As you may have noticed, we have changed some of the format of our Parker Press. Each communication will begin with information about what happened last week in Patriot Time and will be happening in the coming weeks. We have created a section with some home connections about the Positivity Project. We understand that getting information from your child about their day can be difficult, particularly in middle school. We hope that the home connections questions will help you start a conversation at home about their experiences and what they are learning in Patriot Time. When students are in the office we have been asking students what their top strengths are. It always creates interesting conversations. We hope that many families participate in survey themselves. You can find the link here. To find out more about the different character strengths check out the character cards below.
This Week:
Creativity was the Positivity Project character strength we focused on. The students discussed what creativity is and why it is so important. They saw videos and participated in activities that made them think in creative ways. In one activity, students had to come up with alternate uses for items like a tennis ball, paperclip, fidget spinner, paint brush, and cd.
Upcoming Week:
The character strength of focus is bravery. We will define bravery as, you act with mental, moral, or physical strength even when you know things are difficult or scary. Bravery isn’t simply fearlessness, but instead the overcoming of fear. Students will be viewing and discussing examples of mental bravery, moral bravery, and physical bravery. If time permits your child will also be creating their own bravery bucket list of things they would like to try or accomplish such as trying a new food, helping a person or animal in need, trying out for a sports team, joining a class or club that they are interested in even if they do not know anyone.
Home Connections:
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Have your child share what some of the alternate uses for each object were that they came up with. Share with them an alternate use that you would use a tennis ball or a paperclip for.
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Ask your child which of the forty ways, mentioned in the video, to increase creativity stuck out to them. Also what are one or two things that they could attempt to begin doing in order to increase their creativity.
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Ask your child if their view on bravery, or what they thought being brave is, changed as a result of the Patriot Time discussions.
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Have your child explain who they talked about or described as the bravest person they personally know.
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Share with your child ways you are brave and ask your child in what ways they are brave. You can also tell your child ways in which you feel they are brave.
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Ask your child to share what was on their Bravery Bucket List or create one together.
Tuesday, November 6 - Election Day
Please remember that there is no school on Tuesday, November 6 for election day. We also ask that you, please remember to vote on that day. On your ballot will be the Howell Public Schools Securing Our Future Sinking Fund proposal. This is an expected no tax rate increase proposal that will provide the district with approximately 1.3 million dollars annually for ten years to fund upgrades to district security and perform major repairs to district buildings. To help educate voters on this proposal, the district has put together a short video, which you can view here. The district has also created a webpage to share details of the proposal which can be found atHowellSchools.com/SecuringOurFuture.
Community Support
As part of our School Improvement Plan, we are looking for community members who could possibly collaborate with us on some of our units (guest speakers, etc.). We have created a list of possible topics for guest speakers or community involvement, broken down by content area, grade level, and quarter. If you, or someone you know, could collaborate with our teachers and students in any of these topic areas, please contact the main office. We look forward to hearing from you!
Tutoring
This Monday, 11/5, tutoring will be held at the 2/42 Community Center in room #2. Next Monday, 11/12, tutoring will be held at the HIVE teen center. Students can ride L.E.T.S. bus from Parker after school to the HIVE for free with a Hive membership. For more information about the Hive check out the Hive flyer.
Parker Pays It Forward
This November Parker Middle School in Howell will "Pay it Forward" to children in need to show how #otherpeoplematter. Every student will be participating in the Fleece and Thank You school wide program to give back to a very special group of young people. The students will be making the blankets during their Patriot Time on Monday, November 19th. We would love for families and friends to donate to our great opportunity. We will also need parent volunteers to come in and assist in each and every Patriot Time! (you must fill out a Volunteer Release form from the HPS website). Thank you for your support! We currently have enough for each class to make 2 blankets and our goal is for each class to make 4l! Click on the page to make your donation today!!!
Have a wonderful weekend,
Mrs. Poelke