Raleigh Hills Newsletter

April 30, 2021

Message from Mrs. DeMartino

Dear Raleigh Hills Community,

At Raleigh Hills, we've been working all year on RULER. This is a program developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. RULER stands for Recognize. Understand. Label. Express. Regulate. What we know is that when children can identify their emotions, and especially when they can recognize that they are having a big emotion, they can go through a set of concrete steps to regulate that emotion. We've been teaching our students that emotions matter and that all emotions are ok. When students understand and label their emotions, they can express them and sometimes that's all you need to do in order to get yourself into the mindset for learning. So perhaps if a child couldn't find their favorite shoes and had to wear a different pair in the morning, they might feel frustrated, disappointed and exasperated and then they bring those feelings with them to school. At times, this can block optimal learning from happening. If we can instead label that disappointment, we can find the strategy that will help shift that high energy of disappointment to a lower energy more pleasant emotion that helps us get ready to learn.

I know that I have been so glad to learn about RULER and I use the strategies personally in my life. There have been times during this pandemic when plans for school have changed. This left me feeling confused, inflexible and resistant. Taking some time to label those emotions helped me to take the small step of recognizing the inflexibility and asking myself, "What would happen right now if I was flexible?" This helped me to open my mind to options and alternatives that might not have been there if I stayed in that resistant emotion.

Raleigh Hills has been recognized by the district for our work with RULER. We have seen positive results for both students and staff. We are committed to continuing our work with this program next year. If you'd like to see RULER in action, watch the video below!

Warm regards,

Jennifer

Important Dates at RH!

May 3 - May 7 Staff Appreciation Week

Send a note of gratitude to your child's teacher or a staff member this week!

Wednesday, May 5th - Clothes Closet at RH

Wednesday, May 12 - Clothes Closet at RH and State Testing Begins

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Clothes for Kids

If your student needs clothing at no cost, Clothes for Kids is ready to serve you. Appointments are required. Clothes for Kids hours: Tuesdays 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m., Wednesdays 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Thursdays 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. To schedule, please complete the Clothes for Kids Appointment form or call 503-356-4322. Visits are limited to one adult with four children or two adults with 8 children. All visitors must wear masks. If you don't have your own, we'll provide one.

We’re also looking for Clothes for Kids volunteers. Please contact Johanna Shrout at johanna_shrout@beaverton.k12.or.us.

May Walk+Roll Challenge

Please join Beaverton Safe Routes to School for our final Walk + Roll event of the year! Over 100 prizes will be raffled, and the Wheel Fairy will visit elementary schools to attach an extra prize on any wheels they find in the racks. All students (any grade level, hybrid and CDL) can enter our raffle by completing the May Challenge form. There are five activities to choose from and an extra raffle entry for each activity completed. Find more information at www.beaverton.k12.or.us/safe-routes

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Class Input Forms Due May 14th

We are beginning to plan for next year. Part of the planning process is to create our class lists for the 21-22 school year. We need your input! Please fill out this form to let us know the type of learning environment in which your student thrives. This is not a teacher request. Instead, share with us the characteristics of a classroom where your student will do their best. This will help us create our best and most vibrant learning communities. These are due on May 14th.

Class Input Form

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Lunch Opt-Outs

If you prefer that your child does not bring home a daily lunch bag, please let your child's teacher know. This will help us prepare the right amount of lunches. If you already filled out the survey, no need to do this. However, if you didn't fill out the survey, but you do not want the meal bags, just email your teacher. Thanks for helping us avoid food waste.

Hybrid Handbook - Repeat

HYBRID FAMILIES:

Make sure to read through the handbook so that you can get a good idea of what school will look like when we return.

If you haven't filled out these surveys, please fill them out this weekend. We need this information for Monday! We also need you to give us some information about how your child will go home and their meal preferences. Please fill out these two surveys below.

Meals Survey - CDL and Hybrid

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Spanish

Arabic

Transportation Survey - Hybrid Only

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Spanish

Arabic