Hi All,
After a very long week last week I was finding extra refuge in the sunshine! It's amazing what the change in vitamin D will do for your mental state. Rowan managed her first run down the double at Mad River. It was team effort but she is so proud of her "strong legs". As we went down the hill we could hear her saying... "You can do it legs!." It was endearing and also made me think...wow, we all need more positive self talk in our lives.
As I am reflecting on hearing her positive self-talk it reminded me of how important that is for ourselves and for our students. Take a moment and think about the thing that you are going to use positive self-talk with this week. The push to February break is a long one but it's so important that we finish strong and that adults and kids are feeling supported and strong! What will your mantra be this week?
Staff Shoutouts
- Amy Young---thank you for supporting a student in his morning routine
- Betsy---for your extra student support
- Kirby---for stepping in and up wherever you can
- Ali--for helping cover and keep our building running during the day
- Karen---you did double duty last week and you rocked it!
News and Announcements
- The last of the PBIS tubes have been filled! Lucia, Jess or myself will be in touch about what the celebration will be!
- Recess Supervision: Please make sure that you are moving around on the playground. Movement and consistent interaction with students decreases behavior dramatically.
- Proximity is one of our biggest tools inside and outside of the classroom.
- Candy in School: With Valentine's Day coming up I want to give a gentle reminder that candy shouldn't be given out at school unless it is part of a student's plan. Extra snacks are totally fine! But, any sweets must be approved by the family.
- February is Black History Month as well as I Love to Read and Write Month.
- I have a slew of resources to share in connection with Black History Month. Please look through them and see what will be most effective for your group. At staff meeting on Wednesday I will be checking in to see what commitments you will make to your students in terms of Celebrating Black History Month.
- Note: The suggestion was made last week to create a calendar of all of the months that we will be celebrating so that you all can do some more forward thinking planning. I will work on this for you all!
- Large Set of Resources
- This is a fantastic article that shares How to Talk About Race. Note: I will also be sending a similar article home with our families. It's very important part of inclusion, diversity and deeper understanding for our students.
Here are some highlights:
1. Make sure your child knows that skin color comes from melanin, the sun, and where someone’s ancestors are from.
Knowing the facts can prevent children from making up their own, misguided explanations, that often are riddled with biases.
2. Talk about what skin color is, and what it isn’t.
Emphasize that you can’t tell by looking at someone whether they are smart, dumb, good/bad at sports, kind or mean. You need to get to know someone in order to learn all of that. This is different from saying, “what’s on the outside doesn’t matter.” What’s on the outside very much does matter, and always has in our country. (See #3)
3. Talk about racism, and how skin color differences have been used to set up unfair systems.
Use examples children can relate to, such as who was allowed to go to school, own a home, and vote, rather than speaking in generalizations such as “have freedoms.” Connect history to the present. Emphasize that these unfair systems continue today. Give concrete examples, such as the impact of redlining, unequal schools, continued segregation.
Critically examine your own neighborhood, with your child, to discover how many non-White people live on your block, and talk together about why that is, again connecting the present to the past. Point out Whiteness in other places, too, such as where you shop for food, or at community gatherings. This is one way to break the idea that Whiteness is the norm, which results in White kindergarten students not knowing they have a race.
The first step to working against White supremacy is to name it first, and I don’t mean just in its most extreme violent forms, like the KKK, I mean in its more insidious, quiet places. Places like neighborhoods and schools that perpetuate an unequal system. As Tiffanie Drayton wrote in her NY Times piece, I Am a Black American refugee. I had to leave the United States to find freedom, in our country, ideas around “good” and “bad” schools are often coded ways of saying White and Black schools. Talk to your child about this example of racism. What would it take for Black schools to be “good” schools? Why do White schools get to be the “good” schools?
4. Find examples of people, of all races, who fought and fight against racism.
Share historical examples such as abolitionists and freedom fighters, and present examples such as Black Lives Matter activists, community organizers, people in your family or neighborhood who are taking actions. It’s important for White children to learn about White anti-racists so that they have models, and so that they don’t become ridden with guilt or shame, which is another reason some of the White parents I spoke with didn’t want to start talking. They didn’t feel they had anything to offer, because of their own feelings of guilt. If White children learn how to be anti-racist, and see other White people doing it, and hear you committing to it, they may not be burdened with this kind of guilt. Instead, they may get right to the work of solving problems, which children often want to be a part of.
5. Commit to breaking silences, proactively, even when it’s uncomfortable.
Commit to it with your children, with your colleagues, with your friends, and family. Pay attention to what your White community is saying, and not saying, and, when you get that feeling in your gut that tells you to say something, to point out racism when you see it, listen to yourself, take action, speak out. Be willing to risk your comfort, which, in the big scheme of racism, is not at at all too much to ask. Many Black parents have their own version of “The Talk” with their children, which involves preparing their children to be victims of bias and racism, and how to protect themselves so they are not harmed psychologically and physically. It’s one thing to be worried about losing a friend, or being unpopular with a crowd, and it is another thing entirely to be worried about losing your life.
What's Happening at Berlin?
Monday | 3/4 PLC 10:40-11:40 1/2 PLC 12:15-1:15 |
Tuesday | 5/6 PLC Meeting 9:45-10:45 |
Wednesday | K PLC Meeting 1:55-2:55 Staff Meeting at 3:10ish |
Thursday | SST Meeting 8:15-8:45 PK Meeting 11:30 |
Friday
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Where is Celia?
Monday | Humanity and Justice Meeting 8:15 3/4 PLC 10:40-11:40 1/2 PLC 12:15-1:15 ILT 1:00-2:30 |
Tuesday | 5/6 PLC Meeting 9:45-10:45 Student Meeting 11:00-11:30 Meeting with Kerra Holden 2:45 |
Wednesday | Check In with Lucia 9:30
Meeting with Jennifer Chambers 10:00
Principal's Meeting w/Meg 12:15
K PLC 1:50-2:50
Board Meeting |
Thursday | SST 8:15
Student Meeting 11:00
BEA Check In 10:00
Berlin PK Meeting 11:30
District Safety Team 2:00---Celia Out |
Friday | 12:00-12:45---Telehealth Meeting
1:00--Meeting with Kerra and Cat |
