Veterans Day

Check out our Veteran's Day tribute! Our families and staff contributed pictures and Ms. Ladue had our Show Choir sing a song to put in the background of the show.  We also copied the pictures and hung them up on a bulletin board for everyone to see. 

New Online Counselor Request

Do you want one of the school counselors to check in with your child? If so, visit the Old Bonhomme Dashboard then click on the Counselor Request button (shown above).  Potential reasons to meet with a school counselor include but are not limited to: getting help working through a problem with a peer, scheduling a lunch with a friend, or dealing with the loss of a loved one. We are here to help in any way we can. Once the form has been completed and submitted, Mrs. Arnold and Ms. Carey will get a notification and work together to schedule a time for one of them to meet with your child. 

Future Possibilities

For more information and examples click here.  If you have questions contact Hayley Arnold, school counselor at 314-983-5546 or harnold@ladueschools.net. 

Stressful Thoughts

Research says that we spend about 40% of our time thinking about stressful thoughts. Thoughts about how we are not good enough, pretty enough, smart enough, or worthy enough of something. These thoughts keep us from trying something new, raising our hand to share our thoughts and so much more.

Byron Katie has devoted her life to something she calls doing The Work.  The Work consists of four questions that help you face these stressful thoughts straight on.   Is it true?

Can you absolutely know it is true? How do you react, what happens, when you think this stressful thought? Who would you be without this thought?

Recently, we taught our third and fourth grade students this strategy and have encouraged them to make it a habit to ask themselves these questions. If you are interested in learning more about the work, check out thework.com.  The Four Questions: For Henny Penny and Anybody with Stressful Thoughts and Tiger, Tiger is it True? by Byron Katie are great books to reinforce this strategy with kids and not a bad place for adults to start either.

No doubt raising children can lead to a fair amount of stress for you as well.  Marriage and Family Therapist, Susan Stiffelman, uses these four questions in work she does with parents and shares her insights in the book Parenting Without Power Struggles: Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm, and Connected (2010). The Counseling Office has a copy available to borrow, if you are interested please contact one of our school counselors.

The possibilities are limitless on who we can be and what we can do just by changing our thoughts.  

Career Trek

Fourth grade students will be exploring Career Trek and gathering information about different careers during CARE Time lessons this week.

Welcome New Families

We are glad you are here and can't wait to meet you.  Since we know it is normal to be nervous about coming to a new school, we created a Welcome Presentation to put your mind at ease.  In the presentation you will find information about transitioning, our expectations, and themes along with photos of our principal, administrative assistants, and speciality teachers. Let us know if you have any questions. We are going to have a GREAT year!

Classroom Supply List 

What did the Counselors Do This Year? by Hayley

Balance Feels Best

Do you ever feel a little off? Of course you do, we all do. Next time you are not feeling like yourself, stop and reflect on what is going on in your physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual life. More than likely, you are neglecting one or more of these areas.  In order to feel like our best self we must proactively work to renew and restore these parts of our life.

The Physical Dimension (Body)

The physical dimension involves caring for your body by eating the right foods, getting enough rest and relaxation, and exercising on a regular basis.

• Go for a walk
• Try something new like yoga, boxing, or a strength building class
• Get enough sleep
• Drink more water
• Be mindful of how the foods you are fueling your body with make you feel

The Social/Emotional Dimension (Heart)

Our emotional life is primarily developed out of and manifested in our relationships with others. Renewing our social/emotional dimension requires focus and exercise in our interaction with others.

• Play a board game with the family. 
• Schedule movie night. 
• Plan an activity with your extended family. 
• Call a grandparent or other relative and see how they are doing. 
• Schedule a regular date night or night out with friends. 
• Go outside and talk to the neighbors. 

The Mental Dimension (Mind)

It’s important keep your mind sharp by reading, writing, organizing and planning. Read broadly and expose yourself to great minds.

• Plan an experience or field trip for yourself or with your family
• Listen to a podcast
• Watch a documentary 

The Spiritual Dimension (Soul)

The spiritual dimension is your center, your commitment to your value system. It draws upon the sources that inspire and uplift you and tie you to timeless truths of humanity.

• Fly a kite
• Take a nature walk 
• Meditate or practice mindfulness
• Start and/or end your day by giving yourself a “high five”--think of 5 things you are grateful for

Next week during CARE Time (counseling lessons), we will be reinforcing this concept based off of Stephen Covey’s work around the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People with our students using the language of body, heart, mind, and soul. You can reinforce the lesson/concept by modeling your own practice of balancing these dimensions, discussing your practice with your child, helping them reflect and see what area they may be neglecting, and having them identify an activity to renew themselves. Practicing this reflection strategy will help us be our best at school and home.

3rd & 4th Grade Book Club Opportunity

As our children get older friendships become more complicated.  We want to be proactive and give our students the tools they need to navigate these new experiences. We are offering third and fourth grade students an opportunity to participate in a bookclub fourth quarter.  We will be offering A Smart Girl's Guide: Friendship Troubles (Revised): Dealing with fights, being left out & the whole popularity thing (Smart Girl's Guides) and Inspiring Stories of Sportsmanship.  Parts of each book will be assigned weekly and the students will meet with a staff member once a week to discuss the reading during lunch.  If you would like your child to participate please sign up here.  Make sure you pick up the book or let us know if you need one.  We will start the bookclub meetings the week of April 9. 

January Career Presentations

A huge thank you to our parents and grandparents who came in and presented about their careers.  Click here to check out what you children learned.  We have an amazing community! If you are interested, you can sign up for April classroom career presentations by clicking here. Remember all work matters and we want to hear about your story.

College Savings Discussion

We appreciate parent Chris Bowers coming in to lead a discussion about 529 plans.  In addition, our parents generated a list of tips to help prepare our children for college. The Tips from Parents touches on topics of money, college conversations, opportunities, activities, and saving for college.  The conversations and time we devote to college preparation now can make the process less stressful later.

Calm Down Party

Sign up your child to create their own calming kit with the school counselors. They will get to make slime, a stress ball, and a mindfulness bottle.  Click here to go to the OBPTO fundraising page and sign your child up.

Great Kindness Challenge

The Great Kindness Challenge is January 20-27. This is one week dedicated to creating a culture of kindness on campuses nationwide.

All OB students will receive a GKC checklist (K-2, 3-4 list) with deeds to complete. Please encourage your child to complete the deeds and show the world that.....KINDNESS MATTERS! Students can turn their completed checklist into the counseling office and earn a heart to write their name on and display in the hallway.