Happy March!  I don't think we really had a winter, and spring is just around the corner!  The weather has been crazy.  But you know what they say, "If you don't like the weather in Kentucky, just hang around for ten minutes!"  So true-within a 48 hour time span, we have gone from tornado warnings to snow on the ground.  If there is one thing that I have learned from working in schools for the past 19 years, it is that crazy weather can have a huge effect on the students.  It has felt as though the past few days have been the first days of April instead of the first days of March.  We can help the students by reminding them that school work and good behavior are still priorities.  Spring fever can be like the little devil that sits on your shoulder, trying to convince you to do the opposite of what the angel on the other shoulder is telling you to do!  Sometimes it seems the students are ready to throw in the towel and quit, but it is way to early to do that yet.  Helping students get enough rest is another good way to help them stay on track.  It is tempting to stay out later, as the days get longer, however this usually results in grumpy kids which is no fun for anyone!
     So here is what's happening with guidance classes.  At the K-3 Campus, all the guidance lessons will focus on the season of Lent.  The students will be reading, The Weight of a Mass: a Tale of Faith by Josephine Nobisso.  This is a story of a beggar woman who asks for bread from a baker who is quite stingy.  She proposes to offer a mass for him in exchange for bread.  However he questions the "weight" of a mass.  In other words, he does not understand the worth of a mass.  In class, we will talk about how they can offer masses and prayers during lent.  Our students are so giving and caring.  Whenever I ask them questions such as what they can do for others during lent and advent, I often get big suggestions that they are not able to do on their own, which can be unrealistic at times.  An example would be donating old clothes or toys to the poor.  While this is a wonderful idea, that I hope happens, I also know that such a task involves a lot of time and effort from both parents and kids.  As I said, I love their giving hearts, but I also encourage them to think about what they can do independently.  Saying a prayer or offering a mass can be a Lenten offering that they can do and a powerful Lenten offering, at that!
     The 4-6 Campus is moving on as well!  The fourth grade will be focusing on "Show a Positive Attitude."  We will be reading Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty.  We will be talking about using our mistakes and setbacks in a positive, motivating manner.  As I teach this lesson, it becomes more evident to me that the students fear failure and mistakes.  While no one likes to make a mistake or fail at a task, I hope that the students can view such situations as a learning experience that can help make them a better person.  In fifth grade, we will be completing a lesson about harmful teasing.  Too many times, kids will say, "I was just kidding" or I was just joking."  While sometimes I do think that is how situations begin, too easily it can change to being harmful to others.  Hopefully after this lesson, students will have a better idea of when this happens.  I will be back in the computer lab with the sixth graders, for a final time. By the end of this lesson, each student should have completed two different surveys about careers and learning styles as well as entering all of their extra curricular activites.   Please ask your sixth grader to show you around the KHEAA and Career Cruising websites, if they have not done so already.  
     Here are some helpful links.  The first is to Matthew Kelly's "Best Lent Ever."  By signing up for this, you will receive a daily video and reflection during Lent.  These are very motivational and thought provoking!   http://dynamiccatholic.com/bestlentever   The next link to to a good parenting article that offers practical suggestions for raising "good kids".   http://curiousmindmagazine.com/parents-who-raise-good-kids/ 
     As always, please contact me with any concerns or questions you may have.  I hope you all have a blessed month of March!