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Advisory

On Middle School Years:
In no other stage of the life cycle,
are the promises of finding oneself
and the threat of losing oneself
so closely allied – Erik Erikson
 

Advisories meet for the first ten minutes of school, before snack in the multi-purpose room, and the last ten minutes before we head down to the multi-purpose room to be dismissed.  Students from sixth grade make up two of the advisories, so that we can connect with each other as more than half of the students are new to Strong Foundations.  The other four advisories are made up students from both seventh and eighth grades to create a larger social pool.  This time lets us build community, have a larger social pool than just the students who are in the same classes, and gives us opportunites to support one another.  We work on the social curriculum, peer relationships, and self esteem while taking care of mundane matters such as attendance, lunch, and snack beverage.  I encourage students and their families from my advisory to contact me with issues that aren't directly related to a particular subject or curriculum matter. The messages repeated during this time are; fun is NOT a frill and nice matters!  I am most excited to be in a sixth grade advisory!

 

While reading about advisories this summer, I found the following quote on http://www.pdx.edu/sites/www.pdx.edu.coun/files/media_assets/sca_proj_weiss.pdf:

 
The time allotted for teacher-advisory during the day “becomes, in effect, the students’ home within the school, where they have a supportive teacher and group of peers with whom they can explore personal interests, goals, and concerns.”

 

This is my hope for our 6th grade advisory for this year....  Together we can grow!

Videos:
  1. Team Building Day Team Building Day ( 2.5 MB )
Web Links:
  1. BAM: Body and Mind BAM: Body and Mind
    You can learn about physical and mental health at this site from the Centers for Disease Control. You'll find fact sheets, activities, game and lots more. Check out the section on conflict resolution and play the Bully Roundup!
  2. It's My Life: PBS It's My Life: PBS
    This site for kids and tweens looks at issues like family, friends, emotions, school, and body. You'll find video of kids, games, polls, and more. A section on bullies looks at what a bully is, how to handle bullies, and determining if you are a bully.
  3. Review of books on bullying--very informative! Review of books on bullying--very informative!
Author: Marilyn Knapp
Last modified: 6/27/2015 6:55 AM (EDT)