Welcome to May!  Time flies when you are having fun!  I think it is more accurate to say that time flies when you are watching your children grow up!  These children have grown academically, physically and spiritually over the last ten months.  (They will probably grow even more over the upcoming summer months.) These next few weeks are going to get busy.  There are AR reward trips, some closing ceremonies and just some days that are not like the regular school days.  That's not mentioning, possible older siblings ceremonies and spring sports schedules.  May definitely can be a busy month.  My advice for such a busy month is "Enjoy every minute that you can!"  Time is precious and, as mentioned earlier, it goes by fast! 
     Soon you will be scratching your head, wondering what you can do with your child/children over the summer months.  Here are some links that may help answer that question.  This site www.classyclutter.net/2014/06/101-summer-activities-to-do-with-kids/ and this site www.craftymorning.com/genius-outdoor-summer-ideas-for-kids/ give ideas about activities to do at home.  Some of the suggestions are simple, while others are for more adventurous parents, like building a human car wash spray park!  This link www.dcplibrary.org/events is to the Daviess County Public Library's calendar of events. The public library offers a lot of activities, such as a free family movie on most Saturday afternoons. They also have a summer reading program for all ages.  This link fridayafter5.com/events is to the schedule for Friday After 5.  End your week on a good note!  Even though I have included several links for various activities, please don't feel that you must entertain your children every waking hour of a summer day.  Let your children take time to learn to entertain themselves.  When we, as parents, provided a minute to minute schedule of summer fun activities for our children, we deprive them of the chance to develop their own sense of creativity.  Give them a box of supplies for games or crafts and let them create.  This develops problem solving skills and promotes creativity, which are skills that will benefit them throughout life.
     So how are guidance classes ending for the school year? The K-3 Campus classes are reviewing the Guidelines For Success.  Kindergarten and 1st grades are reading The Berenstain Bears: Kindness Counts.  2nd and 3rd grades are doing a review of the guidelines using a Kahoot quiz on the iPads (ask our child about it!).  4th grade is reading The Boy On Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up To Be Dr. Seuss as we discuss "Try Your Best In All You Do."  5th grade will also be doing a review of the guidelines using a Kahoot quiz on the iPads.  6th graders have been and will continue to work on their individual learning plans.  Many have been given packets, to take home to parents, that explains what their plan is and how to log onto the KHEAA website at home.  Please ask your child if they have received this packet yet.  The 6th graders will also be working on their ILP's in computer class during the last week of school.

      As always, please feel free to contact me at either school or email me at kim.bennett@owensborocatholic.org.  I hope everyone has a wonderful summer break!

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us.

Psalms 67:1

     I hope that everyone had a wonderful, joyful Easter filled with blessings!   Each year, the crucifixion seems to have so much more meaning to me and I think about Jesus's death more in depth. Yet I am reminded of past lessons with the students when we talked about God's plan and how Easter is "the beginning!"  As one very dear child reflected: doesn't death mean that we go to heaven?  Shouldn't we be happy about that?  Out of the mouths of babes!  That dear child got it.  The end goal was very clear to that student.  More often than not, the students teach me, and it is a blessing beyond measure! 
     Spring Break is here!  Whether you are going away for a vacation or having a "stay-cation," I hope everyone has a wonderful break.  The final seven weeks of school are sure to be action packed! It is very important for students to continue to get the rest they need and stay on track with their school assignments.  Here is an article that is meant for the beginning of the school year, however, the suggestions are excellent to use this time of year, as well. 
 www.abccreativelearning.com/tips-for-parents-on-how-to-help-with-homework/#_a5y_p=4333820
     So, what's new with guidance class?  The 4-6 Campus will focus on "Show A Positive Attitude."  It's still a favorite lesson of mine!  Guidance class will focus on "growth mindset."   We will talk about positive statements they can make in the face of adversity.  There was an article in the March blog on growth mindset, that I would suggest reading if you didn't have a chance to do so last month.  6th graders will continue working on their Individual Learning Plans.  The K-3 Campus will be moving on to our last guideline, "Try Your Best In All You Do," which also ties into the "growth mindset" concept.   Last month I included a list of suggested "say this, not that" statements for students.  Here is an article, for parents that gives similar suggestions of "say this, not that."  imperfectfamilies.com/2012/11/06/say-this-not-that-a-parents-guide/  This is a really good list of suggestions, such ask your child "What was their favorite part of the day?" and not "How was you day?"  I am as guilty of asking that question as the next person!  They are all statements to help improve communication and foster self esteem.
     Finally, here is an article for parents of daughters, discussing their beauty.  It is not talking about outer beauty, but inner beauty.  In today's world, our daughters are constantly being subjected to criticism and  being told that they should look "this way" or "that way."  This article helps parents foster inner beauty so girls will follow "God's way."  www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/to-your-daughter-speak-the-truth  And here is an article that is good for a laugh.  If you have ever struggled with putting a toddler to bed, this is for you!  www.huffingtonpost.com/honest-toddler/how-to-put-a-toddler-to-bed-in-100-easy-steps_b_4968226.html
      Again, Happy Easter and have a happy and peaceful spring break! 

     Hello March!  This weather definitely has been a breath of fresh air, and I hope it continues to be warm and pretty.  This month's focus will be "Show a positive attitude" (for the K-3 Campus) and "Imitate Christ in all things" (for the 4-6 Campus).  The Lenten lessons, from last month, will continued to be discussed as well!
     Showing a positive attitude can be so difficult to do and this month gives us a chance to really emphasize the effects of being positive.  As I was researching various activities for the student's guidance classes I found some interesting articles on failure.  What does failure have to do with showing a positive attitude?  A LOT!  I won't say that it is looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, but I will say it is realistic.  In this article from All Pro Dad http://www.allprodad.com/10-things-to-teach-your-kids-about-failure/ one of the first points mentioned was "not everyone gets a trophy" and the "everybody wins" concept.  As you and I both know, not everyone wins.  There are people who fail.  There are teams who fail.  There are businesses that fail.  Failing is a part of life and it can be difficult.  What if we were able to grasp a life growing lesson from a failure?  What if we were able to share that with our children?  People would think of failure in a different light, a positive light!  This article definitely presents us with a growth mindset.  If you would like to learn about instilling a growth mindset in your children, try reading this article http://imaginationsoup.net/2014/09/17/help-child-unmotivated-growth-fixed-mindset/ by Melissa Taylor.  This is another great article that can guide parents on ways to praise kids and help them grow.  (Make sure to watch the video clip, in the article, by Championship Newsletter.)  The 3rd, 4th and 5th graders (4th and 5th graders will cover this next month) will get a copy of a growth mindset chart that looks like this:

It will be put to good use during guidance class and I hope the students continue to use it long afterwards!
     The 4th and 5th grader's lessons are going to focus on "Imitating Christ in all things."  The students will be reading The Quilt Maker's Gift, by Jeff Brumbeau.  This is a story about giving to others.  How perfectly it goes with the Jubilee Year of Mercy and the season of Lent.  A king learns about giving, contentment and kindness, by giving away all of his prized possessions.  This article http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/spiritual-growth-for-kids/teaching-servanthood/stewardship-sacrifice-and-a-ceiling-fan-teaching-kids-the-joy-of-giving from Focus On the Family, reviews some giving basics but also has some neat suggestions for ways to include our children in our giving as a family.  I could post link after link about inspirational stories of people selflessly giving to others.  However, there are stories like this surrounding us.  Kids who ask for donations for others instead of birthday gifts.  Teens collecting shoes for those who have none.  This month, the Aces Crusaders are working with the 4-6 Campus in collecting donations to make "blessing bags' for children who are placed in foster care or have to stay at an emergency shelter.  A lot of thought and discussion went into the decision of making blessing bags for children.  The students discussed the needs of children in emergency situations and what could help them feel better.  It is the works of mercy in action and it humbles my heart to hear how the students care for these children.   I hope that we continue to teach our children to give, even at times when it is not comfortable, all for the Lord.
      6th grade parents, the KHEAA accounts are open!  I will begin introducing the 6th graders to their Individual Learning Plans, which will include completing an interest inventory with each student.  Be on the look out for papers giving you step by step instructions for students to sign into their accounts.  Have your child show you around the sight and show you their survey.  There is a lot to see!  The information on this site just begins to scratch the surface of the unlimited possibilities for their futures.
     As always, feel free to email me with any concerns or feed back you may have at   kim.bennett@owensborocatholic.org or I can be reached at either school at (270) 683-6989  (4-6 Campus) or (270) 684-7583.

                                February

     Good bye January, hello February!  I am not a person who likes the cold, so I look at February as one step closer to springtime.  With February, the season of Lent is charging toward us as well.  I have a love/hate relationship with Lent.  While it is difficult at times doing the extra activities that I set out to do and giving up meat on Fridays, it also prepares us for rebirth!  To help myself get through, I tell myself, "Its only one day.  He hung on the cross for me for three hours, the least I can do is go without meat (or whatever the challenge is at that time)."  My kids hear that statement a lot during Lent.  It puts the sacrifice into perspective. 
     The season of Lent is the continuation of the story.  If Jesus's life and our redemption were put into a series of movies, the nativity movie would come to a close with "To Be Continued..."  Lent and Easter would be the next movie in line, with a closing of "The Beginning!"  It is the beginning of eternal life for us.  So I keep all this in mind as I go through the season of Lent.  
     During guidance class this month, the focus will be the season of Lent.  I will be reading the Tale of Three Trees in kindergarten through 5th grade classes.   The book tells the story of three trees that have hopes of wonderful futures.  However, they are cut down and used during Christ's life.  Each realizes their special purpose and how it is much better than what they had each envisioned.  
     Here are some links to good reads for the season of Lent: 
 
http://www.crosswalk.com/family/parenting/10-lenten-traditions-to-enrich-your-familys-easter-celebration-11566549.html
This one is a basic overview of Lent but gives some suggestions for celebrating it as a family.

http://dynamiccatholic.com/bestlentever/
This link is to Matthew Kelly's Best Lent Ever sign up.  After signing up, you will receive a daily email throughout Lent.  It's a really good "food for thought" email!

     The 6th grade students will begin developing their individualized educations plans.  6th grade parents, look for letters coming home explaining the beginning of this program that will be utilized until they graduate from high school and possibly beyond that milestone.   Here is a link to give you a little bit of information about this process.  Their ILP's have some inspiring and eye-opening components that can encourage 6th graders to start thinking about their futures.
 http://education.ky.gov/educational/ccadv/ilp/Pages/default.aspx
    
 I hope everyone enjoys their February!  Please feel free to contact me at kim.bennett@owensborocatholic.org if you have any questions or comments.

                                                    Happy New Year!  

     I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas break and a wonderful beginning for 2016.  As we make our New Year's resolutions, it is a perfect time to remember the corporal and spiritual works of mercy that are being emphasized in this Jubilee Year of Mercy!  The season of advent was an exceptional way to kick off the year and we can renew our promises with our New Year's resolutions!  In the monthly guidance lessons, we will be applying the works of mercy into our Guidelines for Success.  

     At the K-3 Campus, we will focus on "Imitate Christ in All Things."  The various stories I will be reading will demonstrate at least one work of mercy if not more.  I hope to encourage the students to apply what they are learning in class to their everyday lives.

    At the 4-6 Campus, the 4th and 5th grades are reviewing "Respect Others and Yourself."  As I have said before, this is a difficult concept for students to define in their own words.  I look forward to teaching about respect through the works of mercy!  The 6th grade will be wrapping up the bullying curriculum.  I plan to incorporate the works of mercy in these classes as well.  After many attempts to find a working link to a perfect article about respect and failing to do so, I am resorting to the old fashioned way and typing the article I found in the Wall Street Journal, posted on December 17, 2015:

                                                     Parenting in the Age of Awfulness 

        Children are immersed in a culture that stokes disrespect.  Here's how to install some civility. 

                                                               by Leonard Sax

     Kyle was absorbed in a video game on his cell phone, so I asked his mom, "How long has Kyle had a stomach ache?"  Mom said, "I'm thinking it's been about two days."  Then Kyle replied, "Shut up mom.  You don't know what you're talking about."  And he gave a snorty laugh, without looking up from his video game.  Kyle is 10 years old.

     I have been a physician for 29 years.  This sort of language and behavior from a 10-year-old was very rare in the 1980s and the 1990s.  It would have been unusual a decade ago.  It is common today.  America's children are immersed in a culture of disrespect: for parents, teachers and one another.  They learn it from television, even on the Disney Channel, where parents are portrayed as clueless, out-of-touch or absent.  They learn it from celebrities or the Internet.  They learn it from social media.  They teach it to one another.  They wear t-shirts emblazoned with slogans like "I'm not shy.  I just don't like you."

     The challenge of raising children in America today is different from 30 or 50 years ago.  Back then, popular culture supported the authority of parents, whether it was the "Andy Griffith Show" in the 1960s or "Family Ties" in the 1980s.  Kids are not born knowing how to be respectful.  They have to be taught.  

     Multiple lines of evidence, including cohort studies such as the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, now demonstrates that disrespectful children are more likely to grow up anxious and depressed, three times more likely to be overweight, more likely to be fragile, less healthy and less creative, compared with respectful children.

     But don't give up hope.  Just as I see children like Kyle in my office, I also see children who are courteous, respectful, happy and confident.  Same race, ethnicity and household income.  But the parents are different, and they parent differently.

     For the past seven years, I've been talking with parents and their children, trying to understand why some children are respectful even though most of their peers are not.  The difference is in the parents.

     Here's some of what those parents have taught me: Require respectful behaviors at all times.  It's OK to disagree.  It's never OK to be disrespectful.  Prioritize the family.  The family meal at home is more important than piling on after-school extracurricular activities.  Instead of boosting self-esteem, teach humility.  Fight the cultural imperative to be "awesome."

     Moreover, no screens when you are with your child.  Put your cellphone away.  No electronic devices at the dinner table.  Teach the art of face-to-face conversation.  No devices in a public setting, such as the doctor's office.  Govern your children's use of social media, television and any device with a screen.

     If your going to make a change, don't be subtle.  New Year's Day is a good time as any to sit down with your children and explain that there are going to be some changes in how we talk, in how we behave, in how we treat one another.  It is possible to create a culture of respect in the home while living in the U.S. today.  It isn't easy, but it can be done.

     -Dr. Sax is a practicing physician in West Chester, P.A., and the author of "The Collapse of Parenting," out this month from Basic Books.

That article could not have come at a better time!  I'm as guilty as the next parent in doing some of these faux pas (playing on my phone in front of my kids-guilty)!  But it is never too late and it is a great time to make some changes!
     I am also including some resources about the Jubilee Year of Mercy.  Through this website, you can also sign up to receive monthly updates. http://info.americancatholic.org/year-of-mercy?portalId=465210&hsFormKey=b5c60689874480804a2fae470e80acbe&submissionGuid=0ee7f7b3-2aa3-45b0-9603-d0af999abe66#module_144909626408712921 
 Matthew Kelly's website ( http://dynamiccatholic.com/  ) could be another resource.  Matthew Kelly offered a wonderful program during advent, in which he sent out daily emails that reflected not only on advent but the works of mercy as well.  I am hoping that he will have another program for the upcoming Lenten season.  These websites offer explanation and encouragement for me, which I then pass on to the kids.  

    Here's to the new year-2016!  Have a wonderful month!