Welcome to the 2018-2019 School Year

I want to extend a warm welcome to all returning and new HPE students and families! I am looking forward to this year of working with your child at Highland Park. I am sure you have heard that this year one of our district's Board Priorities is "student wellbeing." I am a huge advocate for overall wellbeing of all students (and for everyone, really!) and I am so excited to be finding #commonground with all LSR7 staff and community members to assist with this board priority!

Please take a moment to read the welcome letter below that outlines the many ways I work with students at Highland Park Elementary to ensure success. I am greatly looking forward to working with each one of you!

Beginning of the year letter.

Kelso's Choices--Conflict Resoloution

This month, students are learning how to use how they feel about a problem to help them determine if it is a small (kid-sized) problem that they can solve on their own, or if it's a big (adult-sized) problem that they need to tell an adult right away. Small problems cause us to feel irritated, frustrated, annoyed, angry, and sometimes sad. Big problems are often dangerous, someone could get hurt or is in trouble, or it is against the law. These problems cause us to feel worried, nervous, anxious, and scared.

Students can use Kelso's choices to solve small problems. Students learn that they should always try 2 of Kelso's choices before asking an adult to help them solve the problem if what they have tried doesn't work. See the wheel below for all of Kelso's choices.

I want to showcase 3rd grade, who used a video discussion on Schoology to show what they learned and apply Kelso's choices to problems. Each student was given a problem, and they were tasked with creating a video that explained why they thought the problem was a big or small problem (how they felt about it), and which Kelso's choices they could use to solve the problem. Then, they were aked to watch two other student's videos and use accountable talk to agree or disagree with the student. They really enjoyed this activity and their videos were adorable!

If your child has a problem at home with siblings or peers, I encourage you to remind them of big and small problems. Remember, they are smart enough and strong enough to solve small problems on their own!

Talking with Kids About Tragedy

Sometimes we find ourselves needing to talk with children about difficult things. Here is a guide that can assist you in having these important conversations.