The dictionary defines Symbiosis as an interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both and as a mutually beneficial relationship between different people or groups. We felt this noun perfectly captured what we hope this blog will be for our KRMS community.
Example: The relationship between cattle egrets and cattle. The cattle egret will eat insects that have been disturbed when the cattle forage.
One of my favorite experiences so far at KRMS has been Winter Activities. Research overwhelmingly touts the benefits of physical activity and engaging with the outdoors, especially for kids. We are so fortunate that the tradition of Winter Activities is one that has lasted through the years and is supported by the schools, community, and the school board.
During Winter Activities, students at KRMS have the opportunity to select from a variety of activities, indoors and out, such as skiing, snowboarding, ice fishing, snowshoeing, ice skating, outdoor “hodgepodge,” indoor “hodgepodge,” cooking, board games, yoga, and “winter zen.”
I have spent the last three weeks at Mt. Sunapee with our skiers and snowboarders. Each Tuesday, we load four busses with 165 excited students and head for the mountain. I am so impressed with the level of comfort and talent of many of our students and proud of the students who are trying a new sport for the first time.
Some of my best moments on the mountain and some of the biggest smiles I’ve witnessed have been watching students, primarily from our Gateway program, in the New England Healing Sports Association (NHESA) program. NHESA is a non-profit program staffed by volunteers that provides adaptive ski and snowboard lessons to people of all ages with disabilities. The instructors utilize specialized equipment to provide a safe, and structured environment for our students to engage with the activities. You can learn more about the amazing work NHESA does at their website: http://nehsa.org/.
I would love to learn more about the history of Winter Activities and the Kearsarge Regional School District. If you know the story of how it all got started, please send me an email: acostanzo@kearsarge.org.
At a recent staff meeting, we had a mini-lesson on Mindfulness from veteran teacher Ms. Heidi Clarke. Ms. Clarke uses mindfulness techniques on a daily basis with her 6th graders and has noted a reduction in the number of discipline issues and an increase in the amount of time on task.
A few days after the meeting, Heidi shared a video with us called Why Aren't We Teaching You Mindfulness. The video is 14 minutes long. It is totally worth your time.
Please view it and then come back and finish reading this post.
In the video, AnneMarie Rossi mentions that the most important factor in future success is self-control. She talks about the fact that the ability to focus on one thing at a time is a skill and it takes practice. Being able to focus doesn't happen automagically.
Another really interesting thing Ms. Rossi said was:
"Mindfulness is the space between our emotions
and our reactions
so that we can think first."
From a technology perspective, this made me think of email flames. You know what I mean, it's those snarky, sarcastic emails we fire off because we are angry. Mindfulness would be waiting 24 hours before responding to an email. Often times, it's a misunderstanding that is now worse because of the angry response. The 24 hour waiting period would give us that time we need to think.
Here are some strategies:
1. Craft your email but choose to leave it as a draft. This allows you to vent and get it out of your system. Then wait 24 hours, read it again and see if it really needs to be sent.
2. Wait 24 hours and then speak to the person face to face the next day. If you can't face the person to say what you want to say, then it probably shouldn't be said.
3. Filter! Not everything you think in your head has to actually be said out loud.
4. Set up an undo send on your email. In Gmail, you can undo the send for up to 30 seconds. This isn't much time to think but it's the best Gmail offers at the present time.
Something else I thought of were some chrome extension that you can put on your computer to assist you in staying focused on the task at hand. Richard Byrne wrote this excellent post on staying focused. He recommends StayFocused and ReCall Study Time as options. Both of these chrome extensions allow the user to set up some restrictions on browsing social media or other websites for a specific amount of time with the idea that the person would focus on completing a task while the websites chosen by the user are blocked. What I like about this is that the user is the one who chooses to set up the blocking. This is an important step in learning self-control.
Apple came out with something called Screen Time in iOS 12. This allows parents to set up screen time limits for themselves and their children on iPods, iPhones and iPads. Link here to learn how to set this up on your iPhone. Sometimes children need help with self-control by having the restrictions set by parents.
Technology isn't the issue. The issue is our inability to control our use of technology. It's important to recognize that self-control around technology use is going to take lots of practice. As a parent, you have to be the leader. This means you have to be a role model and control your own use of technology. It also means that you have to help set boundaries or family rules and then enforce these rules. This is not going to make you very popular, but parenting isn't a popularity contest.
When I was growing up, my mom had a rule that was called: "9 to 9 and never on Sunday." This rule was related to the use of the telephone. Full disclosure, this was back when the phones were
rotary phones and were not cordless.
If the phone rang after 9 PM, I would be in a panic in my bedroom hoping the call was not for me. My mom would not give me the easy way out. If the call was for me, I would have to take the phone and tell the person on the other end that I was not allowed to talk on the phone after 9 PM. This resulted in some awkward moments the next day in school. I was in high school for goodness sake. I was frustrated back in the day, but I have come to cherish that memory of learning self-control. My mom did not waver in her conviction that families should have quiet time in the evenings and quality time together on Sundays.
This rule stuck with me for over 40 years and when my own phone rings after 9 PM, it makes me sad that people haven't learned to respect this quiet time that everyone should have. Since I have caller ID, I simply don't answer.
So, let me begin by admitting, I am a worrier. Always have
been, and I expect, always will be. These days we call it anxiety, but
when I was growing up, I was just considered a big worrier. My mom said
it's because I care very much about things, which made me feel like it was a
good thing! These days I worry a lot about ... your children (and my
children). I worry that our digital age is wreaking havoc on our young
people's hearts and minds, and I get incredibly overwhelmed in trying to figure
out how to make it better. It is an issue that is waaaaaay bigger than
any one person, so I am trying to look at how we at KRMS can help in any small
way possible. I feel that a big step in the right direction was our
updated cellphone policy that I spoke about in my last blog post on December 3
.... if you missed it, be sure to check it out. My next focus is on the
issue of cellphones in our children's bedrooms, so here I go.
Sleep. Sweet, beautiful,
brain growing, re-energizing, immune boosting, stress relieving, hormone
balancing, cell repairing sleep. Our children are not getting enough of
it, and it is affecting their well-being in all kinds of ways. (Please
look here to read about what I, as a School Counselor, am
seeing as a result of sleep deprivation.) Let's start by acknowledging
that a middle schooler's sleep pattern is in flux -- when boys and girls hit
puberty, their biological clock shifts to a preference for evenings, and this
shift will last until about age 20. During this phase, melatonin
production (the sleep hormone) is produced later in the evenings - usually
around 10:30 or 11:00, and remains elevated later in the mornings, which is why
adolescents are so difficult to wake up! To compare it to us adults, an
adolescent waking up at 6:30am is comparable to an adult having to wake up at
4:30am or earlier. (I have more compassion for my teenage boys
already.) Our middle schoolers need from 9 to 11 hours of sleep a night,
and from the conversations I have with students, most kids are getting at
least 2 hours less than that a night.
The biological clock shift is
certainly a culprit, but I am concerned about the effect that screen time has
on our kids' sleep habits. It's not just the irresistible pull of Instagram,
SnapChat, TickTock, Twitter, YouTube, etc, etc that is keeping our kids up
later, it is the blue light that is emitted from our electronics that is a
problem as well. When the blue light frequency hits receptors in the eye,
a signal is sent to the brain which suppresses the production of
melatonin and keeps a child from feeling tired. I know many
students who take melatonin supplements to help them fall asleep and stay
asleep ... maybe we can help their bodies produce it more effectively to begin
with by limiting their exposure to screens in the evenings. Kids are up
at all hours of the night chatting, checking social media, or using the
internet, unable to limit themselves from these distractions, and creating a
stimulating environment which inhibits their ability to fall asleep. If
you have not done so already, it is time to develop some enforceable limits
around technology and sleep.
A very reasonable and
easy-to-enforce rule is to have your child charge her phone (or other device) overnight outside
of the bedroom. I know many families who have a family charging
station in the kitchen where everyone parks their respective devices for the
evening. Not only does this keep them from the middle-of-the-night
texting that can really throw off a person's sleep, but it keeps that blue
light from emitting in their room. You are likely to hear the argument
that they need to listen to music to fall asleep, or they need it for their
alarm ... but honestly, it was not that long ago that we had to ability to
listen to music or set an alarm without the invention of the smartphone.
I'm willing to bet you have that old school technology lying around somewhere
in your house, and if not, it's awfully cheap nowadays. It's definitely
worth it to get an alternative in your child's room.
All of that being said, any
top-down directive will likely be met with resistance. It is always a
good idea to involve your middle schooler in setting up these new rules around
a sleep plan, keeping in mind that you cannot force your child to sleep.
Having a conversation about the bigger picture - what kinds of things your
child wants to achieve in life, and how those things are fueled by sleep - can
bring you together on what is reasonable and why. And maybe, just maybe,
you can work towards making bedrooms device-free altogether :-)
There is a Tech Talk Tuesday
blog post on this same topic that you can read here. Sleep deprivation is such a serious concern
that I am seeing so much more of ... please talk to me if you need help in
addressing this issue with your child. And please share any ideas or
successes you may have in the Comments section!! Thank you!
Many teachers at KRMS use Google Classroom with students. This technology tool allows students to have assignments all in one place for easy reference. When a student joins a Google Classroom, a new folder is created automatically in Google Drive. All files from that Google Classroom are stored automatically in this folder. Google Classroom has a built in calendar for students with due dates and students are able to turn in assignments directly in Google Classroom. Google Classroom allows for an efficient work flow management solution for both students and teachers.
About two years ago, Google Classroom added a way for parents/guardians to obtain some information directly from Google Classroom. This feature is called Guardian summaries. By default this feature is turned off so that teachers can make the decision to turn it on. Once it is turned on, parents/guardians can be invited to the Google Classroom. If the guardian accepts the invite, then the guardian will receive either a daily (Monday-Friday) or weekly summary. The choice of whether the summary is daily or weekly is up to the guardian.
You've Got Email!
If a student has late work, this will be part of the email summary sent to that guardian. Guardians will also know about upcoming assignments that have been posted. Guardians will also see any instructions given by the teacher about the assignment. Then parents/guardians can have a clear and specific conversation about the assignment with their children about this work.
Link here to see what Google offers to the Guardians via this email summary.
Teachers are already posting student assignments and instructions in Google Classroom. The goal is to have parents/guardians accept the invite to eliminate the need for the teachers to make additional postings about assignments on their websites and also offer parents/guardians with a window into the classroom. This keeps the parents/guardians in the loop.
Recently, our trusty guidance secretary, Juliet Valela, began the arduous process of inviting every parent/guardian using the email listed in PowerSchool to our YOG (year of graduation) Google Classrooms. These Google Classrooms are used by KRMS for summer reading assignments and digital portfolio assignments.
Here is another great thing about Guardian summaries. Once parents/guardians accept the invite, they will be able to receive Guardian summaries from every Google Classroom that their child is invited to provided that the teacher has turned on the Guardian summaries option. This is a great way for parents/guardians to stay in the loop and offer some assistance to their children by encouraging them to meet deadlines. When a parent/guardian can mention the assignment by name because it was listed in the email summary, it can help the conversation be more specific about the actual assignment.
If you receive an invite from Juliet Valela for a YOG Google Classroom, please consider accepting it.
If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below or contact Laurie Prewandowski at lprewandowski@kearsarge.org
If you head to any energy drink website, I think you will find images that are appealing. Famous athletes and music groups who endorse the drink. Statements about health benefits, and/or weight loss benefits. Flavors that are enticing to all age groups.
Most energy drinks contain large amounts of caffeine, sugar and other substances. The amount of caffeine and other ingredients vary, so label reading is important.
As we know, Caffeine can provide a temporary energy boost. This boost is short-lived, usually leaving the person feeling tired, and thinking they need another one to get them out of the slump. Hence the "addiction" to these drinks.
Too much caffeine, or caffeine-like substances, can lead to:
Nervousness/ Anxiety
Irritability
Insomnia: Disrupts teens sleep patterns
Digestive problems
Dehydration
Damage to children's still-developing cardiovascular and nervous systems
Rapid heartbeat or heart rhythm disturbances
Increased blood pressure
Monster, Rockstar, Kick Start, and Amp seem to be popular. I was floored with all of the options! Redline (one I had never heard of), seems to have the most caffeine, at a whopping, 250mg of in one can! From what I have read, one cup of Joe has between 45-95 mg of caffeine. So, these drinks certainly pack a punch!
Please check out these product links and weigh in? What do you think about this?
Hopefully you have seen the notification about our
updated policy regarding cell phone use in school.Our Handbook now states:
Personal Electronic Devices – The use of personal electronic devices (cell phones, ipods,
etc.) during the school day (7:35-2:32) is prohibited. Students needing
to contact their parents must go to the main office.All personal electronic devices must be kept
in a student’s locker during the school day. Cell phones and other
personal electronic devices may be used before school and on the bus; however,
the taking of video and still pictures is prohibited. Use of all electronic
devices, personal or school, during anytime at school or a school event is
subject to the KRSD
Responsible Use Policy.
The viewing of videos or playing video games with content inappropriate
for school is not allowed at anytime.
Personal Electronic Devices may
not be used at any other times during the school day (7:35am-2:32pm),
including in the hallway and cafeteria.
I, for one, am very glad for the change.As a School Counselor, I deal with multiple
issues that stem from situations regarding cell phones each day – whether it be
something hurtful posted on social media; lack of sleep due to the use of a
tech device at all hours of the night; struggling to keep up with academics due
to the incredibly strong distraction of a phone (even with notifications turned
off!); and even serious stress due to
the constant comparing of oneself to others’ online presence.Even though students may be upset about this
policy change, I believe there is a certain amount of relief that will be felt
in having a break from that pull
during the school day.I think it is
fair to say that we all can struggle
with maintaining balance with our technology use, and to expect a child to make
good decisions with unsupervised use is not realistic.Some of the greatest minds in the world are
designing these devices to draw us in more and more … and while I know our
students are amazing, I don’t think it’s fair to expect them to
self-regulate.They need help.Those pre-frontal cortexes of theirs have
another 10 to 15 years to fully develop!Hence, our updated policy.
Along this line, I subscribe to some great blogs
regarding technology use that I highly recommend.One that I have mentioned before is Tech Talk
Tuesdays, that I discovered through the Screenagers website.There was a recent post that addressed tech
use in schools that you can check out here.Another fantastic resource is the Wait Until
Eighth blog, which encourages parents to wait until at least 8th grade to
allow their child to have a smartphone.There is a post from last April entitled “Why Phones Don’t Belong in
School” that does a beautiful job of explaining the reasoning behind our new
policy.It’s a quick read if you’d like
to check it out here.And finally, one of our teachers recently
shared another blog post from Wait Until Eighth that powerfully illustrates the
everyday impact our digital age can have on a student.The blog post, entitled “Middle School
Misfortunes Then and Now, One Teacher’s Take” can be read here.I strongly encourage this read!
As always, we would absolutely love to hear your
thoughts regarding our posts here on Symbiosis!!Please share.JWe know that cell phone use in schools can be
a charged topic, so feedback is especially welcome.Thank you!
Vape devices and e-cigarettes are electronic devices that simulate smoking. Instead of containing tobacco, these devices contain a flavored liquid that turns into a vapor when heated and is then inhaled. The act of using these devices is referred to as vaping.
There is a specific brand of vape device called a Juul. Juuls are smaller than most e-cigarettes or vape devices and also don't produce the same distinct white vapor. Juuls look a lot like small flash drives and can be easily concealed. Juuling is much more difficult to detect than traditional vaping and is an issue in schools across the country.
Who is vaping?
Vaping is a trend that has become attractive to teens and young adults. In a 2017 National Institutes of Health Study, 18.5% of the 8th graders surveyed reported trying vaping. Of those students, 13.3% had vaped in the past year.
Vaping is dangerous, especially for young adults.
Many young adults report misconceptions about vape devices and e-cigarettes; they are under the impression that the liquid is merely flavored water. The vapor pods used in these devices do contain flavoring that appeals to teens such as watermelon or cotton candy, but they also contain dangerous chemicals including nicotine. Some early studies have shown that the chemicals in vapor pods are carcinogenic and can also cause “popcorn lung” which is when the lungs are scarred and damaged.
SAVE THE DATE!
Breathe New Hampshire will be sharing a presentation titled Vaping Unveiled with the Kearsarge community.
January 8, 2018
at 6:30 pm
Kearsarge Regional High School Auditorium
The presentation will cover topics such as:
What are e-cigs/vapes
Dangers of nicotine
Vaping by the numbers
Popular products among youth/teens
Local policies
Resources
For more information or to RSVP please contact Laura Newman, assistant principal at KRHS: lnewman@kearsarge.org
One of my favorite experiences so far at KRMS has been Winter Activities. Research overwhelmingly touts the benefits of physical activity and engaging with the outdoors, especially for kids. We are so fortunate that the tradition of Winter Activities is one that has lasted through the years and is supported by the schools, community, and the school board. 
