are angry (deep breathing, calm body, calming self-talk, walking away, etc.) Tell your student about a time you were angry and how you handled your anger in a healthy way

1st Grade Activities

Recognize feelings of self and others	Talk with your student about how important is to understand how other people feel With your student, watch their favorite television show or read their favorite book and take turns guessing how the characters feel
Apply problem solving skills	Help your child think of safe and fair ideas to use when faced with a problem with others (talk it out, compromise, think before you act, take turns, etc.)
Manage angry feelings in healthy ways	Plan and practice with your child what to do when they are angry (deep breathing, calm body, calming self-talk, walking away, etc.)

2nd Grade Activities

Apply problem solving skills	Discuss safe and fair ideas to use when faced with a problem with others (talk it out, compromise, think before you act, take turns, etc.) Develop a “Problem Solving Contract” your family can sign to commit yourselves to solving problems in safe and fair ways
Manage angry feelings in healthy ways	Plan and practice with your child what to do when they are angry (deep breathing, calm body, calming self-talk, walking away) Discuss how angry words and actions affect everyone in the family Talk about how managing anger in healthy ways applies to good sportsmanship

3rd Grade Activities

Employ empathy skills; recognize feelings of others	When watching television with your student, make a game of trying to guess how characters might be feeling (watch facial expressions, body language, and listen to tone of voice) Talk about how you might feel in a similar situation as the characters
Recognize anger sings	Draw an outline of your student’s body on a large piece of paper; on the paper, show where you feel anger (clenched fists, fast heart beat, clenched teeth, red face, etc.) Talk about and practice what to do to calm down (deep breaths, counting, walk away, self talk, etc.)
Develop strategies to deal with problems with others (i.e. teasing, NOT bullying)	Talk to your child about the STAR problem-solving process S- state the problem T - think about solutions A- Apply a solution R - Review if it worked or no

4th & 5th Grade Activities

Identify successful strategies and tips to work well with others	Talk about things your child can do to be successful working in a group Respect others ideas Share his/her ideas in group Compromise Take turns Find each others strengths in the group Do your part well
Recognize anger signs and ways to deal with angry feels in a healthy way	Draw an outline of a body and talk about the clues your body gives you to let you know you are becoming angry (red face, feeling hot, clenched fists and/or teeth, faster heart rate) Talk about ways to “Chill” out your body when anger Cool your thoughts by using self-talk Cool your behavior by taking a walk, taking deep breathes, listening to music, etc. Cool your feelings by drawing, walking away from the situation for a while, etc.
Develop strategies to deal with problems with others (i.e. teasing, NOT bullying)	Talk to your child about the STAR problem-solving process 1. S- state the problem 2. T - think about solutions 3. A- Apply a solution 4. R - Review if it worked or not

Bullying Prevention Week at Eason

* TAKE A STAND * LEND A HAND *

Bullying Prevention Week:

To continue promoting the safe and caring environment here at Eason, students and staff will celebrate bullying prevention week from March 28 to April 1. During this week, students will engage in bullying prevention lessons, the school will be decorated with student work, and anti-bullying messages will fill the building. There will be undercover “Bully Busters” looking for students who show caring behaviors toward others, and a different theme for dressing up each day of the week.

Dress-Up Days at Eason:

Monday: Eason students CARE about each other. (Wear red and pink clothing to show you care)

Tuesday: Be a BUDDY, not a bully. (Dress like a buddy for twin day)

Wednesday: Be a TEAM PLAYER and stand up to bullying behaviors. (Dress in your favorite sports team gear)

Thursday: Eason is a SAFE place to be yourself. (Dare to dress different by wearing mismatched or upside-down clothes)

Friday: Eason is a PEACEFUL place. (Dress in your pj’s for a calm and peaceful day or wear blue (blue is the color for peace and anti-bullying))

It is going to be a great week at Eason!!!