April Classroom Guidance

York Kindergarten will be learning about Fair ways to play.  Sharing, trading, and taking turns will help you make and keep your friends.  We will also learn about when we can solve our own problems and when we need help from a teacher.  We will see why tattletales don't have many friends.  Students will also learn to differentiate between good and bad touches. Students will learn that he or she can say “NO” to bad touches, and to talk to a trusted adult in case he or she has this problem.

Jefferson Kindergarten will be learning more friendship skills, how to join in to a group in a friendly way, and we will begin to talk about problem solving.  Students will also learn to differentiate between good and bad touches. Students will learn that he or she can say “NO” to bad touches, and to talk to a trusted adult in case he or she has this problem.

York First Grade will learn about being considerate.  We will talk about how our choices make us who we are and how each day we get to choose to be helpful or hurtful to others. 

Jefferson First Grade will finish playing a game called make your plan.  Students will make a plan that will help them exercise self control when they get angry and upset. 

York and Jefferson Second Grade will revisit how bullies get their power and learn how to take power away effectively.  Students will learn about the power of bystanders to stop bullying. They will learn how bystanders can safely take power away from bullies. We will also read the books One by Kathryn Otoshi and Say Something by Peggy Moss.

Jefferson and York Third Grade will talk about anxiety and how to handle it in light of going to Heritage Intermediate School next year.  Students will get to see a video 4th grade students made on how to get ready for their new school. 

Third grade at Jefferson will also learn to differentiate between good and bad touches. Your child will learn that he or she can say “NO” to bad touches, and to talk to a trusted adult in case he or she has this problem.  We will watch a video called Yes, You Can Say No .

March Classroom Guidance

In Kindergarten at York and Jefferson we will be building on other skills we have learned this year. This month we will learn and practice fair ways to play. (Sharing, trading taking turns) We will also learn about when to get adult help and when you can handle a problem yourself. We will define what tattling is and learn how it can hurt friendships.  We will read Tattlin Madeline by Carol Cummings.


First Grade at York will learn to differentiate between good and bad touches. Your child will learn that he or she can say “NO” to bad touches, and to talk to a trusted adult in case he or she has this problem.

First Grade at Jefferson will learn more about self control. They will focus on making a personal plan that they can use when they get upset so that they can solve problems instead of making them bigger. We will play an interactive game together called What Would You Do? .

Second Grade at Jefferson will learn about the power of bystanders to stop bullying. They will learn how bystanders can safely take power away from bullies. We will also read the books One by Kathryn Otoshi and Say Something by Peggy Moss.

Second Grade at York will learn about the importance of telling the truth and how telling the truth or not telling the truth shapes your reputation.

Third Grade at York will be learning about being a hero in the hallway and doing the right thing when others don't.

Third Grade at Jefferson will finish learning about goal setting and effort and begin to learn more about why bullying is hurtful and what to do about it.

January Guidance

Jefferson and York Kindergarten:


We will be building on all that we learned so far about feelings and how to calm down from strong feelings.
This month we will learn strategies to stay out of fights.  We will talk about the importance of using steps like:  1) Stop and Think  2) Talk and Listen and 3) Solve the Problem.

First Grade Jefferson and York:
We are going to learn about tattling.  What is it?  When can I solve the problem myself and when do I need help from an adult?  How does being a tattle tale affect how many friends I have?   Why is it good to learn to solve problems myself?  What is the difference between a tattletale and a reporter?  We will also read the books Tattlin Madeline and Don't Squeal Unless It's a Big Deal: A Tale of Tattletales.

Second Grade York
We will learn about conflicts and conflict resolution skills.  What makes conflicts bigger and what makes them smaller?  What can I do to stay in control when I have a conflict with my friends? 


Second Grade Jefferson:
We will read Simon's Hook and learn 5 effective ways to handle teasing. Each student will make a specific plan to handle teasing in an effective way.


Third Grade: York and Jefferson:

We will learn about conflicts and conflict resolution skills. What makes conflicts bigger and what makes them smaller? What can I do to stay in control when I have a conflict with my friends?

December Guidance

Jefferson and York Kindergarten: 

We are learning ways to calm down from strong feelings
Deep breaths, counting, and self talk.  We are seeing why we need these strategies, how they help us, and practicing them.  This helps us to be more likely to use them when we need to stay in control.  We are also learning that staying in control helps you have more friends and do better in school.

First Grade York:

We are reading The Band Aid Chicken and talking about bullying and resisting peer pressure.  We will also make puppets together.

First Grade Jefferson:

We are learning effective ways students can cool off when they are angry.  We will watch and discuss 10 ways to cool off and begin to talk about ways to handle a bully. 

Second Grade York: 

We will read Simon's Hook and learn 5 effective ways to handle teasing. Each student will make a specific plan to handle teasing in an effective way. 

Second Grade Jefferson:

We will talk about being a person you can be proud of, being a strong leader, and ways to make a positive difference in your school.  We will watch part of the video "The Power of One" called "Diego's Lesson". 

Third Grade: York and Jefferson:

We will learn more about bullying and what role a bystander plays.  We will watch the Movie "Names will Never Hurt Me" and discuss effect ways to take power away from bullys safely and without being mean. 

November Classroom Guidance

Jefferson and York Kindergarten: We are learning about how to calm down from strong feelings. We also learned some ways to tell if something was an accident or if it was done on purpose and how to respond appropriately. We learned and practiced how to say we are sorry when we need to.

Jefferson First Grade: We are learning about social skills and how they are like rules for friendships. We are learning and practicing how to ask a new friend to play, and ways to handle rejection. We are also learning about anger and how to calm down.

York First Grade:  We are learning about strong feelings like anger and how to calm down effectively.

Jefferson Second Grade: We are learning problem-solving steps. We are seeing that we shouldn't always do the first thing that pops into our heads.  We are learning what helps to solve problems and what won’t work.

York Second Grade: We are learning how powerful our words are and why we should be careful with them.

Jefferson and York Third Grade: We spent a lot of time learning about anger and proven strategies to stay in control. We are also understanding the connection of how the thoughts we think can make our anger bigger or smaller.

October 2012

This Month in Guidance we are learning many things that can help us be better prepared to learn academically.


In Kindergarten we have been talking about feelings and why they are important. We have been practicing "reading" other people’s feelings. Research shows if children can "read" other children’s emotions in various social situations they are more likely to make good choices, and be successful at making friends.

In First Grade at both schools we are learning about feelings. We have focused on how what we say and do make other people feel certain ways. We have learned every day you make yourself look friendly or mean by what you say and do. At York also talked about bullying. What is it and where do bullies get their power from? We also learned ways we can work together to take power away from bullies. At Jefferson we are learning how to predict the feelings of others. We are learning what to do when you and your friend are playing and their feelings change to be different than yours. How can you be a good friend and keep your friends?

In Second Grade at both schools we will be learning about how powerful are words are. We will see how our words change what other people think and feel about us. We will also begin learning about staying in control when our feelings get really strong. We will learn strategies that students can use to calm down.

In Third Grade at Jefferson we will begin to study strong feelings of anger.  We will clearly see how you can make choices that allow you to stay in control.  We will learn that even when you don't feel like it, you can control your anger. At York we will be exploring how making excuses instead of taking responsibility can cause problems in your life. Students will learn the importance of stepping up and taking responsibility for their work and their actions.

September 2012

In Kindergarten and First Grade at York and Jefferson: we are starting to learn about feelings.  Reasearch shows that kids who can tell how other kids are feeling (reading social situations) have more friends and are more successful in school.  Together we are studying how to read facial expressions and body language. 

In Second Grade at Jefferson: we will be learning empathy training and exploring why it helps to be careful with our words.  We will see how our words impact other people and how that in turn can impact us.

In Second Grade and Third Grade at York: we will learn about bullying.  We will talk about what makes something bullying and how to respond to it.  We will see that bullys get their power from the people around them.  We will learn ways to work together to take power away from bullys.

In Third Grade at Jefferson: we are learning strategies for taking responsibility and the importance of not making excuses for poor choices.