From the Principal’s Desk
Season 1, Volume 6
From the Principal’s Desk - Personal Bank Account
I am a fan of the book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, by Sean Covey. I taught the concepts to Middle School students for a lot of years. I think Covey puts things in simple terms. For example in the book, Covey calls a child’s self-esteem their Personal Bank Account. Like a bank account what we do positive for ourselves is called a deposit and the negative things we do to ourselves are called withdrawals. Covey writes about six things students can do to create a healthy Personal Bank Account. Below I will describe these six things and explain more about them.
The first is keeping promises. It is not only important to keep promises to others but also to ourselves. Making a promise to yourself and keeping that promise makes a person feel productive thus improving self-worth.
Doing small acts of kindness can also increase our self-esteem. It focuses our attention on others and enhances our feelings of contributing to society. Small things like helping someone who has dropped their books in the hall or simply smiling and saying “hi” can make us feel better.
Knowing that you are going to make mistakes in life and being gentle with yourself influences our PBA. The important thing to remember here is to not expect perfection. Everyone makes mistakes. Learn from the mistakes that you make and try not to let them occur in the future.
Being honest not only to others but to ourselves allows us to be who we are rather than trying to be like someone else.
Spending time to renew yourself can decrease the feelings of being stressed out. We must teach students that to renew themselves they must focus on their heart, mind, body and soul. One way to renew oneself is tapping into your talents. Everyone is good at something that makes them happy. Find time in life’s hectic pace to fine tune your talents.
Most teachers try to uplift the students of our school and I know parents are trying to build self-esteem at home. However, we have to teach our children that they do not need to depend on outside sources to increase their self-esteem. They can help themselves.
10 Things To Say When Your Kids Ignore You (instead of raising your voice) - from The Positive Parenting social media site
“I need your attention for a moment.”
“Pause what you are doing and look at me.”
“Tell me what you heard me say.”
“Let’s reset. What is the next step?”
“I’ll wait until you’re ready to answer calmly.”
“I’m going to say this once, more slowly.”
“Take a breath with me first.”
“I want to hear you, after you speak respectfully.”
“We can talk about it once this is done.”
“Show me you understood by starting now.”
Oftentimes, we parent as we were parented (at least I did). Posts like this make me think…at times, I should have used a better way (more calm).
Kids don’t need louder parents. They need calmer, clearer ones.
And if you’re thinking, “I know this…but in real life you still yell” - you're not failing. It will happen from time-to-time. You just haven’t been taught how to regulate yourself in the moment.
Upcoming Events:
February 10 - 12 Elmwood Talent Show Auditions - Begin at 8:15AM
- Contact Mrs. Hedges for more information
February 12 100th Day of School!
February 12 Kindergarten visits with high school penpals at the HS
February 16 No School - President’s Day
February 18 Elmwood Talent Show Auditions - Begin at 8:15AM
- Contact Mrs. Hedges for more information
February 25 Spring Picture Day
February 26 1st Grade visits high school penpals at the HS
PBIS Indian of the Month: “Resilient”
Each month, our classroom teachers nominate one student who has done an outstanding job demonstrating our school’s PBIS expectation of the month. These students serve as positive role models for their classmates and help create a caring and respectful school community.
For January, our focus word was “Resilient.” Teachers looked for students who demonstrated resilience by persevering through challenges, making responsible choices, and maintaining a positive attitude—even when things were tough.
We are proud of the students who rise to the challenge each month and model what it means to live out our PBIS expectations. Jaxson Morse, Delaney Grant, Brantlee Bowers, Logan Cox, Theo Biss, Moses Adams, Kei’Myla Lasenby, Lakin Keske, Kalani Parrish, Kayson Matte, Nhi Le, Hayden Doseck, Adalynn Tucker, Emerysn Ketteman, Easton Caudill, Chris Harner, Lyric McVicker, Mikylah Mell, Hannah Denson, Adilyn Kinzer, George Caldwell, and Hank Truesdale. Congratulations to all of our January Indians of the Month!
Looking ahead, February’s focus expectation will be “Take Initiative” We’ll be celebrating students who use their voices to speak up for themselves and others in positive and respectful ways.
A Note From The Nurse
With many illnesses going around please remember to keep your student home if they are not feeling well.