Upcoming Events:

• January 15 – No School – MLK Day
• January 17 – Two Hour Late Start – School starts at 10:45
• January 25 – Science Fair 5 pm – 7 pm

Counselor’s Corner – Hello again,

In K-5 counseling we continue to prepare for No-Name Calling Week; January 15-20.  We will be looking at names and spending lots of time trying to differentiate between kind, harmless teasing and hurtful teasing. We are spending a lot of time looking at impact vs. intent and context vs. words.  

A counselor from Grant was here last week helping our kids headed their way.  Students who were there should have brought home their forecasting sheets for you to go over and sign with them.  I need those back this Friday (likely tomorrow for you).  Franklin will be here in February and Cleveland sometime as well.  I’ll be pulling the other public schools in and doing the forecasting with them, starting with Roosevelt this week.  

If you are applying to private high schools, please get the recommendation forms to us as soon as possible.  We get a lot of them and it takes a considerable amount of time that staff would like to plan for.  

Another article on teenage mental health from the Oregonian this week.  http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2017/12/oregon_teens_struggle_with_men.html

It always is one thing to read about national trends, but it is another to see it playing out among us.  Please take the time to practice mindfulness, art and exercise with your students.  These are the best three things we can do for our kids for both anxiety and depression.  If they are showing signs of more intense mental health related issues, please talk to your insurance provider or me about further counseling help.  

For this week’s question, I’m remembering a book I once read called “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” where Hmong immigrants viewed epileptic seizures as someone communicating with the divine where the US doctors had their Western medical opinions.  We used to diagnose slaves who repeatedly ran away as being mentally ill (!).  Other diagnoses have come and slipped away over the years as well, after they were found to target minorities, women, etc.  

Which brings us to the question: What are our stereotypes of mental illness and how do race and culture play into them?  

Have a good week!

Cliff Shaw

cshaw1@pps.net

Items being sold at school or on school grounds – This is a note to let families and students know that students are not to be selling items at school unless the items have been cleared by the main office.  An example of the selling of items that can be approved by the main office are around fundraising – such as the candy cane sale back in December to raise funds for the middle school dance.  Examples of the selling of items that would not be approved include the selling of clothes, jewelry, candy and/or other food items that do not raise funds for the school or a school activity.  Students who are selling items at school without the permission of the front office may have the item(s) confiscated, along with additional consequences.

Volunteers needed for science fair! We need parent volunteers to help us choose who will represent us at Intel’s NW Science Expo this spring! Please consider volunteering for at least one hour during the week of science fair. We need judges for both the preliminaries (Jan 22-24, 3:30-7:30 pm, no experience or background needed) and for the semifinals from 1-5 pm on Jan 25th (if you have a science-y background).  Volunteers can register by completing clicking the appropriate link on the Science Fair Tab of the Winterhaven PTSA website:  http://www.winterhavenschool.org/science-fair There are several other opportunities to volunteer for science fair available for sign up at:  http://signup.com/go/YoCBaVU Questions? Email:  sciencefair@winterhavenschool.org

PPS Child Care Survey - Please take a moment to complete this confidential online childcare survey:  2017-18 PPS Before After Care Survey Link or go to pps.net, Departments, Child Care.Your input is valuable. Survey results will be used as part of an annual program evaluation. Please complete the survey by January 19, 2018. 
If you need a paper survey, please let your child care site director know. 
Questions? Contact Nancy Hauth at 503-916-3230 or nhauth@pps.net.

Weekly Information must be submitted by the end of the work day on the Tuesday before you wish to have it included in the newsletter.  We only publish information that directly relates to our school and our students.  If you wish to place something in the weekly, please email it to Nancy Cooper at ncooper1@pps.net.