My younger grades started talking about feelings.

K- We talked about and identified the 4 basic feelings (happy, sad, mad, & scared). We talked about how their are lots of other feelings, too! We read Happy and Sad, Grouchy and Glad and talked about the feelings in the book--what they are, when people have them, how to identify them in others. We ended with a fun and interactive version of "If You're Happy and You Know It."

1st- We reviewed the four basic feelings. We talked about other feelings, too! We used the Magic Coloring Book of Feelings to identify feelings in others and what might make people feel different ways. We talked about how some people associate colors with feelings. They threw all their feelings/colors at my book and the pictures were colored! Then they took their feelings back (they'll need them!), but they pulled too hard and took all the lines from my book, too! Fortunately, they were kind enough to return the lines to the pictures so I could use my book for the next class :) 

2nd- We reviewed the four basic feelings. We read How are You Peeling? Food with Moods and talked about each of the feelings in the book--why someone might feel that way, how we know when someone feels that way, and how to express our feelings.

3rd grade: Well, we started talking about the R of respect and sharing ways to be respectful while spreading out our "respect paste." For some reason some people doubted that I had genuine "respect paste" and when I presented the box to prove to them I was telling the truth, it turned out I had made a terrible mistake! Somehow I had accidentally gotten RUMOR PASTE and we had already spread it around!!!
We talked about what rumors are, why they hurt people, and what to do if we her one.
See our rumor rules below!

4th grade: We started by looking at some different pictures (optical illusions). We were all looking at the same pictures, but seeing different things! We talked about how people have different ideas and opinions. If we only look at things from our own point of view we can miss out on other great ideas and it may cause problems for us! We can listen to each other, think about different possibilities, compromise, etc. to really help ALL of us to be more successful!

5th grade: Talked about how feelings have different intensities. The more intense the feeling, the more coping strategies we may need to control ourselves when we have that feeling. We did a little experiment to show what might happen to a person who doesn't have many coping strategies. Then we talked about how to take notes and then used those skills to take notes on the copies strategies presented in the book Soda Pop Head​.

Some of my 1st-5th classes got to hear about our buddy bench in our last lesson, but some will hear about it in the upcoming lesson. As we talk about friendship and kindness, and bullying and problem solving I have been/will be explaining how the Fairview Buddy Bench works. On our playground, we have a bench specifically reserved for kiddos looking for someone to play with at recess. Below are the rules for using the bench. Here is a short video made by 2016-17 Student Council members to demonstrate how it can be used: ​https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2tMsVSHqgYDTzZUUDhNYV9zNHM/view?usp=sharing

All my classes have been talking about bullying for the last two weeks! Every class went through a power point presentation provided by the district. It outlined
*What bullying is (mean words and actions, over and over, on purpose, imbalance of power)
*How to refuse bullying (be assertive--stand tall, tell the person to stop)
*How to get help (positive reporting to adults you trust)
​*Roles in bullying (target, person with bullying behavior, bystander)

My younger grades (K-2) read and discussed Princess Priscilla and the Bully-Bee Day.
Third grade read The Juice Box Bully.
Fourth grade watched a video about bullying: 
​     https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=xcFICCVWliY
Fifth grade divided into groups and read Tough, Weird, and Dare.
We discussed the stories in each class.

Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades were learning all about safety! My younger grades all learn/review the three Rs: Recognize, Refuse, Report. They also learn the 8 Never Never Rules. We talk through different situations in which they may need to remember the rules to be safe! We also talk about the Always Ask First Rule. Our big focus is to think before you act and to depend on the adults in charge of you to help you make good choices. 

Here is the link to a song about the 8 Never Never Rules:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-dsAqJ3Ln4

Typically when I'm asked a "what if..." question I tell them to ask the adults in charge of them so I hope my kiddos have come home asking questions and talking about the safety rules! I was also reminded on Friday about how important it is to be a good role model when it comes to following the safety rules! A parent brought their dog to the school at arrival time. This is a family I know well outside of school and I have interacted with their pet at their home so my first instinct was to pet the dog! Of course, every kid around me in the hallway then also wanted to pet the dog. Although as adults we ARE in charge of ourselves, this situation was a great reminder that I need to model for my students what THEY should do. Next time I'll ask before petting the dog! :) 

It's funny how those short weeks sometimes feel longer! Probably because I try to pack 5 days into 4! I don't want to miss anything (or anyone)!

Third, Fourth, and Fifth grade classes this week learned about safety and the 3 Rs: Recognize, Refuse, Report. Third grade also reviewed the Eight Never-Never Rules. We talked about being assertive and saying "no" when a situation is unsafe. We discussed how to contact an adult when we are on our own and identified safe adults who could help us. 

My first lesson with every class included an introduction. I explained who I am, what I do, and how they can let me know if they need help from me to be successful at school. 

5th: We talked about our dreams and goals. We then talked about how all of our choices help us to move toward or away from what we want in life.  We discussed things/people that can help us make the right choices to accomplish our goals. This year we will spend a lot of time figuring out who we want to be and how to stay strong under pressure to be true to ourselves in Middle School and beyond!

4th: We did an activity to realize that in our classrooms, cooperation is more helpful than competition. Our teacher doesn't want us to be THE best, s/he wants us to be OUR best! We talked about being a team and ways we can work together this year in partners, in groups, as a whole class, etc.

3rd: We talked about the characteristics we need for a positive third grade classroom. We compared the characteristics people might have to pictures of apples: good but not yet ripe (still working on it!), ripe and ready, and rotten (not helping us in the classroom). We talked about the characteristics we WANT in our classes and I encouraged them to all set a goal to work on a "not ripe" characteristic.

2nd: We talked about how to make and keep friends. There are lots of student changes at the beginning of a school year such as new students to our school and different kids in our classes. We brainstormed ways to make someone feel welcome. We read "Emily's New Friend" and shared ideas we heard in the book that could help kids at our school to make a new friend or continue to be a friend.

1st: We talked about different feelings that kids might have at school and how a school counselor can help with those feelings. The students shared things that make them feel sad, mad, or scared at school. We put those yucky feelings into Mrs. Hoell's magic bag. I talked about how coming to my office for help is OK! Everyone needs help with something and we all have things to learn--that's why we are at school. Just like some kids need extra help with Math, other kids might need extra help making a positive choice with tough feelings, making a new friend, cooperating with others, listening in class... and that's why I'm here! We might take lots of unhappy feelings INTO the counselor's office, but we leave with... a smile! 

KD: We spent the whole time getting to know each other! I taught them a song we will sing each time we have class together. Then we read a short, homemade book: "What is a School Counselor." We also learned our class expectations and procedures and sang School Counselor Hokey Pokey! At the end, the students introduced themselves to "Mr. Bee," my inflatable helper :) 

Welcome or welcome back to Fairview! Although the summer seemed to go by too quickly, I am still so excited about starting a new school year! I love the new supplies, new decorations, new theme, and new possibilities. I love that I am going to get to meet new kiddos AND welcome back experienced Falcons! I can't wait for the halls to be "buzzing" with excitement. As you return, if you have any social concerns about your child or feel like they could use some extra support to be successful here at school, please let me know how I can help!

Another year has come to a close. I always have the mixed emotions that come with the end of a school year- excited for summer plans, sad to see kids go, worried about some of my kiddos... but for some reason this ending has been especially emotional for me. Maybe the fact that I don't want to let go this year means that it has been an especially good one! Maybe it is all the change happening in our building for the coming year. Whatever the reason, I have especially identified with those kiddos who seem reluctant to embrace change this year. BUT, just like I have been teaching my kiddos these last few weeks: change is inevitable! I guess I'll get to using my positive coping strategies and see you all in August. :) Have a wonderful, safe summer!!
~Mrs. Hoell

1st-Transitioning to 2nd grade. Talked about all the changes that might be coming up for us--some kids are moving, changing schools, getting new family members, going to a new grade, getting a new teacher. We reviewed life changes and coping strategies. Mrs. Hoell did some magic to show how coping strategies can help us feel better when we have tough feelings!! Read Who Will My Teacher Be This Year? and did a memory sheet about first grade.

2nd- Transitioning to 2nd grade. Talked about all the changes that might be coming up for us--some kids are moving, changing schools, getting new family members, going to a new grade, getting a new teacher. We reviewed life changes and coping strategies. We read Don't Be Afraid to Drop​!