Paw Print

Executive Function Skill of the Week: Metacognition

I know we're not supposed to pick favorites, but for me, metacognition is my hands down winner. I just love it. I LOVE thinking about thinking. In a nutshell, that's what metacognition really is, and you probably do it all of the time without even realizing. For our children, sometimes an understanding of metacognition comes naturally, and sometimes we need to help it along.

Here are five strategies that may help you to help your learners at home:

• Explicitly teach thinking about what and how we think. Talk about how to self-talk your way through what's going on in your own head..."what do I already know that could help me solve this problem?" "I think that...because I know...so...and then...TA DA!!"
• Help kids learn to PLAN, MANAGE, and CHECK their work. "What's your plan?"("I'm going to clear off my desk, read the questions first, read the story, answer the questions, check back over my work, put it in my backpack so it's ready to turn in at school tomorrow.") Managing during the task takes paying attention to how much time is passing, turning off the tv if it's bothering me, noticing that my handwriting is barely legible and sitting up straighter to fix that. Just examples. Then checking their work can be as simple as making sure that the whole job is finished, that the directions were followed and supplies picked up and put away. It's also thinking about how well the job was completed overall.
• Provide or create a rubric so that the child can see their success and the path to growth. The beauty of a rubric is that it has a space for each part of the task and places to show the level of completion. This means that the child can do the thinking either before or after they do the task. Used after the task, they can evaluate how well they did. Used before the task, it can guide their thinking in how to best do the job. Whether they are cleaning their room or writing a complete sentence, a rubric provides a quality guide on the side. "How do I get better?" Simply look at the next box on the rubric and do that!
• Model your grown-up thinking as you solve problems (or really just as you do any kid-friendly task). Thinking out loud helps our children learn real life thinking in real time. "Okay, I'm going to finish this newsletter and send it to all of the parents, then I'll work on my team notes. If I really concentrate, I should be able to finish it all in about 20 minutes. That'll give me time to visit several classrooms before the end of the day. Yay!"
• Ask and encourage questions. Socrates did it best, but we can join the movement. Sometimes it's best to answer a question with a question of your own. "Mom! What's do I do?" "Hello, dear boy. What do the directions tell you to do?" Okay, that was too easy, but you understand. On a deeper level, when your child says something random, or asks a random question (best part of parenting!), before jumping in with your answer, try musing, "Hmm. I'm not sure what I think about that," or, "Interesting. I'll have to think on that one. What do you think?" Follow that right up with, "What makes you think that?," or "Why do you think that?" Boom! They'll be thinking about their thinking! Metacognition.
  

Thinking about our thinking helps us to make better decisions, understand content more fully, and learn more about who we are as a person- our thoughts echo our philosophy of living.

Now...here's another caveat to think about when you're thinking about your thoughts, or listening to the thoughts of your child. All negative thoughts (and honestly, all positive thoughts) isn't great. As humans, we would normally have both. True, we are wired to the negative and have to learn to choose the positive over automatically assuming the negative, but most of us, most of the time, have a pretty healthy balance of thinking. If you find that you or your child are almost always feeling swamped in the negative, no-good, everything's awful, people hate me and I'm just staying in bed thoughts, please seek help. Talk to someone. Ask for help. Counselor. Social Worker. Clergy. Physician. Johnson County Mental Health. Scroll down for the KDCF Crisis Helpline. You are not alone. You matter.

On World Kindness Day, we began collecting Chapstick for a charity called Operation Uplift. Our goal is to collect 500 tubes of Chapstick that they can put in care packages to mail to the soldiers overseas. Please, send in your Chapstick until November 20th.

Stay tuned for a glimpse into what Operation Uplift does...you might even see some Belmont students in the video...maybe around the 2:07 mark! Operation Uplift

Our Health Office is running low on sweatpants and leggings in sizes 6, 7, & 8. Do you have any drawers to clean out? We'd love to find a new home for your hand-me-overs! Please and thank you!!

We need THREE MORE special people to join our Connections C team! We've been making the magic work by pulling people from their other jobs, but we would sure rather provide consistency for our students with the same staff every day. How about you? Are you pretty consistent? Do you love kids? Do you think it's pretty cool to work with other pretty cool people? We laugh. We cry. We hug it out. (To be clear...hugging is completely optional.) We celebrate. We learn and we grow. Come grow with us!

Your future "I didn't know how much I'd love it!" opportunity starts by clicking here.

USD 232 has been an important and strong participant in the Kansas Teacher of the Year Program for many years. De Soto has had fifteen state finalists and thirteen semi-finalists represented in the program since 2000.

We would like to invite you to nominate any teacher whom you consider to be an outstanding and effective educator. This person must have completed 5 years of teaching with at least 2 of them having been in USD 232. If there is a USD 232 educator whom you believe to be outstanding and deserving of special recognition, please use the link below to fill out the nomination form.

Kansas Teacher of the Year Nomination Form

Nomination deadline is noon on Wednesday, December 4, 2024.

It has been and continues to be a great pleasure serving as principal of this place we've built together. When I move out over the summer, I'll be turning over the responsibility to someone new, but with your help, I'm confident that we'll find just the right heart to lead Belmont into the future. Please follow the link below to let the district hiring committee (which will include current Belmont staff) know what characteristics and traits you’re hoping our next principal will bring to Belmont. You’ll be asked to share what you love most about our school, and anything else you’d like to share. This is your opportunity to let your voice be heard. Click here for the BE Principal Parent Input Form

November 18 🌻 PTO Meeting, Cafeteria (enter on west side), 6:30pm

November 25-29 🌻 Thanksgiving Break

• No School for Students

December 11 🌻 BE Skate Party at Skate City, 6-8pm

December 20 🌻 12:10 Dismissal

• No Lunch Served

December 23 - January 6 🌻 Winter Break

• No School for Students

Visit the BE Online Calendar of Events (by clicking on the button below) for a more complete list of activities!

11:00-11:30 1st Grade

11:20-11:50 Kindergarten

11:40-12:10 5th Grade

12:00-12:30 4th Grade

12:20-12:50 3rd Grade

12:40-1:10 2nd Grade

Reservations are required to join your child for lunch- when we are ready, you'll be able to CLICK HERE to reserve your family table!

It's a WatchDOGS revival in the Belmont DogHouse! With at least a week's notice, we'll welcome a DAD (gotta be a significant adult guardian or relation) each Wednesday to work a day at BE. There will be a schedule provided that will include a variety of tasks including building safety, academic assistance in classrooms, and logistical support during lunch, and the reward...RECESS! We guarantee you'll have the opportunity to enjoy lunch and recess with your own child(ren) and around that, we'll put you to work in the classrooms where your extra hands will be the most helpful! Do YOU have the opportunity to take a day off to hang out with about 370 beautiful children and the adults who love learning with them?

Access the WatchDOGS Sign Up HERE.

We are blessed to have such an amazing team here at Belmont! Would you love an opportunity to formally show appreciation...without spending a dime? Through the generosity of the Great American Bank and the USD 232 Education Foundation, we have the opportunity to recognize staff members who go above and beyond in their daily interactions with students. All you need to do is click on the link below and fill out some general information about the deserving nominee. Thank you for helping our team know that their dedication is appreciated. I appreciate your time and gift of gratitude if you've recently nominated, or plan to nominate a Belmont team member for their service.

Making a Difference Nomination Link

Remember to bring your IDs! These will be REQUIRED to be shown on camera before entering the building! Just flash it at the door and we'll have a quick digital record. We obviously don't keep records forever, but they will help us sort out any concerns within a couple week's span. Then keep that license in your hand because it's just what you'll need to sign in to do whatever wonderful thing that brought you to school in the first place! We love visitors and the district's new system makes our check-in and check-out super easy by saving us a few steps and a few trees. I know that you're sad to no longer get to wear those big badges around your neck, but come to the next big ticket event and maybe you'll get one then!

District guidelines for signing students in/out of elementary school are reiterated below.

• Check-Out: Parents are required to check out students in person by scanning their ID. The system will display the name of the student(s) the adult is authorized to check out. If someone other than a parent is picking up the student, their name can be entered, but staff must verify the authorization. It's really helpful to give the office a head's up if something out of the usual is on the agenda. ID scanning is mandatory, with exceptions made only in rare circumstances. Please, don't be rare.

• Check-In: Parents will also need to check in their student upon arrival if the child is entering after the morning bell at 8:45am. After scanning your license and entering the requested information, the system will print a return-to-class pass for your child to give to their teacher and the record is complete.

Yes, this is new and maybe even annoying to some, but the vast majority of parents have been amazing so far in your patience, support and smiles as we've worked out the kinks as the district rolled out each step. Life doesn't always present itself as easy, but none of us should be in the business of making things harder for anyone else without a really good reason...like you're a personal trainer or something. Thank you for understanding that our intentions are for the best of reasons and in particular, for student and staff safety.

Sign up for Text Alerts

Receive emergency information, school closings, early dismissals and administrative reminders on your mobile device. This text and email service is free, but check with your mobile provider as text messaging and data rates may apply.

To subscribe >> Click Here

Community partner Country Club Bank is providing support to ensure this service is available in USD 232.

Email: phargrove@usd232.org
Website: be.usd232.org
Location: 5805 Belmont Drive, Shawnee, KS 66226, United States
Phone: (913)667-1810
Facebook: Belmont Elementary Bulldogs
Twitter: @BEBulldogs