6th Grade
On Friday during the Plus Period, 6th grade students provided feedback about their social media use that will now be used to design "Digital Citizenship" lessons. Our first lesson will be this Friday, agian during Plus Period. Students will be discussing how to be safe, respectful and compassionate online, as well as how to respond when someone else is not using social media appropriately. Here are the highlights of our 6th graders responses:
- The most frequently used social media sites are: YouTube (76%), Instagram (55%), Snapchat (23%), Pinterest (22%) and Vine (16%). Others that made the list with under 10% usage include: Kik, Twitter, Tumblr, and Wishbone
- 9% of 6th graders do not use social media at all
- Of those that do use social media, most of them (42%) are checking it 1-2 times per day. 28% check 3-4 times per day, 16% check less than once a day and 13% are checking 5 or more times
- The most commonly seen hurtful communication our 6th graders encounter online is exclusion of others (44%), then rumors about other people (35%), next is conflicts between others (32%), followed by teasing/name calling (23.5%). 12% of students reported witnessing targeted bullying of others. When asked if any of these things were ever directed at them, 9% of our students felt they had been excluded online, 3% had seen rumors about themselves, 3% had online conflicts with themselves and another person, and 3% felt they had been a target of bullying.
This Friday (and during subsequent lessons if needed) we'll discuss how to respond to online exclusion, name calling, rumors, conflict and bullying - whether it's directed at you or someone else. A great resource, that I'll be using as well, is nsteens.org.
Next Monday and Tuesday our 6th grade will meet for their first Wellness lessons. The topic will be focusing on what it means to have a growth mindset and the science of how the brain learns. Stay tuned for more information!
7th Grade
Last Thursday during advisory time all 7th grade students met with Mrs. Viene and Mr. Bartelli to clean up their Google Drive. Students were guided through what to do with documents from 6th grade. Through this session, the aim was to help students develop strategies to manage their school responsibilities and to become skilled at using the iPad as an academic resource. These abilities contribute to a student having a positive academic self-concept that will allow him/her to be a self-directed and independent learner.
Wellness lessons will begin for the 7th grade on September 23rd. Their first topic for discussion will be around what it means to have a fixed mindset vs. a growth mindset. We'll discuss how changing your thinking can impact your performance in school, sports and activities. I'll update with more information after the lessons occur.
8th Grade
8th graders were asked to do something a bit unusual during this past Thursday's advisory rotations; they were asked to Google their name. Many students found pictures of themselves and family members, past class projects, news stories in which their name or family member's name was included, and, of course, things that were not related to them at all. After the searching, we dove into conversation about what it means to have a "digital identity" and how to influence your online persona. This led to a conversation about privacy settings and care in what you post, comment on, or "like" online. Students were encouraged to search their name often, both on Google and in various social media sites, so as to be aware of what is associated with their name in cyberspace.
This Thursday our 8th grade students will meet for their first Wellness lessons. We will have a speaker from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Kansas City (NAMI-KC http://www.namikc.org/) here to speak with the students about suicide prevention. Specifically they will teach the "Signs of Suicide" program, a research-based prevention program focusing on teaching what to look for in others that might indicate that they could harm themselves. The program goes further in providing strategies to intervene and get help for anyone you might be concerned about. I will be sure to include follow up information in my blog next week. For now you can read more at this website:Signs of Suicide Evidence Based Practice. This presentation is happening in September as it is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. To learn more about this campaign and/or the warning signs of suicide, go to this link: Suicide Awareness Prevention.
All Grades
Congrats to Longhofer advisory on their victory in the Advisory Door Decoration contest!
All students are invited to volunteer on Sunday September 20 at the PHS watertable in the Broadway Bridge Run benefiting Special Olympics. We'll be handing out water to the passing half marathon runners and cheering them on! The run begins at 7:00 so volunteers will need to arrive prior to that time, but I expect we'll be done before 11:00 am. Students wishing to volunteer should talk with me, Mrs. Kobolt.
Students who complete 50-100+ hours of community service this school year before April will be eligible to apply for a Presidential Service Award (http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/the-award). Students should see me to complete their documentation and have their hours approved. Students will hear about this opportunity at the school-wide assembly on Thursday. Another award that students might be interested in is the Prudential Spirit of Community Award. Applications for this award are due November 3 of this year.
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