The Principal's Corner:
Families,
In the upcoming weeks you will see a change in our front office staff as Mrs. Socia has accepted a full time position over at Three Fires Elementary school. I wanted to take a moment and thank her for all of the work she has done at Hutchings in the short time that she was with us! We will be conducting interviews over the next several days for the position and hopefully we will have someone here sooner rather than later. In the meantime, if you can please remember to call the office well in advance for changes in dismissal and please remember to sign all students out, that will help tremendously in this transition period.
In times of transition and changes I think about all the changes we’ve had here at the school this year from the addition of the outdoor classroom, the pilot of a new ELA program, a revamped positive behavior program for all students, new teachers in Kindergarten, 3rd grade, and Technology, a large focus on acceleration and enrichment for all students, and the instructional changes on reading K-2 and writing 3-5. I blinked and suddenly we are at Halloween and students are already talking about which costumes they will be wearing which means we are almost 1/4th of the way through the school year.
Most of the changes listed above are not really seen throughout the day by the casual observer. When teachers work on these changes it is never seen by parents or students because they work on these changes before or after school, or on the occasional professional development days we have throughout the year. So I wanted to take a moment to explain how these changes happen here at Hutchings.
I get to school around 7:15 in the morning and I am never the first person here as two or three teachers have beaten me in to make sure they have the day ready for the kids. When I leave around 4:30 I am never the last person to leave as multiple teachers are upstairs in their rooms reading about the lessons for tomorrow, making sure each child has the materials and differentiated work ready to go. Around 6:30 I will get an e-mail or a text from one or two teachers asking for perspective about how a teaching strategy will impact a targeted group of kids in the classroom and if they can take a risk on something because they believe it will make that lesson slightly better. Teachers in the ELA pilot are reading massive lesson plans created by this program and trying to put together not only the lesson for the day but notes to share with all teachers in the district about how to enhance the lesson for students. Please note this takes about 30-40 minutes per night after school. Teachers also meet regularly during lunch to go over lessons and share ideas about what went well and what did not. Every other Tuesday, they arrange childcare and their schedule to come to a staff meeting at 7:30 in the morning and on weeks we do not meet they meet as a grade level team on specific grade level topics and changes.
I love professional development days here at Hutchings because I can walk into the room with the staff and lead off with how we can make Hutchings better. The staff takes off with it! From this work, we’ve created Project Based Learning, Visible Thinking, The Outdoor Classroom, PBIS, At-Risk Support, increased our reading and writing instruction, and built a culture where kids feel their voice is heard. We have choir, student council, robotics, Girls on the Run, Hutchings Bistro, LOC, and numerous other avenues for students to explore in order to learn more about the world in which they live.
There was a quote that reads, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” The staff here has a passion for making sure your children get the best education possible and that means they constantly look at ways to change, adapt, and improve the environment where they spend close to 7 hours per day, Monday through Friday. (Please note I didn’t even begin to dig into what they do Saturday’s and Sunday’s but it’s pretty common to see them here or working on this at home)
All the best,
Mr. Moore
MacGregor's Message:
Howell Public Schools Securing Our Future Sinking Fund Millage
The November 6 election is just a few weeks away. When district residents head to the polls that day, they will be asked to vote on the Howell Public Schools Securing Our Future Sinking Fund proposal. This is an expected no tax rate increase proposal that will provide the district with approximately 1.3 million dollars annually for 10 years to fund upgrades to district security and perform major repairs to district buildings. To help educate voters on this proposal, the district has put together a short video, which you can view here. The district has also created a webpage to share details of the proposal which can be found at HowellSchools.com/SecuringOurFuture
Counselor’s Corner
Helping Children with Friendship
Friendships are very important to our social and emotional health! Often, when children struggle with making and keeping friends, they feel lonely, sad, anxious, or depressed. Research shows that it is not the quantity of friends children have that matters, but rather the quality of even one or two positive friendships. Thus, to a child, having even just one good friend can make a huge difference!
Are you wishing to help your child become better at making and keeping friendships? If so, try teaching them these three basic social skills:
- Teach them how to break the ice with kids they haven’t met before.
- Show them how to act positively and appropriately with others.
- Teach them to manage conflicts/problems constructively.
To teach these skills to your child, you must first figure out what your child is doing well and also where they might need some improvement. Specific needs vary from child to child and in different situations. Below are some tips:
- Observe your child in social settings.
- Once you have made some observations, determine what social skills your child needs to learn.. For instance, does your child often interrupt others or boss them around? Is your child shy and afraid to try new activities or hesitant to join a group?
- Explain the steps of the skill and demonstrate how to effectively use the skill. For instance, if your child wants to join a game of Gaga ball at recess but is hesitant to do so, try saying, “You told me you would like to play Gaga ball at recess. If you want to play, talk to some of the kids before recess and say, ‘Hi, my name is Jayden. Your game looks super fun! Mind if I join you?’”
- Help your child practice the skill. Try various role playing scenarios. This can be fun!
- Give your child helpful feedback. Let him know what was done well as well as areas for improvement.
- Be patient. Teaching social skills can take time, and children are at different levels of learning these skills. Encourage your child and let him know that you are there for him no matter what.
Your Partner in Education,
Jennifer Starkey
School Counselor