Mrs. Zimm's Happy Campers

The bottom two boxes should be filled out at home.  Don’t forget the signature at the bottom!

Today was our final day.  The students role-played standing up to a bully and even enjoyed watching Mrs. Angelee and I yelling at each other.  We talked about ways to take the power away from the bully.  If you would like to know more, look up Brooks Gibbs. He is amazing at teaching kids how to stand up to a bully by not getting angry.  You can find him on YouTube.  Here is what our board looks like today!  We talked about making the world a better place by being the positive and overwhelming the negative, just like our board.
I really hope that this week made an impact on all of us.  The students were great at participating and I really feel like it improved our feeling of community in our classroom.

This is what our board looks like today.  Today was particularly sad.  This was the day that I shared I time that I was pretty mean.  We talked about how we want to be remembered.  I told them that somebody will remember them for what they did today at recess or maybe at lunch. I asked them if they remembered anyone that was mean in Kindergarten to demonstrate that even two years later, they can remember the kid who was mean.  We discussed that we are all mean sometimes and we all make mistakes.  I told them I don’t want them to have a sad memory of being mean to someone else.  We watched another video showing kids being unkind and then a few making a change for the good.  I feel like it went pretty well and asked the students to talk to you, the parents, to see if you remember being bullied, a friend being bullied, or you were the bully.  Please share this with them.  Tomorrow will be our final day on this particular subject.  It will be a more positive day and the students will practice standing up for themselves.

We have been discussing bullying this week.  The students have viewed videos and talked about how some of these situations make them feel.  This is what our board looks like today.  Yesterday, just the work “meanness” was written on the board. We talked about what that word meant.  Today we talked about unkind words that we hear.  The students helped to create this sad masterpiece on our board.  However, this negative piece of art will take a transformation over the next few days.

The homework folders were sent home today. Inside, you will find a math activity that you can do with your child. This does not need to be returned and is excellent practice for your child. The other page sent home is the monthly reading log. This should stay in the homework folder and be turned in at the end of the month. I will send a reminder.
Have a fabulous week!
Mrs. Zimm

Don’t forget that weekly reports are due. The last two squares need to be completed and a signature is needed at the bottom. Student may turn them in with their homework folder. Thanks!

Dear Parents,
This coming week will be especially important.  We have had a huge issue with bullying in our classroom and in our grade.  This is most evident with the girls, but we know that every student is impacted in one way or another by bullying.  This year, already, I am seeing some issues that I am not okay with.  I have been researching and discussing options with others who have experienced this.  I plan to attack these issues head on.  This week we will take a special focus on bullying and how to be positive and resilient human beings.  This week will benefit all students no matter where they fall in bullying situations. 
Parents, you can support your child by discussing situations that you have been through.  It would be great for them to hear about times that you were kind, times you felt you were a victim of bullying, and even times that maybe you were the bully.  I know this isn’t fun to talk about with our kids, but they need to hear it and understand the impact it has.  We have all made the choice to be unkind at some point in our life.  Share these things with your child.
I will be sharing a time from my childhood where I was especially unkind to another.  I justified myself by thinking that I was defending a friend when, in fact, I became a bully myself.  This left a lasting impression on me.  I know it also affected the other person and was reminded of that years later when I saw them again.  I will share this with the class to demonstrate the lasting impact that bullying has on our lives and that we are all capable of becoming the bully.  I am passionate about getting through to the class that this is an issue we need to solve right now.
The lessons this week will be coming from a place of compassion and love.  Like I said, everyone is affected by bullying.  When one of my children was affected, I came across a great motivational speaker named Brook Gibbs.  You can look him up.  He does a great job of teaching children how to be resilient.  I believe this is the best approach to stop bullying.  We need to empower our children to be able to handle these sad situations.  When we teach and train kids to be resilient, the bullies lose their impact and power over them.  And most times, the bullies have been victims themselves.
I will document the things we are doing in class throughout the week so that you can discuss these things at home as well.  Please email me or call the school with any questions or concerns.
Thank you in advance for your support,
Mrs. Zimm

If students bring a dollar, they may dress down tomorrow!

On Tuesday, we had an assembly introducing a fundraiser.  A packet was sent home with the information.  You can contact the school with any questions.
Thanks,
Mrs. Zimm

Don’t forget that picture day is wednesday!