Lean into the Positive

 

Leaning into the Positive is one of things my mentor, Rhonda Roos, has been reminding me of these past few months.  Several research experiments have been conducted with children and adults around this idea. One experiment involved four-year-old children who were asked to put blocks together. One group was asked to think about something  happy before they began. That group of children significantly outperformed the other group (Achor,2011). 

Another research experiment was conducted where adults were shown a series of pictures

and were asked to remember as much about the pictures as they could. Before being shown the

pictures, some of the adults were asked to think about one positive thought or circumstance for a

few minutes. The others were asked to think about a negative thought or situation for several

minutes. Both groups were shown the pictures. The group primed with negative thoughts

couldn’t recall substantial parts of the backgrounds. But the group primed with positive thoughts

before viewing the pictures were able to see and recall much more (Achor, 2011.)

These research experiments provide evidence that happy thoughts actually give our

brains a chemical edge because these positive thoughts flood our brains with dopamine and

serotonin. They make us feel good and enable our brains to think at higher levels. These

chemicals also help us organize new information, retain, it, and retrieve it more quickly when

needed. We are able to be more creative, more innovative, more solution-focused, and more

results-driven.

 We have been through some difficult, stressful times.  It is easy to focus on our struggles but it is powerful to think about what we have learned and how we have grown.  Our students are excited to be back to school, we have learned so many great new tech tools, we get to have a career that allows us to solve problems and think critically, and we get to work with young children and have a positive influence on their lives, and it is another day the sun has decided to come up!   There are SO many things we can be grateful for.  

As you prepare to come back to school, I encourage you to think about 3-5 positives that you are looking forward to.  It will change your day! 

 

I look forward to seeing all of you on Monday!   

Important Information: 

New 9 weeks:  The third quarter has proven to be a tough one.  January we were hybrid, we got in one full week of in-person, then we were blessed with 8 snow days and FINALLY we were able to have two weeks before the end of the 9 weeks.  Late work, virtual assignments, missing tests, student bad learning habits are making our cups extra full.   

To help us get 4th quarter off on a good start, here are some strategies we encourage you to use: 

      * Grades will be due Wednesday, March 24th at 11:59.  Any students with outstanding work should receive a zero in standards based or 50% in a regular grade book so all students and teachers can start the 4th quarter in good standing. I would not let late work spill over past Wednesday.   We will then be able to use our systems for the 4th quarter of Learning Lunch and 8th period to try to maintain assignments.  We are down to a handful of on-line students in each grade level and we continue to get more back.  This will help as well!

      * PBIS Lessons - We know our students need a reminder of appropriate behavior and a reset.  We will use Tuesday, March 23rd during 2nd period to teach a PBIS lessons.  You will get a copy of the lessons in your email.  It is VERY important that we all teach the lesson and then be consistent about handling the situation when we see it in our classrooms.  

      * Attendance Court - The Perry County Court System has finally opened up attendance court.  Please know we have a list of students already scheduled.  This has also helped us get more students back to school in-person.  As of the end of last week, we only had 66 students who are virtual spread out across all grade levels.  We have been missing this level of leverage for accountability and we are excited to be able to utilize it.  

     * Surprise and Delight -  We are planning a surprise and delight for students in grades 9-12 during lunch/WIN on Wednesday, March 24th.  (We picked this day because it is supposed to be sunny and 70!)  We will have games out on the track for students to play - like corn hole, etc.  We would like teachers to bring their students outside during WIN and encourage you to play games with them.  When it is time for their groups to eat lunch, they will report to the cafeteria for lunch.  

Assistant Schedules:  Assistants, thank you to all of you who checked this document over break.  If you haven't had a chance to look at it, please do so by the end of the day on Monday and report any changes/updates to Jody.  We are trying to get our schedules back in order after so many switches and changes the last few months.  Thank you!  You can find the document HERE.  

PLC Team Meetings:   We will be planning PLC team meetings for core content subject areas next week.  Please see the schedule below.  We are working to provide half day subs for this work.   Agenda items for the meetings include:  ILEARN updates/resources, Updating Power Standards on Data Wall (we will be using this data to determine summer school list), data discussions and more.  

March 31st:  8:00 - 11:25  English Team/  12:00 - 3:00   Math Team

April 1st - 8:00 - 11:25  Social Studies Team/  12:00 - 3:00  Science Team

Dates: 

March 26th: Junior High Ron Clark -  (We will be sending you activities to do.  This will be for 3rd period on Friday.)  

March 24th:  High School Surprise and Delight (see above)

April 7th:  Virtual Day