Do you regulate your brains?

“The mindset you have, determines the next step you take.”

― Unarine Ramaru

Living the 7 Habits takes a new mindset. We need to look carefully at our roles and responsibilities and have goals for them. Do you remember the way Charles Fonbuena describes our brains? He uses these descriptions in his book, Leadership is a Way of Life.

Each person has three brains. Our Lizard Brain controls our fight v. flight impulses. This area of the brain houses the medulla oblongata and brain stem. All animals in the fish, bird, amphibian, reptile, and mammal classifications have this brain. It’s useful for the “eat or be eaten” issues we deal with, such as when we play staff v. students hockey games, or, more importantly, when we’re driving our cars defensively. We need our lizard brains to help us stay safe, so it’s good to listen to them. However Lizard Brain can get in the way if it makes us too competitive, too focused on our own “win” and interferes with our ability to understand others with compassion.

The second brain we have is called the Monkey Brain. The more social a mammalian species is, the more developed this brain can be. This brain has us asking, “Do I fit in? Do I look okay? Do others like me.” The Monkey Brain also has us asking, “Does it feel good or taste good?” Monkey Brain is the reason I overeat sweets. Okay, okay, when I overeat everything. While the Monkey Brain doesn't always work to lose weight, it also can be a good brain to pay attention to as it helps us regulate embarrassing situations, help us feel confident, and keeps us in the group.

Researcher and lecturer, Simon Sinek, points out that the first two brains do not have speech centers or the ability to form language. We can have difficulty using words to express the thinking of these first two brains so we have other ways to describe how we think with them. We talk about “gut feelings,” and “heartfelt” emotions. Shawn Achor, the Harvard brain researcher and psychologist, says we can retrain these brains to help us rather than keep us from accomplishing our desired goals. He says we have to train the third brain to be in charge.

The third brain, according to Charles, is called the Leadership Brain. This brain is the one we use for logic, for telling us to do the right thing (such as telling me not to eat too much). It also allows us to make clear thinking and integrate all three brains, making decisions based on needs, wants, and principles. Obviously it’s more complicated than this in reality, as our brains are doing other functions. But the three brains idea gives us a way to see our brains are working with us and yet need our control. Certainly our students need to learn this control.

We have to stay intentional about our lives enough to lead with our hearts while we pay attention to our leadership brains. The 7 Habits are the tool best used to regulate and pre-decide some of the nonsense our Lizard and Monkey Brains can come up with. Living the 7 Habits gives us the way to understand our priorities well enough to take care of them, keeping distractions of the less disciplined parts of our brains from taking us away from our true purposes. Then we can focus on doing what we need to do, what is right to do. The 7 Habits work well for our students because they can become intentional in their lives; students become the product of their choices, not their circumstances.

“Once you decide to do right, life is easy, there are no distractions.”

― William Edgar Stafford

BIG ROCKS

• ·      There are some staff members wanting to work on dress code and other handbook issues. Dress code is particularly difficult. If you’d like to be on this adhoc committee, please email me. I am happy to chair the process. If there’s no interest, we can leave changes for another time. Some of the issues revolve around “yoga” pants and other tight wear that may be comfortable to wear and yet can be uncomfortable to look at. Emerson is also trying to male changes. Are you interested?
• ·      We had a great turn out for Judy’s Teacher of the Year presentation last Monday. I know Judy was grateful, and the turn out said we are supporting our favorite media specialist! Judy’s speech was honored Cooper staff and all we have done. Thank you, Judy! Congratulations and “nice job.” We love you!!
• ·      Next week is Thanksgiving, and Cooper has more to be thankful for than usual. Angie and Victoria and back after having beautiful boys. Sarah has had a boy and all is well in their family. Our parents are expressing their highest gratitude for our accomplishments and the culture at our school, and we have a renovated school that is almost working.
• ·      With all of that to be thankful for, we experienced another incredible Work-a-thon, led by Lauren, Annette and Sally’s organizational skills, complimented by many staff members adding preparation, and then a hundred-person crew of parents and students working 2 hours to make changes to Cooper Friday evening. It was fun and productive. Judy was able to document some of it on our Cooper Facebook page. You will see the changes when you come to school on Monday. Not all of the projects are completed, yet you will see the difference right away.
• ·      We can also be grateful for our first break of the school year: five days off!! I will be going to Austin, Texas to have Thanksgiving with my son, Matt, and his wife, Kerrie. I am looking forward to seeing them! They are real football fans, and I am planning to enjoy watching the Lions with my son. It’s been a very long time since we’ve been together to watch a game. What are you planning?

The next two weeks of business include:

Monday:                   Terry to Coleman A. Young Center (Noon-3:00)

 

Tuesday:                  Dentists R Us at Cooper

                                 Center EPT (8:00)

                                 Lighthouse Team (3:45)

Wednesday:           Off

Thursday:               Turkey Time

Friday:                     Off

Monday:                   ??

Tuesday                   LEAD time assemblies by group, Youth Making a Difference topic

Lighthouse Team, 3:45

Wednesday:           IST (8:00)

Planning Team (3:45)

Thursday:               Staff Meting (8:00)

Friday:                     ???

"We are the Champions, my friends!"

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value." ~Albert Einstein

Conferences are often stressful for all of us, including parents and students. We are making judgements about each other and how we're doing. We judge students, students are judged by their teachers, parents and themselves. Parents often feel judged by teachers, while at the same time they are judging teachers and the school. All the judging and concern about how we're doing as parents, students and staff came together as parents and students sought me out to tell me how we're doing.

This year, more than ever before, I had a really difficult time getting out of the building at the end of the conference nights. That was because my head so large from all the compliments parents and students were making all night long to me as I roamed the halls and during the presentations we did for Title I. I have never encountered so many people, people who made it a point of seeking me out, telling me how happy they are to be part of our Cooper community.

Some told tales of teachers who are already making profound differences in their children's lives. Parents saying that the 7 Habits are changing their entire family thanks to Cooper. Some expressed they had reservations about coming to Cooper, but have found it to be, in one parent's assessment, "the best school I have ever imagined a school could be."

Students were talking about how they feel at Cooper. They used words such as valued, listened to, a real home, respected, cared about, wanted, and MY school. As one 5th grader who came to us from another district said to me in front of his mother and father, "Cooper is better than my old school because we're all working together at Cooper."

When we look at 21 Century Skills (go to http://www.skills21.org) and the research on what parents and business wants from schools, communication and collaboration are weaved throughout the needs. The 7 Habits are the foundation for achieving the skills parents and American businesses want for our students. Our students seem to be reporting that we are on our way to meeting their needs for increasing their leadership skills, and that we are winning the battle to become increasingly relevant to students and their families. Parents at Cooper Wednesday and Thursday were genuinely excited to be part of The Leader In Me process, and are proud of their students' involvement in and commitment to Cooper.

We have no Superbowl to achieve, no World Series, no kind of championship to gain in our business that people can look at and say, hey, that school, that staff, is the best. There are few measures of accomplishment over which we can all agree. But the responses of parents to our work toward values, toward inclusion, toward happy, productive students who love school and want to participate in what we're able to offer, needs to be celebrated. We are becoming a staff of success, and it's because we're a staff of value.

It's not trickling down. It's pouring down like sunshine, glimmering with the smiles of our students and their families. Celebrate our success! We are appreciated for all we're doing by the people who matter most! We have created a school where great happens!

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." ~Leonardo da Vinci


BIG ROCKS
The number one big rock is Sarah having her baby boy and everyone being healthy and happy. As of this writing (Friday at noon), Sarah is still waiting, perhaps a little less patiently than earlier in the week. We will blast out the news as soon as we have some. Can't wait to find out this little boy's name!

• Robin sent you all the proposed spending with the new Title I money. Let us know your concerns as soon as possible. We are wanting to get the budget finalized as soon as well can.
• I've heard concerns about students wearing Yoga pants and tighter fitting pants with no cover to their legs. If you share that concern, please let me know We will be putting this on the Planning Team agenda for this week.
• New blinds to replace damaged and mis-installed blinds are expected at the end of this week. Check your ledges along the windows to see if you want to move breakables.
• We are still working on call buttons. Most rooms are all set, but not all are working. If you'd like, you can send us a test of your button check by toggling the button near your drop. If the office answers, you're all set. Just let them know which room you are. If they do not answer, please email me that result! Music room buttons are supposed to be installed this week. Cafe, gym, LMC, lounge, SACC, and conference rooms do not yet have call buttons and no plan for their installation at this time. We're still pushing for them ;)
• Please send and resend any renovation issues you see. We will keep working toward getting everything fixed!
• There are 12'x12' meeting-reading rugs available for your classrooms. We are storing them in room 304 for you to check to see if you'd like one. If you do, please let me know. These rugs should be in place of whatever else you are using for meeting-reading areas. If you use these, we are asking that you not have other rugs in your room. Do not take the rugs out of 304 at this time. They need some prep before they can be used in classrooms. See me if you have questions.
• Did you notice our new stove in the lounge? It's ready for us to use for melting rocks or cooking or baking treats for the principals!
• Angie and Victoria return this Wednesday! We owe a big thank you to Mark Franchi for his work with Victoria's fifth graders during the first marking period. Mark's last day will be Wednesday as he has his crossover time with Victoria. Angie will be helping in the office, and we're still getting to keep Rita to cover RCR students until Sarah's return in January. It will be great to have Victoria and Angie back at Cooper!
• You may be noticing sayings going up on walls around the school. If you have something you'd like to see, let Annette and Lauren know. We can help you make a saying to install outside your room or in your favorite hallway place!
• Our first Work-a-thon of the year is this Friday! We will be working on the building from 4-6:00 with students and families. Feel free to join us! It's time to get these white walls some color!

The Schedule for the Week:

Monday:       7:30 Breakfast with Randy (Terry)

                      8:00-9:30 Principals Advisory Meeting (CO, Terry)

                      1:30-3:00 Data Dig meeting (Hayes, Terry)

                      6:30 TOY reception (CO, Terry and Judy)

                      7:00 BOE meeting...

Tuesday:        No Center IEP this week

                       3:45 Staff Lighthouse meeting

                       Parent Lighthouse meeting

Wednesday:    8:00 IST Meeting

                       3:45 Planning Team

Thursday:        8:00 Staff Meeting

                        6:30 Cooper PTA meeting

Friday:             8:00 Young Adult Book Club

                        4:00-6:00  Work-a-thon

There is surely more! Send me corrections and additions!

The bittersweet-ness of change

“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another.” ~Anatole France

What a great quote! It speaks the changes that occur with each season, as fall dies and becomes winter, only for winter to die and become spring. It speaks to Sarah’s new baby and her new life with a son and having four children rather than three; all the joy of that and all the responsibility. It speaks to my pending retirement, in which I am so sad to be leaving Cooper and so happy to be going to my new life. Thus I have this growing melancholy, which even still has yet to ripen.

Considering retirement is a nearly impossible task. We’ve spent so much time and energy making Cooper what it has become, it’s hard to imagine not being here. I can’t imagine not thinking about and worrying students and staff, about and constantly planning and sorting ideas and considering every issue that rolls in daily.

I know I will need your help getting through all the changes still to come this year. Sarah will be out until mid-January, and then I will go for few or maybe several weeks. Then the year will close as we test students in a new window with another new test. As we think through and imagine, and dream about what it all will be like, it’s great to know we are in this together. Together this staff accomplishes so much so well. The results are like a fabulous sunset: unimaginable even when it’s viewed yet appreciated for the wonder and beauty, and the knowledge that there’s another one tomorrow!

“All changes are more or less tinged with melancholy, for what we are leaving behind is part of ourselves.” ~Amelia Barr

BIG ROCKS

·       The bond renovations at Cooper are nearly complete. Our punch list is now fewer than 40 items! Please continue to send your issues to me via email. Repeats are encouraged and welcome!

·       As promised, here is the link for the tour of i-Ready adaptive diagnostic: http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/iready/diagnostic-instruction.aspx?source=i-ready-product. Check it out and let Robin and me know what you think!

·       It is imperative that teachers walk their classes all the way to the exit out of the gym during dismissal. Then turn your cards to indicate your class has boarded their buses. It’s not enough to walk students to the gym door and leave them go out the gym on their own. Be sure to include these directions in your sub plans!!

·       Some students are missing specials times because they are being held back in classrooms to make up tests or get missed instruction. Please make sure students are allowed to go to specials. Those classes are part of the student curriculum. If you have a special circumstance, please let me know.

·       With Sarah out and before Angie returns, I will be flying solo at Cooper. I will need your help next week with conferences. If you need my assistance, I am happy to sit in. Please let me know by Tuesday if you have a conference you ‘d like support in holding.

·       Speaking of conferences, we asked that you let us know how you were handling student-led conferencing this year. Please make sure you email me with your plans.

This Week At Cooper:

Monday:                

Tuesday:               Veterans Day!

                                    8:00 Center EPT

                                    3:45 LH Team meeting

Wednesday:        Noon Foundation Lunch (Terry)

                                    Conferences, 5:00-8:00

                                    Rocky’s dinner in the lounge

Thursday:              Conferences all day; No students

                                    PTA providing lunch and dinner

Friday:                     No School for any of us!!!!

"In Union there is Strength." Aesop

Wow! What a week that was at Cooper!  There was so much synergizing and hard work that went into making everything happen.  A big thank you to all of the 6th grade teachers and special teachers who stayed to make 6th grade Open House and Curriculum Night such a success.  Thank you to Judy for another terrific Book Fair and all of you for supporting her by buying books and helping to put it up and take it down.

Friday was an incredibly busy day but also full of excitement.  Many of us started the day by sharing passionate views about Sharon Creech's novel The Boy on the Porch.  We can't wait to hear what more students think after teachers give book talks in their classrooms.  Our next book is Loot by Jude Watson that many Cooper students are already reading around the building.

It was fun to watch the Jump Rope Assembly and have the jumpers share how they have to Begin with the End in Mind to improve and work toward their personal goals.  Santi and Erickson wowed the crowd in the second assembly with their jumping skills.  At lunch time, Franklin students shared how to say no to drugs with Cooper students.  Please bring your classes down and have them sign the banner in the Cafe to pledge to say no.

We could not have asked for a nicer day for the Walk-a-thon.  Our leaders did such a wonderful job walking appropriately with friends, sharpening the saw, and practicing proper assembly behavior during the announcements of the goal and prizes.  Thank you to all Cooper staff for collecting funds, pumping up the Walk-a-thon, and supporting our students in meeting our school goal.

Finally, the Cooper Family Fun Night may have been one of the most successful PTA events in Cooper history.  We had over 700 people RSVP for the event and it sure did feel like that many people showed up.  The main goal of the PTA was to create an event to encourage family fun and involvement and they sure did do that.  A big thank you to PTA President Lori O'Dell for all of her hard work and delegation in making this event happen.  Another big thank you to all of the teachers who came to support the Family Fun Night whether in setting up, running a game, cleaning up, mingling, or getting pied in the face.  EEW!  That was so gross but so worth it to see the excitement on the students' faces.  

The success of Cooper and the Leader in Me program truly is due to the hard work that all of you put into it everyday.  We are actively striving to live the 7 Habits at Cooper.  There is a great Facebook page that I (Sarah) have liked called Proactive Coaching.  Although it is directed at coaches, I believe so much of what they have to say applies to what we do everyday.  I often find myself transferring the word "coach" for "teacher" and "team" for "school."  I found this post especially applicable to what we do everyday.  Enjoy.

Ten Traits of Successful Programs
1. Consistent and clear standards and values – Preset team values are the foundation or cornerstones for every successful team. What is your team’s identity? Great teams establish their own culture.
2. The team members feel a collective responsibility to learn and follow the team values – People commit to the team values and live it in their actions. "This is the way we do things around here" is something the team members are proud to express. The feeling is that "we don’t want to do anything that would let down the coaches, the team and each other". Everyone is accountable.
3. Master Teachers – Master Motivators – The first way coach’s gain credibility, respect and trust is how much they know and how well they can teach it. Successful coaches understand the game and their players and how to teach both.
4. Positive role models – Coaches must consistently live the team values in their actions. The seniors are the best examples of team values. In these programs freshmen or sophomores can be told, "If you are not sure how hard to work or how to act in any situation, just watch our seniors and follow their lead". Your older players and most talented players must be your best workers.
5. All roles are valued – When there is relationship based leadership everyone who contributes to the team is shown value. Credit is shared. When all roles are valued, players are more willing to accept roles and teams are more successful.
6. Positive rites of passage – Intentionally created positive traditions provide a path for athletes to be welcomed, and to grow into leadership. Nothing that could be considered hazing is ever present.
7. Consistent performance feedback – Coaches know how to balance praise and correction. Athletes take correction as a compliment – they are coachable.
8. Trust – Players trust each other and their coaches. They trust their training. Mutual trust allows direct, open, honest communication and fearless play.
9. Sense of Urgency – There is a high energy level. Individual and team discipline is visible in the focused attention and focused effort of everyone. Details are important. Only disciplined teams have a chance to win championships.
10. Impact the player’s lives – Players in these programs treasure the experience so much that they carry the lessons and values over beyond the season and into their lives. They build successful teams of their own.

"Lighthouses don't go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand their shining."  Anne Lamott (courtesy of Christine McQuiston)


Schedule for the Week of October 27th:

Monday: Quick Staff Meeting 8:00
              School Improvement Program Evaluation Tool 1:00-4:00 (Sarah and Robin)

Tuesday: Parent Lighthouse Team Meeting 6:00-8:00

Wednesday: Planning Team (QAR visit) 3:45
                    Fall Vocal Concert 7:00

Thursday: Staff Meeting 8:00 (Leveled Library and Short Text Resources)

Friday: Happy Halloween

Another Busy Week...We are making Great happen!

"When leaders take back power, when they act as heroes and saviors, they end up exhausted, overwhelmed, and deeply stressed." Margaret J. Wheatley

Meg Wheatley's quote was written in the context that leaders need to lead from behind, letting others take charge of all they can do. Our jobs are not to take on so much that we act as heroes and saviors. In the language of the 7 Habits, we need to get our priorities straight so we can live in Quadrant 2, the quadrant of important but not immediate. There are so many irons in the fire this week that it can feel overwhelming. Monday is 6th grade open house along with the book fair. We also have Center EPT and LEAD time on Tuesday, IST Wednesday, followed by Leaders Leading Leaders on Thursday along with a staff meeting. Then Friday tops them all with four events: Jump Rope assemblies in the morning, Franklin Leaders at lunch, Walk-a-thon in the afternoon, and Fall Family Fun night in the evening. (Wow! I'm still tired from camp last week!)

To manage all there is to do, we need to help each other as accountability partners to stay on track with our best efforts to plan and place our big rocks in the schedule first, ready to say no to that which does not fit. We'd love to see staff at Friday's Fall Family Fun Night. It will be exciting to see families playing together in the Haunted House, cake walk, pie throw, and more! Seeing students interacting in non-traditional ways enhances our understanding of them. We certainly see that at camp.

A Cooper student (on the ASD spectrum) was asked his favorite part of camp, he said, "I liked the staff best. They care about you even when you don't want them to."

Speaking of camp, 6th grade teachers were able to have Cooper Time at camp this year where they took their own group and planned an activity. The students really enjoyed the camaraderie at camp, and being able to have their teachers be part of it was sensational! LEAD time this week can be a continuation of the camp spirit. Sixth graders can show fifth graders the spirit of camp but not only sharing their camp experiences, but by having fifth graders participate in a camp-style activity similar to what sixth grade teachers provided at camp. Sarah and I would love to see what ideas you are trying during LEAD time to integrate 7 Habits, Leadership Notebook usage, and ideas for making Cooper better.

"When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better." Anonymous

BIG Rocks and announcements this week:

• So many "thank you's" to extend! Sixth grade teachers for making camp the best ever! Robin, Tim, Pam, Bill, Colleen, Tracy, and Julie contributed to fund raising, scheduling, contacts, souvenirs, and much more. It was truly a team effort, and the results were outstanding!
• From 8:30 to 11:00 on Thursday of this week, the Leaders Leading Leaders group consisting of former Galileo members from all over the Metro Detroit area who are now administrators will be meeting at Cooper in the LMC (thank you, Judy!). We will need some students to help guide guests to the LMC. It would be a chance for our Leadership Photographers to take some photos as well. Let me (Terry) know if you have students available. We can use SACC students to help at first.
• Open House for sixth grade is Monday. Parents have been very patient waiting to get in the building. It's important to emphasize the good changes from the renovations along with your presentations.
• Keep the punch list items coming in! Don't be concerned about repeating yourselves!
• Our phones are changing once again. Beginning Tuesday, October 21, all outside calls will be placed by dialing 8 plus all ten digits. No "1" is necessary for any calls, but even local calls will require area codes.
• We have a Jump Rope assembly Friday morning. There will be a sign up in the office for you to select your class time. The assemblies will be in the Gym (Fatino is so awesome!) from 9:00-9:30 and then 9:40-10:10.
• Franklin is sending their "no drugs" messengers to Cooper in Friday at lunch times. Our students will get suckers from the high schoolers. It will be great to see some of our former students!!
• Our Walk-a-thon is Friday, and with camp, pledges have been sluggish. Please help students remember to help with our drive for supporting LIM activities!
• Two issues still occurring around lunch need addressing. Please continue to remind students that hallways are never places for shouting and loud talk. We need to start that right at the beginning of the day when taking students to class. It will help immensely if teachers can set the tone for quiet hallways at the start of school and during lunch times. The other issue is fifth grade lunch times. The second set of lunches and recess start at 12:10, not 12:05. Please continue to supervise your students up to 12:10 in the halls or outside if you're taking them out before 12:10. Pick up times for 6th grade lunch/recess is 12:05. Pick up time for 5th grade lunch/recess is 1:00.
• It is Cooper's turn for a QAR visit this year. We are trying to arrange the times to be outside of the times principals are on leave (see below). We will keep all of you in the loop about the expectations and dates of the visits. The principle function for all of us is to know our responsibilities relative to the Cooper school improvement plan. If you have questions, please see Robin, our school improvement chair, or one of the administrators.
• Sarah will be going on leave soon to have her baby. I, for one, can't wait to find out his name. Sarah is just not telling! The plan is for her to return in mid-January. I am missing her already!
• As many of you may know already, I will be having knee replacement surgery. I am planning to wait until Sarah returns before I go out. The recovery is expected to take 4-6 weeks. Right now I'm looking at the first week of February. That should keep me here for Career Day and back in time for TBOB. Of course all of this is predicated on variables we can't control. Sarah and I are both anticipating the best for our returns from leave. While we're out, someone will be here to help the lone administrator muddle through. We will let you know who when we're solid on the plans. Since we're both planning to take a little time off, we will be getting our evaluations completed earlier than last year. Look for us to be in classrooms often in the next few weeks.

Schedule for the Week of October 13, 2014:
Monday:    Terry B-Fast with Randy, 7:30

                  Sixth Grade Open House/Curriculum Night and Book Fair: 6-8

Tuesday:   Center EPT, 8:00

Wednesday: IST Meeting, 8:00

                     Principal PD meeting (Terry with others) 10:30 at Cooper

                     EPM, 1:00 (Terry and Sarah)

Thursday: Staff Meeting in Lounge, 8:00

                 LLL Meeting in LMC, 8:30-11:00 (Terry and others)

                 Skate Night for students at Riverside Arena

Friday:          Jump Rope Assemblies, 9 and 10:40 in Gym

                     Walk-a-thon, 2:00

                     Family Fun Fall Festival, 7:00-9:00 at Cooper!!

Cooper Staff and Students Light the Way!

"Let Nature Be Your Teacher." William Wordsworth

Camp is here!  It's hard to believe that in just a few hours we will be heading to Howell Nature Center.  With such a crazy start to the school year, we almost didn't think we'd pull it off.  A big thank you to all of you: the fifth grade teachers who helped our sixth graders fundraise, the sixth grade teachers for getting everything ready and going on the grand adventure, Julie for organizing health plans and scholarships, Robin for coordinating with Howell Nature Center and helping with meetings and paperwork, and our fabulous secretaries, Colleen and Pam, for taking care of camp money, medications, and parent questions.  Go Team Cooper!

People question why we still go to camp.  Camp instills important leadership skills.  Students have to make their own choices and are empowered to try to new things.  They synergize with others to accomplish different tasks and build confidence through the knowledge that they are capable of amazing things.

Research shows that both children and adults benefit from increased time in nature.  Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder, argues that due to parental fear, less access to the outdoors, and increased screen time, children are spending less time outdoors which has grave effects on their health.  Increased time in nature has been associated with a reduction in ADHD symptoms, depression, anxiety, and stress.  It also has been shown to increase creativity, self esteem , and overall happiness.  Perhaps this is why we often worry less about some of our more challenging students at camp.  We often have less behavior problems and see more students excel in the outdoor camp environment.  Camp helps us live our mission of "Learning and Leading."            

Big Rocks
Fifth grade teachers have a big night ahead of them as well this week.  Fifth grade Open House and Curriculum Night is this Monday, October 13.  Thank you to all of the fifth grade teachers and special teachers for your hard work and preparation for this event.  Sarah will be present, as Terry will be at camp.

Schedule for the Week of October 13, 2014:
Monday: Backiel, Cohan, Daraskavich, McGlinch, Mansour, Kopacko go to camp.
               Sarah and Terry will follow the 6th graders out to camp.
               Fifth Grade Open House/Curriculum Night and Book Fair: 6-8

Tuesday: Terry at camp.  Sarah will be out in the AM due to doctors' appointments and most likely at
                camp in the afternoon.

Wednesday: First sixth grade group returns to Cooper.
                    Erickson, Lietz, Martin, Spence, Webster, and Kimball go to camp.
                   Terry at camp.  Sarah at Cooper.

Thursday: Title I Meeting at CO with Dr. Spybrook: 8:30-3:45 (Terry, Sarah, Robin, Kathy)
                  PTA Meeting: 6:00 Board, 6:30 All Members
                  No Staff Meeting

Friday: Sixth graders return from camp.  Sarah at Cooper.  Terry at camp.