Welcome to the 2017-2018 School Year!

I want to extend a warm welcome to the 2017-2018 school year to all HPE families! Please take a moment to review important counseling information in my 2017 welcome letter under Parenting Forms at the left hand side of my blog. There is also information listed there regarding this year's Love N Logic classes provided by Lee's Summit Cares as well as other helpful parenting information.

Another easy way to access my welcome letter is by clicking here.

I am looking forward to another great school year working with your child!

Career Lessons

In the months of April and May all students will Begin With the End in Mind by participating in lessons on Career Awareness.

Kindergartners read the book Berenstain Bears on the Job to learn about many different types of jobs there are. They completed a coloring page by drawing a picture about what they think they might want to do when they grow up. First grade completed a similar activity by reading Berenstain Bears When I Grow Up to talk about different jobs there are, as well as what those jobs do. We discussed in 1st grade about choosing a job they like and that fits their skills and personality, since they will do their job for a long time.

2nd graders read the story What Shoes Will you Wear by Julia Cook. Students identified what types of jobs different shoes represent. For example, hard-toed boots would be worn by construction workers, athletic shoes would be worn by athletes, high heeled shoes might be worn by laywers. Students then played a game "I have, Who has" to learn about other types of jobs that people do. Lastly, students completed a worksheet that helped them think of jobs they have at school, at home, and a job they think they might like when they grow up.

Students in 3rd and 4th grade are using a website CareerTrek to do research about different jobs they might like to have as well as learn about other jobs there are. Students are able to take a self-survey to learn about themselves and different jobs that would fit their interests and strengths.

5th and 6th grade students are using the website Missouri Connections to research careers. In 5th grade students are completing the Interest Profiler Short Form to help them learn more about careers that fit their personal interests. Students in 6th grade are learning about Career Clusters within Missouri Connections. 5th and 6th grade students are creating a career profile within Missouri Connections and middle school counselors will also utilize and help them build their profile while continuing to assist students in career awareness.

January and February Bullying Lessons

In January and February all grades received a lesson on Bullying. Bullying lessons focused on defining what bullying behavior is. Bullying is defined as intentional aggressive behavior that is repeated over time and involves an imbalance of power. These three things must be involved in order for a behavior to be called bullying. Many times students call things bullying that do not meet this criteria. Therefore, it is important to define what it is so that students can correctly identify the behavior.

Kindergartners read the book Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully by Audrey Penn. We used this book to introduce to bullying behavior and identify bullying. Students learned what bullying behavior looks like, and discussed how being a good friend (and not a bully) to others will help create a school environment that is free of bullying.

First graders learned about bullying by watching Howard B Wigglebottom Learns About Bullying. You can see the link and activities here.

In Second grade students learned about how Seek First to Understand and then to be Understood helps develop empathy. Empathy is taking a walk in another person's shoes and seeking to understand how that person feels before making a choice of how to talk to or treat someone. If students develop empathy by using Habit 5 they will likely make the decision not to bully others as well as stand up to bullying when they see it happening to other people. We talked about how this is very important when people are different from us. Students read the book Rosie's Story by Martine Gogoll, a story about a girl who was bullied because she had red hair and freckles. Students then completed an activity comparing how they are different and the same from a partner in class to practice Habit 5.

Third Graders did an activity called "Classifying Bullying" where they matched different types of bullying behavior with the definition. Students watched a Pixar short film called For the Birds to infer these bullying behaviors. Then, students read Nobody Knew What to Do by Becky Ray McCain and discussed what they could do when faced with any of the bullying behaviors they had just learned extensively.

Fourth graders also learned about Classifying Bullying Behaviors similar to third grade. In fourth grade we focused on teasing and when teasing becomes bullying. Students listened to the story Just Kidding by Trudy Ludwig and then completed an activity with a partner to decide when teasing crosses the line to bullying.

In Fifth grade students watched a video called Gum in My Hair to learn statistics about bullying and strategies to handle bullying. They completed an activity called "Walk in My Shoes" to apply the role of a bystander to different bullying situations.

In sixth grade students studied statistics of bullying with a partner and highlighted three important details. They shared these with the rest of the class to learn from one another. Students learned from a power point what classifies as bullying as well as the role of the bystander. After the lesson students were asked to give one take-away they learned, and many students identified that they now know what bullying truly is, how to be an Upstander rather than a Bystander, and that bullying has life long effects on both the bullies and the victims being bullied. Students also learned important information about cyber-bullying and digital citizenship.