Leominster Public Schools promote Social/Emotional Learning!

On Friday, October 5th, the entire Leominster Public School District participated in a Social/Emotion Learning (SEL) Professional Development

What is SEL?

Social and Emotional Learning is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. (CASEL)

Teachers and staff viewed and participated in an SEL presentation and had dynamic discussions on how we can strengthen our students' learning experiences. We also shared and discussed how to incorporate SEL into lessons and everyday activities. 

Below are two great resource for parents to encourage and support their child's Social/Emotional Learning Development. 

Social/Emotional Development Parent Toolkit

CASEL: What is SEL?

JA Guidance Bibliotherapy library

New & Improved Guidance Library full of awesome bibliotherapy books! 

BIBLIOTHERAPY:  the use of reading materials for help in solving personal problems.

Mrs. Russo, our School Adjustment Counselor worked very hard this summer to get our library organized and updated! Our teachers and families are welcome to check in and out books based on their needs. 

We encourage families to utilize our library! If you'd like to check out a book, please contact a member of our Guidance Staff:

Karen Russo, Adjustment Counselor

Katie Gingras, Guidance Counselor

Melissa Hopkins, School Psychologist 

Categories:

• Anger/Self-Control
• Anxiety
• Peer Pressure
• Conflict Resolution/Cooperation
• Diversity
• Family
• Feelings
• Friendship
• Grief + Loss
• Health/illness
• Honesty 
• Tattling
• Listening
• Manners
• Respect/Responsibility
• Safety 
• Self-Esteem
• Sharing

Trasition Tips for Back to school

It's that time of year again for school to start.  Here are parent tips for helping your child(ren) transition back to school and have a positive successful start.  

click on the link below

Back to School Transition: Tips for Parents  from the National Association of School Psychologist (NASP)

Internet Safety

Here is a list of websites to help promote safe online behaviors for your children and students

Be Internet Awesome 
Family Online Safety Institute-7 steps to good digital parenting
Common Sense Media Website

Shoe tying videos

Shoe tying is a life skill that can be frustrating for many kids (and parents), but will help them throughout their school day and at home.  

Here are 2 tutorial videos for teaching shoe tying that work well. Practice, practice, practice


Shoe tying video for students with attention issues and/or learning issue

Easy shoe tying trick

Grief and Loss Resources

Our JA community is deeply saddened by the death of first grade teacher, Mrs. Rosa,  this past week.  She battled a very difficult illness, Pulmonary Fibrosis.  

We will be talking to her first grade classroom on Monday and providing support to the students through this difficult time.  The teachers of all the other classrooms have been given information to share with their students as well and support for them.  She had many students over the years and was cherished and admired by many.  

We have tips for what to say and what not to say that we will share with families on Monday. This is an excellent quick resource for parents and educators from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) that outlines how to cope with grief/loss and what to do and what not to do/say and there are several links to other online resources on the bottom of the page.  
Dealing with Loss webpage 

We also have book title suggestions that can be helpful in understanding death and helping cope with the loss of a loved one.  Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns at 978-534-7765 (Guidance Department: Karen Russo, Katie Gingras, and Melissa Hopkins) as our email is not up and running yet. 

School Shooting Tragedy

The tragic events of the school shooting in Florida on Wednesday were extremely saddening. As educators and parents, it is difficult to comprehend such heart-wrenching events.
Our thoughts extend to all those affected, and we acknowledge the bravery of the first responders, staff, and students who reacted so quickly to ensure the safety of others.

We recognize the impact these types of events can have on our school community. Each one of us is affected in a different way. And, yet, the impact is undeniable. As we are faced with getting back to our everyday life, we write to assure you of the priority we place on the safety and security of our students each and every day. As news of the tragic events of the school shooting in Florida have begun to unfold, our thoughts have immediately turned to our own ongoing efforts to ensure that our school is a physically and emotionally safe environment for every student. We have a crisis/safety team at Johnny Appleseed School that works hard to make sure we are current with all our saftey measures and procedures.  As a district we continue to use a hybrid of the A.L.I.C.E. model. Site based Administrators are trained with this approach and students have practiced once so far this year.  We will continue to be vigilant in our review of current emergency protocols in our ongoing effort to ensure student safety, and we will use the information gleaned from these unfortunate events to strengthen the already strong protocols we have in place.

Speaking with your child about this tragic event is difficult. Should you find that your child is struggling to process the events from Wednesday, you may find the following resources  helpful online (and with printable versions):

Talking to children about Violence
Tips for talking to students about school shootings
Managing your distress in the aftermath of a school shooting
Coping in the aftermath of a school shooting

As we move forward, we are reminded of the importance of the community and the connectedness we share. The safety of our school is very important and our first priority.

Sincerely,
The Guidance Department
Melissa Hopkins, Karen Russo, and Katie Ruggles