The Principal's Corner:
Families,
It has been a while since our last communication due to the Thanksgiving Break but I wanted to highlight some of the work that has gone on during the past several weeks here at Hutchings! First, we finished our canned food drive in partnership with Howell High School and Hutchings raised 3477 cans! Thank you to student council for putting together a great hat day and for organizing the event.
Our 5th graders all went and saw the new movie, Wonder, which focuses on “choosing kind”, the discussions here at the school following the film were fantastic and it truly has been a pleasure watching them grow over the course of the year!
Our 4th grade have all been working on their Wonder Workshop presentations and projects which have been tailored to student high interest subjects. It has been a very humbling experience to watch them work so diligently on their passions while the teachers integrate the subject material!
The 3rd graders have finished up their City Park project and celebrated with community leaders and school leaders in the media center. Their cross-curricular work into this project was outstanding Students worked on social studies, science, writing, and reading in a highly engaging way. The quality of work, the critical thinking skills, and the problem solving the students encountered created some of the best natural learning environments for all students.
Our 2nd graders continue to impress with their focus on visible thinking and reinforcing the concepts that understanding how we think matters, and that ability TO LEARN is vastly more important than just memorizing facts. It has been awesome watching our 2nd graders develop their own metacognition (thinking about their thinking) at such a young age. This is such an important life and school skill for students to master!
The 1st graders here at Hutchings have been working hard as well and over the past several weeks students have been creating digital weather reports to be displayed on the TV in the front of the school. Students write, plan, speak, and present the scripts onto an IPad and then launch the video to me to display on the big screen. The amount of technology being used down in 1st grade has been awesome, the IPads are getting used across the board in all subjects and the students have really taken ownership of their learning using these tools.
Finally, our Kindergarten students continue to impress us all here at Hutchings. They came in this year filled with energy and excitement and the teachers have channeled that energy into some incredible learning. They are reading, writing, working through math, engaged in projects, and recently they have been teaching me all of the things they have learned. Did you know that the number one skill an elf must have is the ability to work on a team? I learned this from reading that exact sentence in one of the Kindergarten journals!
I look forward to seeing everyone at the school for our holiday events and wish everyone a happy holiday season.
All the best,
Mr. Moore
Santa Secret Shop
Dear Parents,
Just a reminder…
We are inviting you and your child to participate in the upcoming “Santa Secret Shop®” program at our school. This program makes it possible for children to experience the joy of choosing their own special holiday gifts for family and friends.
The “Santa Secret Shop®” program will be set up in our school Media Center and supervised by our parent volunteers. They will help the children pick the perfect gift for the price you help them set, in a familiar comfortable atmosphere. We believe this program will create wonderful memories for the children, while teaching them to budget their money and make their own decisions. There will be a large variety of gifts in different price ranges to choose from. Imagine the fun they will have surprising a loved one with a “secret” gift they bought all by themselves!
We welcome you to be a part of this great experience. Please send the envelope we provided for you with your child on the day your son or daughters class is shopping. Dates and times will be sent out soon. Gift prices range from $0.50 to $12.00, with most of them under $3.00. We recommend that students be sent with no more than $20.00. Each class has a designated shopping time December 12-14th. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at (517) 375-3816 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Cristina Gosselin and Heather White
Santa Secret Shop Chair
Counselor's Corner
7 Tips for Helping Kids Manage Big Feelings
Children often communicate their needs non-verbally through behavior. When our kids exhibit anger or frustration, our instinct is often to punish or correct. As we embark on the holiday season, and spend more time with our beloved littles, consider seeking to understand the feelings behind the behaviors - and coach our children through the discomfort. Here are seven tips and thoughts to help us coach instead of correct:
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Understand that anger is a secondary emotion, generally caused by disappointment, frustration, or hurt. Which is it for your child?
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Keep calm (it can be hard, but it is possible and helpful). Avoid yelling - fighting fire with fire is unproductive and generally makes things worse. Staying calm helps model the calm, responsible behavior you are expecting from your child.
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Respect and validate your child’s feelings. Anxiety, frustration, humiliation, and sadness are real and unpleasant, whether you are 8 or 88.
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COACH your child through the difficult moment. Prompt your child with, “This must be uncomfortable. Let’s brainstorm some solutions together.” Then, come up with small steps leading up to a larger goal (such as, “This week I will work on notifying an adult as soon as big feelings emerge”). This will empower your child and teach him/her skills for similar situations in the future.
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Keep track of meltdowns and look for triggers and patterns. For older kids, say “Please tell me what you are thinking before, during, and after.” This may reveal the feelings behind the behavior.
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Give your child opportunities to practice the behavior you want to see and celebrate! As they practice, delight in do-overs….think of mistakes as a way to learn how to make better choices. Provide positive reinforcement and feedback anytime your child does anything in the spirit of coping.
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Show the love. Not all bad behavior is malicious….it is your child’s way of communicating needs in the only way he/she knows how. A hug is a quick way to diffuse children’s anger…..as well as your frustration with the situation.
For extra support, or a personal plan, please reach out to your school counselor!
Jennifer Starkey =[email protected]
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