Welcome new and returning parents to the 2012-13 school year in full swing! I have enjoyed the past several weeks of New Student Groups during recesses and lunch periods. I invite all new students in grades 1-5 to these groups. New students will have a chance to interact with a small group of students that are also new to TAISM, and participate in activities geared toward making new friends. Typically, the students enjoy the experience of meeting new students from other classrooms in their grade level. It allows them to make new friends in a small group setting.
I have been in most of the classrooms three times, and will be having my first visits in the EC rooms this week. The EC Teachers are working hard to establish their routines in the first month of school, and I like to wait until they feel comfortable before beginning my lessons with them.
In KG and first grade, I had one lesson about following directions. But mainly in KG-5th, I have focused on strategies for handling problems with friends. You might hear your child describe an easy-to-remember strategy called "Talk-Walk-Squawk." In the event that they have a problem with another student, we encourage them to take these three steps: 1- TALK to the person that is bothering you. 2- WALK away if the person continues to bother you. 3- SQUAWK is a term I use because it rhymes, and refers to telling an adult in order to secure help with their issue. I teach them to tell an adult after they have tried to solve it on their own. I let them know that they can skip the first two steps and go directly to an adult, if they are being hurt or feel scared. In the coming lessons, I will be introducing more strategies to build on the basic Talk-Walk-Squawk framework. I call a collection of additional strategies their "Bag of Tricks." These strategies will help them cope with teasing or bullying behaviors they might encounter. I look forward to the upcoming lessons with your child.
