Spring MAP Testing Begins This Week!

Tomorrow we begin MAP testing in grades 3-5.  By working together,  we can make this a positive experience for your child!  Here are some suggestions to help your child succeed.

·        Be sure your child is well-rested.

·        Start the day with a protein-packed breakfast.

·        Remind your child to use the tools we have practiced in guidance lessons.  Throughout the year, we have worked on strategies to help us get into the “green zone” like deep breathing and positive self-talk. Check out https://www.stopbreathethink.com/ for guided meditations.

·        Give compliments for effort: “I’m proud of how hard you have worked this year.”  Even better…send them to school each day with a note of encouragement!

MAP test sessions will run Tuesday through Friday for the next two weeks.  3^rd and 4^th graders will begin at 8:30; 5^th graders will begin at 10:45.  Let me know if you have any questions. 

Have a great week!

An article from kidsToday from St. Louis Children's Hospital talks about fostering resilience in our kids.  They recommend the following:

• Create a sense of predictability and routine.  A strong foundation helps kids handle the unexpected.
• Help your children build a wide social network which allows them to turn to multiple sources for support and friendship.
• Encourage your children to solve their own problems.  When your child has a problem, ask how she wants to handle it and then talk about how that went.
• Model self-care.  Easier said than done!
• Give your children opportunities to grow outside of school by participating in clubs or activities they enjoy.
• Talk about adversity.  Life will not be easy.  Practicing problem solving and talking about tough situations as a child prepares them for adulthood.

The American Psychological Association offers helpful information on building resilience. 

Hixson is hosting a Speaker Series on March 26th from 6-8pm.  All parents are welcome to attend; talks will be geared toward families of 5th through 12th graders.

Topics will include:

• Anxiety & Depression
• Social Media
• The Adolescent Brain
• Trauma
• Vaping & Drugs
• Eating Disorders

Click here for more details!

February Guidance Lessons

This February our NCADA liaison Debra Townsend visited with students weekly. NCADA recognizes that fostering positive social skills in students supports children's resiliency as they grow older and are faced with the challenges of adolescence.  The curriculum builds upon itself as students move through grade levels at Hudson.

NCADA programs:

• Build resiliency skills in youth, kindergarten thru college;
• Create better learners and more cooperative students;
• Develop skills to refuse peer pressure, build healthy friendships, and make low-risk choices.

Kindergarten:  Winning FriendshipsThis four (or five)-lesson unit promotes language and behaviors that build friendships and provide skills to handle uncomfortable feelings such as anger and conflict. 

First Grade: Caring 4 Classmates
This four-lesson unit helps young children develop social competency skills: self-respect, sharing, and reaching out to friends.

Second Grade:  Friendship Rules 
This four-lesson unit introduces children to four friendship rules: 1) Friends laugh and play together, 2) Friends Include others, 3) Friends give others a chance, and 4) It’s okay for friends to be different. 

Third Grade:  Building You, Building Me 
This four-lesson unit explores social competency by focusing on language and behaviors that can either build or wreck friendships.

Fourth Grade: Taking Charge of Me
This four-lesson unit promotes important ways to be in charge of yourself: recognizing and respecting the uniqueness of self and others; setting goals for yourself; and taking responsibility for your actions. 

Fifth Grade:  Standing Up For Me 
This four-lesson unit develops skills in managing conflict and anger effectively and solving problems peacefully.

 

Girls on the Run is an after-school program designed for 3rd-5th grade girls. Despite the name, your daughter does not need to be a runner to participate! 

The program is designed to encourage girls to use running/physical activity as a means of empowerment and motivation. GOTR is so much more than a running program; it is a youth development program which helps empower girls. 

Practices include curriculum-based discussions on topics designed to boost self-esteem as well as games to encourage physical activity. We start from the absolute basics of walking/running and work our way up to a 5K run by the end of the season. The culminating event at the end of each season is the Girls on the Run St. Louis 5k in downtown St. Louis to celebrate the girls’ accomplishments. This season’s 5k is on May 12.

There is a program fee of $125 which includes 20 lessons conducted by trained Girls on the Run coaches, Girls on the Run program T-shirt, registration for the Girls on the Run St. Louis 5k, a water bottle, and a healthy snack at each practice. Payment plans, scholarships, and sibling discounts are available. 

Practices are held at Hudson from 3:00-4:30 on Tuesdays and  Thursdays. 

Contact Meagan Wade (meagsw@gmail.com) or Danielle Zuroweste (zuroweste.danielle@wgmail.org) for more information.

Go to Girls On The Run to register today!

Parent Information Night 2/26/2019

Webster University Diversity & Inclusion Conference

http://www.webster.edu/diversity-inclusion/2019-diversity-conference.html