Music Time

At GMES

Teacher & Student Swap Day

Dear GMES Families,

It's time to, "Do Your Best on the Test!" Everyone has been working all year to support students' learning and we want to know how much they learned. The Smarter Balanced Assessment Comprehensive (SBAC) and Washington Comprehensive Assessment of Science (WCAS-5th Grade Only) tests are our accountability measures from the state of Washington. Ms. Newman posted some information about testing and a few reminders are:

Prioritize rest: Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep each night. A consistent bedtime routine, at least 8 hours of sleep, and limiting screen time before bed can make a big difference.

Fuel their day: Ensure your child eats breakfast on testing days—whether at home or school—to stay focused and energized.

Be on time: The playground and breakfast open at 8:30 AM, and the tardy bell rings at 9:00 AM. Students should be in their classrooms by 9:00 AM so they can begin testing promptly.

Keep up good habits: Continue encouraging your child to read 20 minutes each night and practice multiplication facts.

Follow testing expectations: Cell phones and smart watches must be turned off and stored in backpacks during testing. Use of these devices will invalidate a student’s test and must be reported to the state.  

Sincerely,  

Dan Aragon

The academic calendar contains important dates to know regarding the academic schedule. Also note that we have incorporated non-student day such as teacher preparation days, teacher trainings days and professional development days.

https://www.rochester.wednet.edu/o/rsd/page/academic-student-calendar

There seems to be an epidemic of folks talking negatively about themselves. Kids are not immune to that. Negative self talk can easily become a habit and it can be damaging to self esteem and all over wellness.

 Here are some ways to respond to your child’s negative self talk.

Acknowledge the feeling not the words. By that I mean naming the feeling you can identify what is actually bothering him/her and separate the problem from their self worth.

Next, use humor to see things differently, sometimes exaggerating a problem in a cartoonish manner gets kids to see things from a different perspective.

No surprise here, but using specific praise to show your child how well they are doing and how proud you are of the effort shown is very effective. By telling your child what you have noticed about his efforts you are allowing him to connect to his own positivity to the solution.

Another few things to talk about with your child are having a growth mindset. If you practice a growth mindset and press forward with your goals it will help your children face mistakes and setbacks with you as a role model.  Talking openly about negative self talk can be very important. Generally fear is what the underlying emotion is under the negative attitude or talk. 

Make sure that your household discusses “best failures”. At dinner sit around the table and have everyone share one thing they failed at that day. Celebrate the combined learning that your family is achieving despite setbacks and failures.

Lastly, when kids have a strong, warm home to return to they can explore and experiment because they know they will be loved no matter the results of their efforts. Negative self talk is best extinguished when it is a family goal. If the tone in your house is uplifting and positive then it will be an expectation to rephrase a negative statement or encourage when something negative occurs. Give it a try and see the change it makes.

Mrs. Fayette

mfayette@rochester.wednet.edu

360-858-1825 

With the warmer weather, our elementary students are excited to play, ride bikes, and enjoy the beautiful outdoors! Wearing a properly fitted helmet when riding bikes, scooters, or skateboards is very important to protect growing brains. Research shows that many bicycle injuries involving children occur in familiar, low-speed environments, like driveways, sidewalks, and neighborhood streets close to home. Making helmet use a routine for every ride is just like buckling a seat belt for every car trip.

At school, we also help protect students' growing brains by following a head injury protocol for any bumps or falls. This includes monitoring the student, first aid, and communicating with families. Our Head Injury Letter will also be sent home when appropriate and outlines signs and symptoms to watch for, as well as when to contact your health care provider.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep our students safe, healthy, and active while they enjoy the PNW sunshine! 

Nurse Andrea

GMES Family BBQ:    We are excited to see our families at GMES for our Family BBQ on Tuesday, June 2nd.GMES BBQ Response