Student Drop Off Safety

Please ensure when you are dropping off your student at the front office that you exit your vehicle and walk your student to the door. If you would prefer not to exit your vehicle, students will need to be dropped off via the car rider line between 7:00 – 7:24 am. If we notice a student continuously walking to the front by themselves, we will be reaching out to discuss the matter.

Volunteer Guidelines

Suyapa Gomez- Family Engagement Ambassador

Parents/ Guardians throughout the year we will have great volunteering opportunities. Please review the following guidelines:

• Volunteering Opportunities will be posted in ClassDojo and in this section of our Newsletter.
• To be considered for volunteering you will be required to submit a registration form. Those links will be provided as opportunities become available.
•  A background check is Required. The link will be shared with you if you have been selected to volunteer.
• Although we would love to accommodate everyone, sometimes we have a tremendous number of people interested. Please note volunteers are selected on a first come first served basis.
• Please direct questions or concerns to our Family Fellow – Leslie Rodriguez, via email at leslief.rodriguez@yesprep.org

Current Volunteer Opportunities

We have an ongoing opportunity to help our teachers, we need volunteers daily. You may select the days and times you can volunteer on our registration form. Volunteers can support creating instructional materials such as making copies, laminating, cutting, creating folders, flash card, etc.  You will not be able to volunteer inside classrooms. Please follow this link to register.

https://forms.office.com/r/cJQ294CczG

Classroom Connections

For Class Connection this week students covered Lesson 2.4 - Having Empathy. Students discussed what it means to have empathy for someone, and brainstormed ways to show empathy and caring to someone in different situations. Coming up is Lesson 2.5 - Understanding Stereotypes About People.  

SEL Learning

Empathy and Critical Thinking Unit

Dear Parent, Guardian, or Caretaker,

We are starting a unit on Empathy and Critical Thinking with Harmony SEL, our social and emotional learning program. Throughout this unit, students will have opportunities to learn about feelings, empathy, and stereotypes, and put that knowledge into practice.

Feelings will be explored in depth in this unit. Students will learn how to recognize feelings, understand how to predict or explain feelings based on events, and also explore how feelings affect our behaviors. These skills help students have a greater understanding of themselves and others.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings. Based on their understanding of feelings, students will practice ways to show empathy and caring to people in different situations. Responding in an empathetic manner helps students create deeper relationships and avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Stereotypes can be about people, objects, activities, and roles. They lead to assumptions that prevent us from knowing what other people are like or what alternatives could be open to us. Students will learn how to recognize and challenge stereotypes, including stereotypes about themselves. Students will practice “caterpillar thoughts” that embrace change (If I work hard, I can get better at spelling), rather than “worm thoughts” that assume we will stay the same no matter what (I will always be bad at spelling).

An important part of this program is for students to continue discussing and practicing concepts outside the classroom. I’m hoping you can reinforce at home what we are learning in class. Ask your child about these concepts!

Thank you for your involvement. Please contact me if you have any questions about the Harmony program

Sincerely,

Eunice Arzate, SSC

Home-to-School Connections: Home Activities

Empathy and Critical Thinking Unit

Your child is learning about Empathy and Critical Thinking with Harmony SEL, our social and emotional learning program. The ideas below will reinforce what we are learning in school—there are activities to play, topics to discuss, and behaviors to role model. These are all designed to fit into your daily routine and provide opportunities to further connect with your child.

Recognizing Feelings

• Use a wide range of emotion labels to help your child describe his or her feelings and to rate the intensity of these emotional reactions.
•  Happy with a pizza party, happier with a birthday party, happiest with a new pet.
• When watching a television show or movie, mute the volume and try to identify how the characters are feeling. Talk with your child about the physical or situational cues that help determine each person’s emotions.

Predicting and Explaining Feelings

• While reading books together, pause throughout the story and invite your child to think ahead and predict how the character might feel next, or think back to which events or thoughts could explain some of the character’s feelings.
• Talk with your child about the different ways people react emotionally to different situations. For example, discuss how each of you (or other family members) would feel in different scenarios and why your feelings are the same or different.
• You are about to read something that you wrote in front of a big group of people.
• You are about to take off on the runway in an airplane.
• You have nothing to do for the next hour.
• You just finished a really hard puzzle.
• A neighbor’s cat climbs onto your lap.
• Someone tells you that you did a great job.
• Help your child notice clues about why someone feels a certain way by pointing someone out.
• That child is standing all alone at the edge of the playground, but there are a lot of kids playing on the swing set. Why do you think she looks so sad?    

Relating Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors

• Help your children be mindful of their thinking and recognize their own thoughts about a person or situation, as well as how these thoughts affect their feelings and choices.
• It sounds like you really don’t want to go to your friend’s house this afternoon. Is there a reason why? Is there something you’d like to share?
• Help your child understand other people’s behavior by exploring the kinds of thoughts that could be causing it.
• You said you don’t like when your sister tags along with you and your friends to the park and it annoys you. What could she be thinking when she follows you there? Is she thinking that it would be fun to hang out with you? What if she’s bored (or lonely) at home without you? Why don’t we talk to her and see what she thinks?

Having Empathy

•  Model empathy by showing an awareness and understanding of your child’s feelings—even if you don’t share or agree. 
• I see that you’re angry, but it’s time to turn off the computer and get ready for dinner.
• Explain your own feelings (both positive and negative) to your child to help him or her understand how others feel and why. 
•  It makes me happy when I see you being kind to your brother by reading a story to him.
• Talk with your child about the consequences of his or her actions (both positive and negative) toward others.
• How do you think your friend felt when you said you asked someone else over to play instead? It probably hurt his feelings and made him feel left out.

Understanding Stereotypes About People

• Discuss with your child what a stereotype is and why it is a problem.
• Discuss with your child what they can do instead of making assumptions about what others are like or what they like to do.
   

Understanding Stereotypes About Objects, Activities, and Roles

• Discuss with your child why people choose or have different jobs.
• Encourage your child’s involvement in a diverse range of activities based on his or her personal preferences, strengths, or areas where he or she can learn and grow.
• Describe different kinds of activities and occupations with similarly positive terms to demonstrate that all are equally valued.

Understanding That People Can Change

• Ask your child for one example of how he or she has changed this year.
• Focus on “process rather than product”—praise your child for his or her efforts rather than what the accomplishment is.
• see that you are working really hard at trying to tie your own shoes!

An important part of this program is for students to continue discussing and practicing concepts outside the classroom. Thank you for your involvement in reinforcing at home what is being taught in class.

Core Values of the Month

Our core values for this month are Achiever and Passionate.

Teaching our SPARKS about our core values is very important. SPARKS will learn about the core values of Achiever and Passionate through the books that were selected to reinforce these values. These Lessons are covered during social studies time.

Lost Device Policy

We have noticed an increase in the number of students saying they lost their devices or chargers. As a reminder there is a $350 charge for lost devices and chargers and a $50 charge for lost chargers. This information can also be found in the Student Technology Device Use Agreement.

Privacy  

Students shall understand that files, services, and devices provided by and managed by the school are not private. There is no expectation of privacy when students use the school district’s network, devices, and services, and anything they do can be viewed by the administration at any time.  

Computers are property of the campus and district and are to be used for instructional purposes only. Please check your students' computers for anything that could be in violation of the student handbook.

If you have any questions about this policy, you may reach out to Ms. Conley our Director of Campus Operations or Principal Rios.

Student Technology Use Policy -REMINDER

YES Prep offers 1:1 technology for all students in grades K – 12. The Technology Use Policy has been developed to guide the appropriate use of technology by students and parents. Use of the technology provided by YES is a privilege in order to maintain the privilege, families must follow this policy.  

Students, when using YES Prep Devices, and services provided internally, or services provided by third parties must follow all student codes of conduct as referenced in the student handbook. Students will also be in violation of this policy if the use of technology is not in accordance with state and federal laws.    

Privacy  

Students shall understand that files, services, and devices provided by and managed by the school are not private. There is no expectation of privacy when students use the school district’s network, devices, and services, and anything they do can be viewed by the administration at any time.  

Computers are property of the campus and district and are to be used for instructional purposes only. Please check your students' computers for anything that could be in violation of the student handbook.

If you have any questions about this policy, you may reach out to Ms. Conley our Director of Campus Operations or Ms. Rios.