Our mission is to provide a nurturing environment committed to achieving excellence. All students are challenged to reach their maximum potential by gaining a solid foundation of skills, knowledge, and values. This foundation enables each student to become a resourceful thinker and successful lifelong learner.

Email: officeebeling@uticak12.org

Website: ebeling.uticak12.org

Location: 15970 Haverhill Drive, Macomb, MI, USA

Phone: 586-797-4700

Attendance Line: 586-797-4799

Twitter: @ebelingelem

SEPT 20 - No School. Teacher professional development workday.

SEPT 29 - Back To School Picnic - 5:30-8:00 PM. Save the Date - see info below for tickets/volunteer

OCT 5 - School Picture Day

OCT 11 - PTA Meeting @ 7:00 PM

• Sixth Grade Parent Planning Meeting 6:30 - 7:00 PM

OCT 18 - No School. Teacher professional development workday.

OCT 27 - Student Half Day of School. 11:29 Dismissal.

OCT 31 - Student Half Day of School. 11:29 Dismissal.

• Halloween Parade - details TBD

NOV 7 - No School. Teacher professional development workday.

NOV 22-24 - No School. Thanksgiving Holiday Break

The Macomb Intermediate School District will be presenting additional maturation programs for fourth grade and fifth grade girls and their mothers/guardians, at which time they will answer growth and development questions.

Bus passes will be permitted if a bus has not reached capacity. Both students must submit a note before lunchtime from their parent to the Main Office. Transportation rules require that both of the students qualify for bus transportation. The signed note from the parent should include the student’s normal bus number as well as the bus number that they will be a visitor on. The pass can be picked up in the office by one of the students later in the day. We are sorry but last minute notes or calls home for forgotten notes cannot be permitted. Passes are not issued on half days of school.

The school year is now well underway. The leaves are changing, homework is getting a bit more serious and friendships are going through some inevitable ups and downs. This article is not about bullying. While bullying is a very serious issue, this article is about typical social struggles that all kids endure at one time or another.

If your child is complaining about typical social struggles like “not being popular” or you hear, “Molly and I are not friends anymore” or “John called me a name” or “Jenny doesn’t want to sit with me at lunch anymore” here are a couple of things to keep in mind.

Our brains are wired to pay more attention to the negative than the positive. We are actually 3-5 times more sensitive to negative information. Given this tendency it is no surprise that children tend to get caught up in the relationships that aren’t working so well. Being on high alert for threat possibilities is what has enabled our species to outwit its predators. But complexities of today’s world require a more nuanced skillset than just the fight, flight or freeze options.

An important part of a more advanced cerebral skillset is to intentionally focus on the positives in life. When we intentionally focus on what’s going well, such as the relationships that make us feel good, it affects the levels of neurotransmitters, including the releasing of dopamine, in our brain. Dopamine makes us feel good. It also triggers higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, energy, determination, and attentiveness.

So how do we teach our kids to focus on the good?

1) DON'T: Interview for pain

This term describes a parent’s tendency to keep negative situations alive long after the child has worked through the problem.

For example: Your child comes home from school upset because they had a horrible fight with their best friend Molly. You listen attentively, offer suggestions to help, and send them to school the next day armed to solve the problem. This can be helpful, but here is where the problem often arises. The next day you pick your child up from school and the first thing out of your mouth is, “How did it go with Molly today?” and the next day you say, “Are things still ok with Molly?” This is interviewing for pain.

Instead, ask them “How was your day?” Your child may still need help with the situation, and he or she may bring it up again, but in most cases this stuff works itself out in a day or two. When parents continue to bring it up, it keeps a negative situation alive in the child’s mind long after the wounds have healed.

2) DO: Pay attention to the good stuff

It is easy for kids to get caught up in the one or two kids who are not interested in being their friend instead of focusing on all of the kids who are kind to them and want to play with them all the time. My friend Sylvie told me that her father always used to ask her, “Who was a good friend to you today?” What a great way to keep the focus on the positive! Try it at dinner or when you pick your kids up from school, ask your kids, ask your spouse, and see what emerges.

After they’ve weighed in on who was a good friend to them, ask who they were a good friend to, today, as well. Help them understand that having good friends means being a good friend.

When your child is feeling the burden of social situations, understand that this is normal, listen mindfully, focus on the positive and resist the urge to immediately swoop in and solve everything for them.

Part of our roles, as parents, is to help our child come up with their own solutions. Sometimes that means being aware of how you might be feeling while listening to your upset child. If you notice your own internal stress levels rising, remember that a few mindful breaths will get your own prefrontal cortex back online. As you’re able to get out of your alarm brain and into your smart brain, you’ll be a much better sounding board and support system for your child.

If your child wishes to eat breakfast at school, they must order breakfast the day before when asked by their classroom teacher. When entering school for breakfast, students must enter through the main doors (either Door 1, or Door 9) and proceed directly to the gym/cafeteria. Doors will open at 8:05, and breakfast will be available to eat until 8:25.

We are off and running this school year with the Back to School Picnic in the works, a new spirit wear vendor (with grade level shirts returning for purchase this year), and a calendar full of opportunities to get involved! We would love to see you at our monthly PTA meetings held in the Media Center, so grab a friend and join us!