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September 22, 2017

Good afternoon-

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  The weather certainly helped make it an enjoyable one.  It looks like it will be a hot week.  Please feel free to use fans in your rooms as long as you keep students away from them.  This was the directive from Facilities last year. 

I will be out of the building this week on Tuesday (tomorrow) on a personal day and Thursday for a professional day learning about the new NEASC process.  Please feel free to reach out to me by email either day.  

If you are a study hall teacher and have students that want to use the courtyard please send them with a pass to the main office.  They will sign out from there.  We will limit the number of students so may send some back if the numbers get to big (this hasn't happened yet).

You have received the Back to School Night schedule from Lauren.  Each period is 8 minutes, slightly shorter than our usual 10 minutes.  I will be reminding parents that this is a night for them to hear about curriculum and class expectations and to refrain from conversations about individuals.  



Seven Phrases To Calm an Anxious Child
It happens to every child (and adult) in one form or another – anxiety. We would like to shield our children from life’s anxious moments, but navigating anxiety is a valuable life skill.  In the heat of the moment, try these simple phrases to help your children identify, accept, and work through their anxious moments.


  1. “Can you draw it?” Drawing, painting or doodling about an anxiety provides kids with an outlet for their feelings when they can’t use their words.
  2. “I love you. You are safe.”
  3. “Let’s count _____.”  Counting the number of people wearing hats, the number of tiles on the floor, or the number of kids in the room requires observation and thought, both of which detract from the anxiety your child is feeling.
  4. “I get scared/nervous/anxious sometimes too. It’s no fun.”   
  5. “If you gave your­­ feeling a color, what would it be?” Asking your child to say how they feel with a color, gives them a chance to think about how they feel relative to something simple. Follow up by asking why their feeling is that color.
  6. “Let’s have a debate.”  Older children especially love this exercise because they have permission to debate their parent. Have a point, counter-point style debate about the reasons for their anxiety. You may learn a lot about their reasoning in the process.  
  7. “Let me hold you.”  Physical contact provides a chance for your child to relax and feel safe

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