Dear PCS Families,

We hope that you had a great weekend and enjoyed the extra day with your child on Friday! As we wrap up the month of September our focus remains on not only academics, but supporting our students' social and emotional development. We know that if this is not a priority then academic learning can not happen.

One of the main ways that we are doing this is by first looking at each individual child's strengths. We look to all of the places where they are thriving and then use this information to help support potential struggles by building on those strengths. In the Pre-Kindergarten program we use a strengths based approach called the DECA. This stands for the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment. In Kindergarten and 1st grade we use the DESSA (The Devereux Student Strengths Assessment). These two tools guide what we are doing in classrooms as well as things that you can do at home to strengthen the social and emotional development of your child. We have been spending the first several weeks really getting to know your child and now, over the next couple of weeks, we will complete the DECA and DESSA.

At these younger ages the first thing we do is to help the child identify their feelings. It is important for children to be able to name their feelings and know that these feelings are normal and accepted. It is only after this identifying that they can be open to looking at solutions and developing problem solving skills.

Here are some things you can do at home to support this stage of development;

BOOKS:

The Mad Family Gets Their Mads Out By Lynne Namka

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?: A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids By Carol McCloud

My Mouth is a Volcano! By Julia Cook

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun: Having the Courage To Be Who You Are By Maria Dismondy

Hello, Universe By Erin Entrada Kelly

Ruby Finds a Worry By Tom Percival

Emily’s Tiger By Miriam Latimer

Anh’s Anger By Gail Silver and Christiane Kromer

B Is For Breathe: The ABC’s of Coping with Fussy and Frustrating Feelings By Melissa Munro Boyd

My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood By Tameka Fryer Brown and Shane W. Evans

Listening With My Heart: A Story of Kindness and Self-Compassion by Gabi Garcia and Ying Hui Tan B

GAMES:

Family game nights are one way to teach children SEL while enjoying time together away from screens. Games teach many important social and emotional skills including cooperation, teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking.

VIDEOS:

Why Do We Feel Emotional? (Little Kids. Big Questions.

Why Do We Lose Control of Our Emotions?

Please let your child’s teacher know if you would like more information about things you can do at home to support this important development with your child.

Drop Off and Pick Up:

Early Childhood Morning Drop Off Reminder:

Families if you are using the circle drive in the morning and arrive before 8:00 please stay in your car with your child. If you would like to walk your student to the front door in the morning we ask that you park in the lot rather than the circle drive.

Whole School Reminder:

Now that we are a few weeks into the school year, we wanted to reiterate that our morning drop off process does not begin until 8:00 am. Our morning duty staff are not outside to supervise drop off until 8:00 am. In the interest of student safety, please do not leave your child(ren) unsupervised before morning duty begins.

We recently revised our late pick up policy because of an increase in students being picked up after our dismissal ends at 3:35. We also have a significant number of unsupervised children in the morning and would like to avoid an additional revision of our drop off/pick up policy. We appreciate your support in this matter as we work to keep all of our students safe.

News from the Library:

Book Donations - I always appreciate families remembering the PCS Library when you have books to donate! However, due to limited space and time I can't always accept your donations. If you have gently used books you would like to donate to our school library, please email me (vramsey@premiercharterschool.org) and send a picture of a sample of what you have to donate. I will be in touch to let you know if we can take your books and to schedule a time to drop them off! Thank you in advance for your generosity and your understanding!

Counselor’s Corner with Ms. Walsh:

Whether it’s summer break or school’s in full swing, life tends to feel better when we feel in sync with those we love and spend time with each day. Expressing our needs and wants is “humaning” at its most basic level; however, most of us find ourselves and/or our children struggling to communicate effectively from time to time. I-Statements most often help us find some success in this area. Although in full there are four parts, please know we can begin teaching this to children by introducing the first two parts, and then adding the third and fourth as their skills progress.

“I FEEL … (feelings word) WHEN …(problem behavior) BECAUSE… (effect on me). (My NEEDS) (alternative behavior needed)

At PCS, we do our best to both model and teach this type of effective communication when interacting with one another each day. If you would like more information on how to improve this essential life skill or just want a reminder, please click the links below.

I Statements

Family Math Night:

Get excited for PCS Math Spirit week, 10/30-11/3! Each day that week K-8 grade students will be able to dress up in math themed ways with a family celebration on Thursday, November 2nd from 5:30-7pm.

Play games as a family, with teachers, and friends! Be entered for raffle prizes! Parents and Guardians get ideas and resources to help your child(ren) at home with math!

Pizza dinner will be provided for attending families, an RSVP for the event will come out soon. Please reach out if you'd like to volunteer that evening or if you have any questions. Christy Wohlgemuth, cwohlgemuth@premiercharterschool.org