12/1/22 Update:

As you may know, we are using the Second Step program in your child’s classroom. The Second Step program teaches children important skills for getting along with others and doing well in school. It also helps our school be a safe, respectful place where everyone can learn.

To further help our school be a safe and respectful place, we are also going to use the Second Step Bullying Prevention Unit. In the lessons, your child will learn specific skills to help stop bullying. Students will learn how to:

•   Recognize when bullying is happening

•   Report bullying to a caring adult

•   Refuse to let bullying happen to themselves or others

•   Be a bystander who stands up and is part of the solution to bullying

In addition, your child will bring home simple, fun activities called Home Links that will help you understand what your child is learning about bullying at school. They also give your child another chance to practice skills for handling bullying.

For bullying prevention to work, everyone at school needs to be involved. So all our staff will get special training in how to:

•   Recognize and respond to bullying

•   Support children who have been bullied

•   Correct behaviors of children who are bullying

•   Use strategies that support a positive school and classroom climate

And we need your help, too! Get involved in making our school a safe and respectful place by letting us know if you hear about bullying at our school. Make sure your child knows to tell you or someone at school if they are being bullied. And give your child the clear message that it is never okay to bully others.

If you have any questions about the Bullying Prevention Unit or the Second Step program, please contact me. For more information on our school’s anti-bullying policy and specific procedures, check our school website or contact the school office. Thank you for helping us make our school a safe, respectful place where everyone can learn.

Sincerely,

  Kate Kanin

P.S. Make sure to join www.secondstep.org with the activation key BPU2 FAMI LY02 to get information about what your child is learning in the Second Step program!

 

9/23/22 Update:

Welcome to 3rd Grade! I've been having so much fun seeing our returning students and getting to know our new kiddos. I get to teach Social Emotional Learning to all of your students every week this year, rather than every other week. Meaning that we will get to cover so much more. I am also hoping to provide regular updates on what we are covering in lessons so that you can support your kiddos at home with common language and practice. For the first few weeks of school, students have been working on their Hopes, Dreams and Goals. Each student has been working hard, coming up with:

• A Hope, something they are wanting to have happen this year, ie- I hope we can go on a fieldtrip
• A Dream, a really big hope that could one day come truth, ie- my dream is to become an Astronaut 
• Two Goals, one social emotional goal, where students choose if they want to focus on the social (ie- I want to make two new friends this year) or their emotional management (ie- I want to learn how to calm down when I am upset) and a personal goal, something they want to accomplish and are willing to work for this year. 

These Hopes, Dreams and Goals will be posted in the hallway outside the lunchroom. 

Please let me know if you have any questions!

-Kate Kanin kkanin@lwsd.org