Eastwood Elementary Update

Congratulations to our October Eagle Way Winners! These students are being recognized for being the best version of themselves! In November, the Eagle Way behavior focus will be to Respect Yourself and Others!! Please discuss how to be respectful to everyone, everywhere with your child.

It was a little windy but the rain held off long enough to have our event. I can not say enough thank you's to everyone who participated in the trunk-or-treat event or to the Eastwood Pep Band for playing for our students as they entered the High School or to the High School staff and students who welcomed our students. A special thanks to Andrea Forrester and Anne Michel for planning and contacting the businesses on time and amounts of candy. Also to Leslie Myers for emceeing the event.

It really was a community event and reminds me why this district is special. Thanks Everyone!!!

Here is a list of businesses that provided treats at our Trunk or Treat:
1. Five Arrow Insurance
2. Wood County Health Department
3. Eastwood Wrestling
4. Anson Pharmacy
5. Luckey Police/ Mayor
6. American Legion Auxiliary Unit 183 Pemberville
7. Troy Webster Post and Unit 240
8. River Road Electric
9. Kuhlman and Beck/ Ortinau Art
10. Eastwood Local Schools Transportation
11. Pemberville Pool/ Pemberville Mayor
12. Home Town Realty- Tammy Oberdick
13. Wood County Sheriff's- Officer Cooper
14. Pemberville Police Department
15. Luckey Liquidations
16. The Fallen Outdoors
17. Mcgaffs Paint Pros
18. The State Bank
19. Pemberville Area Churches
20. CycleWerks
21. Eastwood Athletic Boosters
22. St John's Lutheran Church- Stony Ridge
23. ProMedica Cancer Institute
24. LifeWise - Eastwood
25. Eastwood Youth Baseball and Softball Association
26. Portage River Mushrooms
27. Eastwood School Board
28. Eastwood Pep Club
29. Eastwood Elementary Guidance Counselors

Thanks again!!

I started sharing last month that we will be implementing a new system for student dismissal at car pickup time. The name of the program is Pikmykid. We have area schools already using it and we went and observed it in action. It is becoming increasingly challenging to keep up with the changes occurring with the end of the day pick up, the restrictions of who can pick whom up on which days and honestly, the numbers of students being picked up. I know this program will be different and probably a slower go initially, but we must be able to verify whom is being picked up, and who is doing the picking up. I know we are in a community that looks out for our students, but if you have been in the pick up line, you have witnessed the confusion that can occur and that is what we are targeting to improve. Our goal is to have parents stay in their vehicles, and not have students walking across traffic. The only exception to this is if we have someone picking up a student that isn't in the Pikmykid system and we don't see that you have authorization to pick up the student. We would then ask you to park, come in and figure it out. I know this will be slower process but I will accept your criticism of it if I know that it is in the best interest of our students safety. I met with staff who is working out in car pick up and decided we needed to move to a safer dismissal system.

Please do not bring your pets on campus during the school day, unless this is pre-planned by the teacher and administration. Even if they are on a leash, a student's first thought is to run up to them and pet them and that may not be what the animals expect. They can be overwhelmed by the number of people they attract. We also have students with allergies. If you bring them and they are in the car for drop off or pick up, that is fine, just please keep them in the vehicle.

The boys and girls in kindergarten have had a busy October! After learning about plants in our new reading series we headed out to the pumpkin patch to get an up-close look at real pumpkin plants and see how they grew. The PTO sponsored our trip to the patch where we took a hayride out into the patch and picked our own pumpkins to bring home. We capped off our trip with a donut and apple cider!

Pemberville and Troy Township fire departments also visited kindergarten for fire prevention week. The boys and girls were able to see and talk to the firefighters about fire safety, calling 911, and how their firefighter gear protected them in a fire. The best part of the visit was seeing all the amazing vehicles they brought to school and getting a chance to spray the fire hose! Thank you to our wonderful PTO and local fire departments for making learning in October so memorable for our littlest Eagles!

Finally, we celebrated Halloween at school by dressing up, having a parade at the football stadium, and going trunk or treating! Thank you to all the local businesses who came out to pass out candy and treats. The boys and girls came back to class with a bag full of goodies!

Dear Eastwood Families,

During October, I returned to all K-3rd grade classrooms. Your children are engaged and excited each time I visit! :)

In Kindergarten, we focused on having perseverance. Even when an activity feels too hard or boring, we can tell our brain to just try and keep going! Some other helpful words we can say to ourselves include: This is tricky but I will keep practicing. Making mistakes can help me learn. I can’t do that YET, but I will learn.

In 1st grade, we learned how our body feels when we are calm, alert, and ready to learn. We have clear focused thinking, slow deep breathing, loose relaxed muscles, and slow steady heartbeat. Our bodies might feel different when we are upset and dysregulated, such as not being able to focus, fast breathing, pounding head, face is hot, and muscles are tight. Practicing coping strategies such as taking slow, deep breaths and using helpful self-talk can help us to calm down (which we will learn more about in the future).

In 2nd grade, we learned the difference between bouncing back from a problem like a ball (not letting the problem keep us down/upset and bouncing back to our awesome self) and going splat like an egg (getting stuck in our uncomfortable feelings and stuck in the problem). It’s a choice! We can bounce back with strategies such as taking slow, deep breaths and using helpful self-talk such as, “I can handle this!”

In 3rd grade, we learned about three important parts of our brain and how they are involved in our feelings and thinking. Our “wise owl” PFC helps us with smart decision-making. We feel relaxed, calm, and ready to learn. Our “memory saver” hippocampus saves new memories, brings out old memories, and helps us learn. Our “guard dog” amygdala is the part of our brain where we feel emotions. Its biggest focus is on our safety. It protects us when there is a real danger. But, when the threat of danger is perceived with no real danger (such as taking a huge test or auditioning for a lead role), the amygdala overreacts and our body has a huge response to the stress. This is called “flipping your lid!” Coping strategies such as taking slow, deep breaths can help tame our “guard dog.” We’ll learn more strategies in the future! *Ask your child to show you a brain model with their hand.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out any time with questions or concerns. I am looking forward to returning to all the classrooms this month! :)

Nikki Ohms, M.Ed., LPSC

K-3 School Counselor

nohms@eastwoodschools.org

419-833-2821 ext. 205

November

1st- No School

6th- Parent-Teacher Conferences...1-Hour Early Dismissal at 2:25

7th- Parent-Teacher Conferences....1-Hour Early Dismissal at 2:25

8th- No School- Conferences

13th- Picture Retakes

20th- PTO Doughnuts with Loved Ones

18th- BOE meeting at 6:00 at Central Office

27th through the 29th- No School

December

16th- BOE mtg. at 6:00 at Central Office

17th- 3rd Grade Music Program at 7:00 in HS auditorium

23rd- Jan. 3rd- NO SCHOOL- Winter Break

January

6th-School resumes

10- DARE Graduation

15th- Doughnuts with Loved Ones

16th- End of 2nd Quarter

17th- NO SCHOOL- PD Day for staff

20th- NO SCHOOL-Martin Luther King Day