Weekly Highlights
This week we mostly focused on the curriculum through Middle Way House and our new Writers Workshop unit.
Our work with Middle Way House focused on a few different threads: gender, power & control, unhealthy/healthy relationships, and bystander intervention. Students learned and worked through much of this with our facilitator, Sam. They connected students with ways to get help for themselves or for a friend. We also learned about consent and the times in the 5th/6th grader’s life when we may need to get consent (hanging out, playing a rough game, hugging). A huge takeaway from the 5/6 teaching team was that our students have many, many questions about violence, relationships, and gender. The bulk of each 90 minute session was spent on the complex ways students are envisioning the world around them.
A summary, sent by Prevention Educator Sam, is below:
- violence at home and at school
- stranger violence (shooting)
- accountability (what to do if you’re causing harm)
- suicide and self-harm
- fear of reporting harm or not knowing who to report to
- friendship (breaks and endings)
- definitions or word meanings
- gender stereotypes, gender identity, and sex
If you have any followup questions for TPS teachers, please email us and we can help.
In CPR, we have been studying trust. After defining what trust is and feels like, students reflected on the adults they have in their life that they feel they can trust. We also explored trust as a class, doing some activities to bring our own trust for one another, together.
Our writing work is a combo – we are learning to write persuasive letters as well as teaching conventions. Students are choosing two perspectives that disagree on an opinion. They are writing a friendly correspondence that justifies each position. We are also working in small groups to learn about commas.
Announcements
We will be going to see Peter Pan on December 21st. Please send in $6.50 for your child to attend. No child will be excluded based on an inability to pay. Donations for others welcome. We’ll be collecting this money for the weeks leading up to Peter Pan. We are so excited to see this Cardinal Stage production.
Please send Ms. Kalei or have students bring in pictures of pets this week. We’ll be doing some work with animals and joy on Friday.
Questions to Ask Your Child at Home:
- What was a takeaway for you from this week with Sam? (Students responded on Fresh Grade to three separate prompts related to Middle Way House, they may need to look at their portfolio to remind them).
- What are the two perspectives you are writing about in Writers Workshop?
- What is a situation in which you may need someone’s consent?
- How can you intervene when you see bullying?
The Weekly Scoop 