STAND UP for Bullying Prevention!



Stand UP!  We are building, promoting, and celebrating our HAPPY, STRONG HEARTS!


Dear Families,

Nov. 18th-22nd was dedicated to Bullying Prevention!  This is an issue that is near and dear to my heart and as your child's teacher, I am reinforcing the importance of creating, building upon, and maintaining happy hearts in and out of our classroom.  Our Community of Learners Agreements help guide us everyday - Attentive Listening, Mutual Respect, NO PUT DOWNS, Right to Participate, Right to Pass.  We regularly refer to this agreements as a reminder for us all to treat our peers, friends, and family with kindness, dignity, and respect.  I feel this will help in creating a happy, safe, and caring world.  I believe in all my students and their abilities to reach out to do their part in making a positive difference for our today and tomorrows ... together we can help put an end to bullying!!!

Activity:  Happy to Scarred Hearts:
In our class, we did an activity to create an Awareness to how deeply affected one can be when they are put down and bullied.  First, I had the students draw a large heart on a piece of white paper.  Next, I had them observe their 'Hearts.'  Then, I asked them to crumple their paper and throw it to a peer across the room.  Finally, each student opened up their peer's heart to see what it looked like.  Following this observation, we had a powerful discussion of how once you hurt someone's heart you create "crumples or scars that remain with that person that are difficult to heal and bring back to its original happy state."  We also discussed the term "Bystander" and what it means.  A bystander(s) is a person or group of people who see bullying happening yet don't do anything to help.  In other words, they witness the bullying and walk away which ultimately continues and promotes this unkind cycle of hurt.  As a class we signed "The Pledge to End Bullying" to help do our part!  My class is part of a beautiful, loving community of learners and it is our hope we will continue to be so and encourage other students in our school the importance of no put downs!

Please enjoy a few pictures from our lessons last week for Bullying Awareness!  Each student participated with an open heart and mind ... thank you!!!

Justifying Jax offering his thoughts, feelings, and emotions about his peer's heart

Marvelous Mikaila and Justifying Jax comparing a happy vs. scarred heart

Strategies your child can use to help him/her persevere with a difficult/challenging task!

When our heart is bullied, the scars remain with us no matter how hard we try to "uncrumple" them.

Thank you Jolly Julia for gifting our classroom with this meaningful book!

Thank you Mrs. Bell (Daniel's Mom) for donating this uplifting, powerful read aloud to our classroom library! 

Thanks again Mrs. Bell for your donation!  We're celebrating our differences - UNIQUENESS!  We're all one of a kind :)

The Pledge!  Our Pledge!  Starts NOW!

Sensational Steven, Jovial Josie, Terrific Trista saying "together we can and will make a difference!"

Quote:
"Your thoughts become your words.  Your words become your actions.  Your actions become your destiny."

With All My Heart & Namaste,
Miss Gill