Encouragement & Plans for the First Monday after the CT Shooting

Well, tomorrow is the first day after the school shooting. I don't know about everyone else, but I have a wide range of emotions being experienced right now. How is everyone doing?

 

Honestly, it makes me really depressed and not want to go back. I just think about all that is wrong with society that would lead to something like that....and I feel like the issues are insurmountable. I've lost my "super teacher" mentality and feel that I can't help everyone. It's a sucky feeling, and I've spent a lot of time thinking, praying and grieving this weekend.

It also makes me that much more aware of my students and their actions. I have a few students with mental health issues, and you better believe that ALL of my students will be under a watchful eye for any sign of distress, depression or violent tendencies.

 

Some of our kids have emailed our P asking what we can do as a school to show our support. Does anyone have any ideas they might want to share? Tomorrow is going to be a hard day for everyone. I can't imagine how parents will feel.

 

One of my coworkers emailed us to let us know that there is a big push to wear green and white (Sandy Hook's colors) tomorrow.

 

I'm surprised that my parents didn't say anything when they picked up students on Friday. I just knew that there had been a shooting, I had no time to learn more, maybe my parents were the same way.

I'm hoping that my kinders don't know about it, but you never know. I'm glad that I have 5 days with my kiddos before break.

 

I'm nervous about going back to be honest. I really hope that my kids don't know a lot about what happened, but I'm sure that they will. I still can't wrap my mind around it.

 

I'm worried about answering their questions. I can't even understand it myself. I just read that one of the boys killed had a twin sister in another class who survived. It breaks my heart even more as a mom of twins and knowing their special relationship. I just cried again for this family. Watching the President address the nation now.

 

This article helped me...

http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/blog/no-ordinary-monday

Since I am a parent and a teacher, my emotions are really strong and right at the surface. The article helped me think about how important it is to be calm and follow our routines.

 

How awful! I hadn't heard that story yet. I'm worried about the questions too. I think the best we can do is assure them they are safe. I heard one of the parents of a child who survived in an interview say, she didn't even know how to answer her child's questions and they lived it. I don't know that there are answers.

magistra44-there is an address floating around to send cards, etc.

 

I plan to follow our routines as best as possible. If my kiddos seem really affected, I found this: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/...book-to-reassure-students-that-school-is-safe

It's a freebie, so I don't mind posting the link.

 

I'm not sure how I feel. I have kindergarten, I don't plan to tell them anything, but what it they already know? Or talk about it with their friends? I don't want to tell the kids who don't know with respect to their parents, but I'm not sure how to respond to the kids who might now whilst still being respectful.

I don't want to down play the situation, but I, just not sure how to handle it. Seeing as I'm part of the after school I'm not sure what they might be doing throughout the day first.

 

I need encouragement. As a teacher and as a mom, I have been very emotional all weekend, and I am worried that I won't be able to hold it together tomorrow.

Also, I teach middle school....it's a hard age when dealing with stuff like this because they don't really have the emotional maturity yet, and a lot of sarcasm/jokes come out as a result. I'm really afraid that I will burst into tears in front of my students tomorrow. I'm trying to figure out how to address them at the beginning of class without a) downplaying the events or b) scaring them even more.

Someone help!

 

I'm concerned too.
I know some kids will know everything that I know. I know other kids will know nothing or very little. I am afraid my "know it all kids" will push the discussion. I am not going to bring it up but I am fairly certain they will. Not sure what to do when they do other than listen and assure them we are safe. I am worried about it though.
I want to encourage my kids to do random acts of kindness this week too.

 

I am also in 6th and unsure of how to handle it. I think we will journal our reactions (writing is a normal morning work routine for us) and talk about it in morning meeting as we would any other journal entry. I have been really upset all weekend as well.

 

I worry about this, too. I remember that around the time that Amanda Todd committed suicide (from bullying), I remember hearing the students talking about a girl in the 8th grade who had made a VERY offensive "joke" about the method that Amanda used to kill herself. That made me absolutely furious. If something like that happens tomorrow, I may just break down and cry....which is something I really don't want to do.

 

I really like this idea. I don't want to focus on the negative.......

 

My system did a robo call this evening to let parents know that we have a safety plan in place and they will see more police officers out tomorrow in and around our schools. I guess the thing to do is to reassure the kids that we love them and will do our best to keep them safe.

 

Same here. I feel prepared to talk about it if they bring it up. I plan on saying something like, "Someone made bad choices, and hurt some kids at a school far away. I always tell you that my most important job as your teacher is to keep you safe, so you do not have to worry about that happening here."

 

I think that any parent who sends their child to school not knowing about something like what happened on Friday, and expects them to come home from school still not knowing about it is incredibly naive.

Kids will talk. Period.

 

This is an e-mail we received from our superintendent:

…I also asked Pam Miller for some of her thoughts, and she mentioned limiting exposure to the event - while acknowledging the tragedy it is important not to be specific with details. We know many students have watched this in the media and seen pictures over the weekend as more details unfold. Conversations need to be age-appropriate and there are some good tips below. It is important to remember that we do have emergency plans in place and lockdown procedures that are practiced. A good point is that little ones (and maybe older children may fear they are not safe) and students may wonder if this could happen at their school – he mentions that many may not understand where Connecticut is. He also speaks about students to monitor at this time.
Tips for Educators and other Professionals:
• Listen and create a school environment that acknowledges all feelings.
• Do not bring media coverage into the classroom as a teaching tool unless there is a specific educational reason to do so. Students should be given the choice not to participate. The school administration and teaching staff should identify vulnerable youth who should not participate. In highly sensitive cases having a school counsellor in the classroom for the discussion is advised.
• Identify children who will be most affected by the tragedy. For example children who have recently lost a loved one, are depressed and anxious, traumatized children and children who have been the victims of violence. Provide support that is age appropriate and based on the level of need.
• Identify staff who will be most affected and provide classroom support when possible and access to counselling when appropriate.
• For older children provide a forum for discussion with adults skilled at fostering open and productive messages that build reassurance and therapeutic insight.
• Let older children know who they can contact in the school to receive support and reassurance.
*Special Note Regarding Elementary Age Children: It is a myth that young children are resilient and can be exposed to serious trauma and yet somehow be oblivious to it. Research has made it quite clear that young children do not have the cognitive sophistication or emotional maturity let alone brain development to process something as unthinkable as the events in Connecticut. We should expect that some children within the "Impact Zone" will regress and employ creative defense mechanism to try and make sense and feel safe in their newly challenged worldview. We know that younger children who watch media reports or even hear detailed accounts from their friends of what they saw on TV or the computer can result in symptom development. Children who watch media reports often embed themselves in the coverage and can feel as if they are or were there in person. When anyone (including adults) has direct exposure to trauma a question we ask is "how many senses were activated?" In other words: sight, sound, touch, smell, etc. By exposing children to live or repeat televised trauma we are activating at least two senses: sight and sound! The brain's heightened neurochemical activity during exposure is why if the human organism is actually traumatized we now understand that trauma is stored in the body at the cellular level. We need to protect our younger children from as much "traumatic stimuli" as possible. Evidence of the confusion children experience is the fact that many do not know where Connecticut is and have an unexpressed fear that it is nearby (in other words, close to where I live, and therefore it will happen here too?). Asking a student who is showing signs of interest or distress about the shooting, "do you know where Connecticut is?" will often lead to relief when we explain our proximity to the location of the tragedy.

 

Thinking of you all... I remember the days after 9/11 for the class I was working in. It was tough!!!

Hugs to all to get through this week....

 

We had a short staff meeting this morning that began with a moment of silence. Our flags are at half mast. None of the students in my class have brought this up, although I'm sure that most spent a fair bit of time this weekend hearing about it.

 

As a sub, I'm not sure how to proceed. I spoke to the principal and he advised only discussing it with the students if I feel comfortable with it and ONLY if they bring it up. He also suggested having them speak to the consueler on campus if need be.

As soon as I saw my little cousin at school (who is a senior) I gave him a big hug and told him no matter what, I'd always keep him safe--or do my very best to.

All we can do is be their for the kiddos if needbe. We need to put on our strong faces. We can always break down later. Right now, the kids are our top priority no matter what grade lvel they are in.

 

Then again, I could be wrong.

 

The only thing I did was tell my students that in lieu of writer's workshop, we were just going to write down our questions, feelings, and concerns about the events of this weekend. Most of them did not know what I was referring to. Discussing it with my own children last night was excruciating. My daughter was scared to go to school today and that breaks my heart.

 

We had a meeting this morning, and were told not to bring it up. If students were talking about it, we were to say, "I hear some of you are worried about your safety. Here is how we keep you safe at school..."

Not one of my kids brought it up. I actually didn't hear a single mention of the tragedy today, other than the teacher meeting in the morning.

 

It went all right. They were mostly concerned with what we would do if it happened at our school. It was a good time to review lock down procedures. Most just said "That's really sad."

One of my sassy troublesome students shouted out when I asked "What did you hear on the news?" He said "I heard it's going to snow Thursday and Friday." Thankfully nobody thought he was cute.

 

No students brought it up in my class either. We weren't given any direction on what to do or say, but I haves plan if it comes up based on several articles I found and what I read here.

 

Of all the tragedies that have happened over my short 28 years, this one has hit me the hardest. I'm not an overly emotional person, but this really has me thinking about my life and my career.

Today I moved on as normal and only had one kiddo bring it up. I did ask the kids if they knew why we were wearing green, they knew and we had a good, short talk about it.

 

Here's a plan for teachers to help encourage children to do good-

27 Random Acts of Kindness
A friend has decided to commit to 27 Random Acts of Kindness in honor of the 27 small children and teachers that lost their lives this week. Her theory: Maybe by paying forward a few random kindnesses, we can prevent more random violence. During a week filled with quite a lot of bad news, this idea really struck me as beautiful. Kindness is always GOOD NEWS. I'm in! Are you?

 

Mine didn't talk about it either. A parent e-mailed and said they kept the kids away from the news all weekend and didn't want them to know about it. Every classroom I tried to go into was locked during the day-no one did that before.

 

I teach 5th grade and the students were talking about it even before the school day started. It turned out that all the students knew about it. I did talk about it and made sure they had accurate information as some had some information that was worse than it was.

I did let them know how rare this type of event is, and how safe we really are at our school. They agreed that they feel really safe at our school.

 

No mention of it either, I was definitely relieved to say the least.

 

None of the students that I subbed for today brought it up.

 

I had a number of parents email me before school today, asking me to please not bring it up. I wasn't going to anyway. Not one child talked about Sandy Hook that I heard today. I think the fact that it happened on Friday and the kids had a weekend (with Christmas to be thinking about, too!) really helped. I have absolutely no plans to do anything different because of Newtown.

 

I was planning on having a discussion if it came up, but not one student even mentioned it. I agree with msufan; I think especially at this age, if something does not directly affect them, they tend to forget about by the next day.

 

I didn't have any students mention it but I sure had a lot of students missing today! I teach K-5 Music and see 9 classes a day. I had anywhere between 5-6 kids missing from each class today. While some of them may have missed for legitimate reasons, to have that many students gone from each class at my school is highly unusual. I don't blame parents. Some of them may have been thinking that there may have been someone trying a repeat. I think by tomorrow, parents will feel more comfortable.

 

None of the students brought it up in the class I was subbing for either.

 

An article that I read this morning that I found rather touching:
http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.c...ll-teachers-are-in-it-for-the-kids/?hpt=hp_t2
"Above all, teachers are in it for the kids"

 

I thought the song they sang at the beginning of the voice was nice as well!!!