Mustang News
April 2024
Principal's Message
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope this message finds you well. We are in the final stretch of the school year. Quarter 4 will is already and will continue to be a busy one. Grades 3-5 have started to take the AASA (Arizona's Academic Standards Assessment). Please make sure that you are looking for emails from your student's teacher about their individual testing schedule as well as testing preparation strategies.
We will have many important end of the year events coming up (mostly in May), so please be on the look out for those.
Parent Pick-Up Line
Please remain in your car and move forward as much as possible to pick your student up. If you need/want to get out of your car to meet your child, please park across the street and use the crosswalk. Thank you for your cooperation in making sure our dismissal is as safe as possible.
Tax Credits
You can donate all the way up until April 15th! Please remember to make a tax credit contribution to Marshall Elementary School. Tax Credit donations are crucial for funding staff and supplies for our school. See the information below on how to submit your donation today. Thank you for your continued support and generosity. Ask your friends and neighbors to donate as well!
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to the school office.
Warmest regards,
Emily Suess
Principal, Marshall Elementary
Upcoming Dates
April 1
State Testing Grade 3, 4, 5 Begins
April 5
Student of the Month Assembly 1:00 pm
April 9
Student of the Month Pizza Party 11:00 am
PTO Meeting 2:15
April 19
Masquerade Dance 5:30 - 7:00 pm
April 22 - May 17
PTO Penny Wars Fundraiser
April 29 - May 10
Heart Challenge
Help the Health Office
The Health Office is in need of gently used clothing for kiddos 6 and up.
Family Liaison
Hello Marshall Families,
Be sure and check out the latest Family Engagement classes and events that are being offered for April! The link is below.
Also, please contact me if you need resources.
Thank you and take care,
Marshall Family Liaison
520-731-4960
Counselor Corner
Hello Marshall families!
This month I want to talk about the needs of you all—the parents! Life is stressful. Things are more expensive than ever, families and relationships are complicated, etc! It can be overwhelming, and as much as we think we can handle it on our own, we need support too, even if it’s just emotional support. Someone to listen, someone to vent to, someone who cares. However, I must impress upon you that this emotional support cannot come from our children. It is not the responsibility of our child to carry that burden, and psychologically, they cannot handle it. In the psych world this is called Emotional Parentification, and its something I hear often in my line of work. Emotional Parentification is when an adult’s emotional needs and responsibilities are placed on the shoulders of a child. When adult information is shared with the child—whether related to the parent’s personal relationship, family ongoings, details of a divorce or separation, or even financial struggles.
This may sound like…
- Criticizing or badmouthing their other parent
- Sharing details behind a parent or family member’s incarceration
- Sharing details behind a parental conflict or divorce, i.e. infidelity
- Criticizing or badmouthing a teacher
- Sharing stress or worries about paying the bills
- “I am sad I need you to help me feel better”
- “I don’t know what I would do if it weren’t for you”
Emotional Parentification is often unintentional but can be very damaging for the child. Emotional parentification of a child can lead to increased risk of anxiety and depression as they grow up. It can also contribute to dysfunctional attachment in future close relationships for the child. In the present, the child can suffer from high levels of stress and anxiety, misplaced guilt, and suppression of their own needs and emotions. Often, we see a failure to find joy in developmentally appropriate activities such as playtime, difficulty making friends and performing academically, increased emotional dysregulation, aggression and anger, and low self-esteem. There may also be physical manifestations of this distress-- children can suffer from headaches, stomachaches, and difficulty sleeping.
Defining and Understanding Parentification: Implications for All Counselors Article
So, how much information is too much to share with our child? To put it simply, limit adult information to just adults. A child is not emotionally, morally, or intellectually equipped to understand the nuances of adult conflict, or emotion. The child will begin to feel responsible for the emotions and well-being of everyone around them—an overwhelming and impossible feat for a child.
This one is for the co-parents or grandparents: Should You Be Honest With Your Kid About Your Co-Parent’s Negative Behaviors? (ourfamilywizard.com) Whether you may be divorced, separated, co-parenting, or even if the parent is entirely absent—sharing criticisms about a child’s parent generally leads to the child’s internalization of these critiques. To the child, they feel they are half of each their parents, and may internalize these negative beliefs. This does not mean you should lie to your child. Refer to this article for some helpful examples of a few questions to ask yourself before sharing information or venting to your child about their parent.
This is not to say you should hide your emotions from your child. It is very positive for a child to see a parent or adult experience an emotion and manage it. This is an opportunity for modeling—expressing what we’re feeling (with kid-friendly context) and showing them how we cope. “For example, it’s okay for kids to see parents cry and, in fact, it’s important that parents don’t tell their children they’re fine if they are crying. That teaches them not to trust their perceptions, as they can see from a parent’s energy that Dad is sad. It’s better to say something like, ‘I need to cry right now, but it’s not your job to take care of me — it’s my job.’ Parents need to let children know they already have the support they need. Ideally, parents actually do have that support.” -Psychotherapist Susan Pease Gadoua, LCSW.
Adults, we need to make sure we are taking care of ourselves. Parenting is complicated and no easy task! Find other outlets to process your emotions, like a trusted friend, family member, or therapist. Even journaling can be a healthy way to “vent”. Children are empathetic, loving, and full of hugs—if we lack appropriate outlets for emotional support, children can be easy to exploit in this way, even if its not what we intend. We need to set clear boundaries between parent and child, and let our kids be kids.
Emily Ghusson, MA, LAC
Counselor, Marshall Elementary
(520) 731-4961
You Can Now Submit an Absence In ParentVUE
When a student is going to be missing school, a parent/guardian is required to contact the school. You may call the office at 731-4900 or use ParentVUE. Here are the steps:
- Log into your ParentVUE account
- Select "Attendance" from the menu
- Select "Report absences" at the top right of the screen
- Enter the following information: Start and End date (can be the same day), Absence reason (use the drop-down), Enter a note or add a document, and Select "Save".
If you have any questions please reach out to the school's front office.
Breakfast and Lunch
McKinney-Vento
If your family has been misplaced and is in need of housing, please contact Sarah Riebe at 520-731-4960 or Jessica Figueroa at 520-731-4900.