The Serious Need for Play- Take some time during the Winter Vacation- Play and enjoy your family time

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_bxWhNgw_j6Wl9TWGUwSUwzdEREYWlzblBTTS1CSzRrTDFr/view?ts=585469ac

Student Parent Tech Assembly on Tech Possibilities, Tech Law, and Tech Health

Tech Assembly Power Point that was shown to 3-5 grades

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1AaLBuuxec0hYxdOjlMzXd-g1TuGdbhYUr35HTCl4oVE/edit#slide=id.g35f391192_00

How do I speak to my child about the election?

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/what-should-we-tell-our-kids-be-tomorrows-leaders-today?j=3710117&e=rfalk@ttusd.org&l=26783_HTML&u=56195610&mid=7000332&jb=0&utm_source=111116+Default&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly#

Unity Day at GES

Wednesday, October 19, 2016 was Unity Day. This day is celebrated nationally to teach students about inclusion, acceptance, and kindness. Glenshire students signed a Unity pledge that became a Unity Chain around the cafeteria. They also wrote positive messages to put up on the positive statement wall. The staff and student body all wore orange, the color that represents Unity.  Glenshire's Safe School Ambassadors planned the special activities for this day and did a wonderful job!

Red Ribbon Week at Glenshire 10/24-10/28

Next week is Red Ribbon Week.  Red Ribbon Week is a national campaign that was started in 1985 in response to a DEA agent's death, who was passionate in his pursuit to rid the United States and Mexico of all illegal drugs.  His name was Enrique Camarena.  The parents and children in his home town started wearing red ribbons to commemorate his memory and what he stood for every single day.  Today, Red Ribbon Week is a time to educate youth about the dangers of drug use and encourage participation in drug prevention activities.  Glenshire's 5th Grade Safe School Ambassadors have been working hard to bring drug prevention activities to our school.  They will be having assemblies for 3-5 grade and all students will receive a Red Ribbon Pencil and YOLO (you only live once- this year's theme) wristband.  Each day of the week will include a spirit day with a dress theme as well.
Monday:  Wear a hat to school- "Put a cap on it, don't put unhealthy things in your body."

Tuesday:  Crazy Hair Day- "Go crazy with your hair, but not your body."

Wednesday:  Wear Red to school-  "Honor Enrique"

Thursday:  Wear socks that represent you-  "Be yourself!"

Friday:  Wear bright colors-  "Be bright, don't put unhealthy things in your body!"

September 2016


Welcome back Glenshire Families and Students:

I hope you had a wonderful summer with time to relax and enjoy our beautiful area.  I would like to share some back to school tips for working together for school success.  First and foremost is excellent attendance.  Being in school every day means your child will not miss out on learning.  Please try to schedule appointments and family trips outside of school hours.  Additionally, being on time is also extremely important.  It is much easier on a child to be in class when it starts  and is able to attend to the tasks at hand, rather than walking in late and having to be in a position of catching up.

Did you know that children who regularly eat meals with their families tend to do better in school and avoid risky behavior.  Eating dinner together is great, but other meals count, too.  If you work at night, perhaps you could make time for a family breakfast, or on the weekend try a picnic lunch.

Celebrate progress!  Suggest that your student create a fun reminder of all the things he/she has accomplished.  He/she can cover a container with construction paper and label it "I did it!"  Then write each success on a slip of paper and put it in the container.  If your child is feeling discouraged at any point they can read the slips of paper.

Parent involvement can take many forms.  Volunteering in your child's classroom is wonderful, but not everyone is able to do that.  Other ways to stay involved:  Ask your child what they brought home that day and go through it and comment; Ask to see their homework and go over it after your child gives it a try;  Ask your child about a book he/she enjoyed that day and encourage their reading skills by reading aloud to him/her as much as possible; and cultivate a positive attitude by asking about what positive things happened at school each day.  Questions like "What's the coolest thing that happened at school today", "What made you laugh?", "What was the most creative thing you did?",  and "How were you kind or helpful today?" can bring your child's attention to the wonderful daily things that are occurring in his/her life.  If a negative event or situation occurs, empower your child by asking him/her what can be done about the situation to change it next time.  This tells your child that you have faith and believe in their ability to solve problems that come their way, thus cultivating resiliency.  Last, but not least, work through the Second Step Home Links together, which will help to address many of those issues that come up for elementary children as well as create a close bond between parents and student.

Nuts and bolts, such as eat a healthy breakfast each day before school, plenty of sleep each night (8-10 hours), a packed backpack by the front door before bedtime, as well as the outfit picked out and laid out for the next day can streamline hectic mornings.

My wish for this school year is that each child comes to Glenshire excited to learn new ideas, feels safe and happy to be here, has meaningful relationships, and connects with a trusted adult.

I welcome all of you back and look forward to helping you and your child in any way I can.

Fondly,

Rachel Falk

Farewell for now

End of Year Letter

May 21, 2016

By Rachel Falk

Dear Parents,

            As we come to the end of the school year, I want to thank you all for sending us such amazing students.   Glenshire Elementary School is fortunate to have hard working, fun, focused, safe, respectful, responsible, and kind  students walk in our doors every morning.  Much of the credit for that goes to you and the care, love, and high expectations they get from you at home.  We all thank you for your support throughout the year and willingness to work with us as a team to get the most out of your child.

            One thing we know about our students is that if they do not stay engaged in a few important things over these long breaks, they will slide backwards in terms of their learning.  Studies show that students like ours can lose up to 2 weeks of progress for every month they are away from school.  This is a large reason why we ask so many students to come to one of our summer programs.  If your student was not invited or is not able to attend one of the summer sessions, it is still very important that they do a couple of things pretty regularly during the summer vacation.  First, they need to continue to read.  In addition to staying in practice, reading regularly opens student’s minds up to new ideas.  Students should read 20 minutes a day all summer.  Second, they need to continue to be exposed to mathematical situations.  Simple things like playing board games, helping with dinner, organizing and categorizing items around the house (sorting all those socks!!), and even just counting things while you drive are good ways to keep student’s minds sharp.  Finally, students need time to play with other kids.  Children learn a million little things about how to interact appropriately at school and in the world simply by playing with other kids.  Plus, it is a whole lot more fun for them than sitting around the house watching TV!!!  If any of them give you trouble this summer when you try to get them to do any of this, just pull out this letter and tell them I am encouraging you do it!!!  Here are a couple of links to check out during the summer months:  Our wonderful social-emotional Second Step Program, http://www.secondstep.org/ and all things related to media and technology, and Common Sense Media, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/.

            Finally, I want to remind you quickly that we will be having construction at our school all summer, thanks to you and Measure U.   It will look like a brand new school inside when your children return.   Our office will closed during this time.  We will look forward to seeing all of you for the first day of school on September 1^st.

            Thank you again for helping us to have such a successful year at Glenshire Elementary. 

Have a great summer!

Rachel Falk

Glenshire Elementary School Guidance Counselor

Second Step Tip for May

Second Step:  Negative self-talk can make strong feelings even stronger.  You can calm down by using positive self-talk.  Setting a new goal and making a plan to achieve it are positive ways to handle disappointment.  http://www.cfchildren.org/second-step/elementary

End of School Year Tips for Parents

End of school year tips for parents- http://www.todaysparent.com/family/parenting/tips-to-get-your-kids-through-the-end-of-the-school-year/http://www.todaysparent.com/family/parenting/tips-to-get-your-kids-through-the-end-of-the-school-year/

Looking forward to seeing all of you at Open House tomorrow night, 5/12/16, at 5:30- The Keremes starts at 5:00 with delicious food homemade by our Latino Families

Second Step has created a free social skills game for Ipad and Android-  It is called Parkpals- check it out.  This game can be played alone, with another child, or with a parent.
 http://www.cfchildren.org/second-step/parkpals

GES Collaborative Workshop on Technology, 2/23 and 3/1 at 8:00 a.m.

Dear Glenshire Families:
Please join us tomorrow morning, 2/23 and 3/1, at 8:00 a.m. in the GE Library, for an interactive workshop on technology-  Breakfast and babysitting provided.  Looking forward to seeing all of you then

Second Step message for February:  Focusing your attention and listening can help you show compassion and have conversations.  You can say kind words and do helpful things to show compassion.  Making conversation helps you make friends and get along with others.

Please have a discussion with your child about how these conversations can help them on the playground, in the classroom, and at home.  For more information on Second Step, please go to secondstep.org

Have a wonderful weekend

Commonsensemedia to help you with age appropriate choices for your child's media and social media

Just wanted to remind students and parents alike how wonderful commonsensemedia.org is:  Want to know if a video, movie, app, television show or book is appropriate for your child?  Check out this website for all the latest reviews, plus much much more!
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/