Hello Maple Hill Hawk Families,
We have made it to the month of December and the last few days of 2023. It is incredible how fast this school year is going, and watching your children grow and learn daily is the best part! Seeing how much our students have grown this year in their social-emotional well-being and academic progress is incredible. As we transition into the month of December, I want to wish all of you a wonderful holiday season.
This month, our Hawk Character Trait is honesty. Students will learn about the importance of honesty through classroom lessons and activities throughout the month. One of the most essential life lessons an adult can teach a child is how to be honest. Children learn honesty from watching the adults around them and how they communicate and follow through with their responsibilities. One thing to always keep in mind is your children are watching and listening to you because they care about you. They listen to your conversations to learn how to speak with others and watch your actions to learn how to deal with life's different situations. One of the most incredible things we can do is model how, to be honest when we make a mistake or need help. Children learn that we are human and make mistakes, too. Explaining our thinking helps children process why we must make our own decisions. When students have great models of what honesty looks like, they grow into adults who are more compassionate and caring, they learn that everyone makes mistakes and admits to their mistakes so they can grow and learn from them. They also learn how important honesty is in building solid relationships with friends, family members, and loved ones as well. So, this month, join us in helping teach our students what honesty looks, sounds, and feels like.
I also wanted to take a moment to remind everyone of some important safety reminders for our school campus. Our beautiful school is across the street from a city park. As a reminder, there is no supervision at the park across the street from the school. This includes both before and after school. Our gates open at 7:45 am, and there is no supervision in front of our school before that time. Students should remain with an adult until our gates are opened in the morning. We also encourage all students to stay on our campus until a trusted adult picks them up after school. Please do not encourage your child to go across the street to the park to wait for you after school. If you are with your child at the park after school, please make sure to monitor them closely to keep them safe, and if you see a child without an adult, please report that to our front office so we can work together to keep all students safe.
Last but not least, I want to wish all of our amazing families a wonderful holiday season. There are many things to be grateful for and that are celebrated at this time of year. This can bring out many emotions in our children. As you enter this holiday season, continue to talk to your children and prepare them for the many wonderful celebrations and events that happen at this time of year. Children thrive when they feel prepared and ready. This helps them regulate their emotions and, overall, can help them feel more comfortable. When we focus on seeing the world through our children's eyes and helping them process what is happening around them, we have children who feel more confident and can handle various situations. I hope your holiday season is filled with joy and happiness!
As always, below, you will find a wealth of information about everything happening at Maple Hill in December. I hope you find these resources helpful.
Kind Regards,
Ms. McNeil
Principal at Maple Hill
November Hawk Character Trait: Honesty
Our SEL enrichment lesson this month will be about honesty and integrity. We will have a meaningful discussion on how being dishonest impacts not only themselves but others as well. Students will also learn to take accountability for their mistakes by using the three step apology process to correctly apologize. This is a social skill that improves relationships, builds leaders and grows confidence.
Family Book Guide:
Reading books about honesty, integrity & trust can help students communicate ideas sincerely and respectfully, set and recognize boundaries, and build strong relationships.
A Little Spot of Honesty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6Gi79I7vmA
Honesty is my Superpower: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z-Ads5yRAs
The “I” in Integrity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uyp3I8boH8
Family Discussion on Integrity
Speaking & Acting Truthfully: Speaking with integrity means saying how something really is or how it really happened. Acting with integrity means you always do the right thing, even when it’s hard. Examples of this include: Not spreading rumors, owning up to your mistakes, don’t take something that isn’t yours, if you say you’re going to do something, do it.
Also, ensure your child knows who is picking them up each day and has a designated meeting spot so they are confident about where to meet them. Tk-1st grade students will stay with their teacher until an adult has walked to the gate to meet them.
Please DO NOT encourage your child to wait at the park across the street. There is no adult supervision there. Instead, pick a spot in front of the school to meet your child. Any child who has not been picked up and is still on campus after 15 minutes will be brought into the office to call home.
In the front of the school, we have been able to add some enhanced safety features this school year, including a fence and retaining wall to help families stay safe as they walk up to our front gates. We also have new signage in our loading and unloading zone as well.
Click on the button below to access our Safety Slides for more detailed information.
Ms. McNeil- Principal at Maple Hill
Email: kmcneil@wvusd.org
Website: www.maplehillschool.org
Location: 1350 Maple Hill Road, Diamond Bar, CA, USA
Phone: 909-861-6224