Windermere Weekly Parent Update
12.3.21
From Get Grounded
By Kerry Foreman
I am watching my teens with awe as they unfold.
I notice my urge to mold, and I choose differently.
Instead I access curiosity.
I wonder why she chose that outfit, does it say something she wants to express?
He doesn't seem to love math anymore, I wonder what direction he will head instead?
She doesn't have as much passion for soccer these days, I wonder what her next "thing" will be?
I wonder why he loves this song, and how it speaks to him?
Take a step back...they are unfolding as they were intended to.
This is a painting that doesn't require you to put an ounce of paint on the canvas.
It's all their paint.
Their vision.
Their dreams and ideas.
You can and should contribute guidance for the painting.
Lessons learned.
Good questions.
Foresight.
But the painting is for them to paint.
Occasionally they may need to erase the whole thing and start over. That's okay.....they still don't need your paint.
They need your love.
Your unconditional belief.
Your support.
Notice the urge to paint on their canvas, and instead ask questions about the picture THEY are creating.
Breathe and believe. They've got this. Trust the job you have done thus far and lean into your new job.
Your new job is to have the paint ready at a moment's notice. To supply every color of paint you can. To be a leader by modeling not by instructing. To have your own life and your own interests.
To never, ever stop believing that the painting will be finished one day.....and it will be the best painting you've ever seen.
To be present without being needy.
To be loving without creating guilt.
To be THERE without being so THERE!
Nobody said it was easy.....and it's the best job you will ever have the privilege of creating.
#mindfulparenting #getgrounded
P.S. I originally wrote this post a couple of years ago referring to my then tween and teen. I now have two teens, and I feel even more passionately about this piece as I look around and notice the vast amount of parents that believe their teens need THEIR paint on the canvas. They believe that only they know how to paint that canvas and it should be painted as it always has. I encourage you to breathe, and be curious. Paintings aren't supposed to be replicas of each other.....and honestly, it doesn't really matter what your painting looked like at their age. This is a new human, with new ideas and new abilities.....let's just see what they paint....trust me on this one.
Happy Friday, Windermere. I hope to see many of you this evening at the Winter Festival in Old Arlington on the Mallway. Our fourth graders will be performing at 7:15 by the Fire House. It’s always a fun evening and a great way to celebrate the season. The event is from 6-8:30 p.m.
It was a GREAT week. I have been in so many classrooms this past week, and am so proud of how hard our students are working daily! I hope you are seeing the growth in your child(ren). During our bi-weekly grade level meetings, our priority is making sure every student at Windermere is meeting academic benchmarks, in addition to making progress in all areas. Our students and staff are almost half way through the school year. Can you believe it? We are so proud of the progress our students are making!
Above is a blog that a friend shared with me this week. As a tween/teen parent myself, this really impacted me personally. I know many of you have tweens/teens at home and of course, many of you aren’t quite there yet. Regardless of the age of your child(ren), as parents/guardians, we work hard every day to do our best to raise kind, competent, good humans. Of course, as elementary aged parents, our guidance looks a little different. I needed to hear/see the aforementioned and thought some of you might like to hear/see it too, even if it’s a few years down the road.
Have a great weekend, Windermere.
Julie
Upcoming Dates:
Friday, 12.17.21: Winter Parties at 2 p.m. & Students Last Day
12/20/21 through 1/3/22: Winter Break
Monday, 1.3.21: Staff Workday
Tuesday, 1.4.21: Students First Day after Winter Break
Tuesday, 1.11.22: Windermere Family Cultures and Traditions Night from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Monday, 1.17.22: Martin Luther King Jr. Day: No School for Students/Staff
Thursday, 1.27.22: 11:05 early release for Parent/Teacher Conferences
Thursday, 1.27.22: Family Wellness Night from 6-8 p.m.
Thursday, 2.3.22: Windermere Kindergarten Information Night for Parents 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Thursday, 2.10.22: Third Grade Musical at 7 p.m. (as of now this is still on the schedule)
Wednesday, 2.16.22: Early Dismissal at 1 p.m.
Monday, 2.21.22: Presidents’ Day, No School for Students/Staff
Thursday, 3.3.22: Global Education Open House, 7-8 p.m. (as of now this is still on the schedule)
Friday, 3.11.22: End of Second Trimester
3.14.22 through 3.21.22: Spring Break
Monday, 3.21.22: Teacher Workday
Frosty’s Playground: If you have time to volunteer next week, we would LOVE your help! It’s such a fun experience for our students! The sign up is located HERE.
SAVE THE DATE!!!! Windermere Families Cultures and Traditions Night on Tuesday, January 11, 2022 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.:
The annual Family Culture Night helps our students follow the Windermere Way by being respectful and ready to learn about different families in our community.
Families will host tables that creatively reflect an aspect of their culture defined as "the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation or people." Some ideas include featuring books, art, history, clothing and/or recipes from your culture. We hope this will be a fun family activity and we want to include as many cultures and traditions as possible. Please feel free to make this a student led activity that reflects their abilities.
Sign up for a table below. If you have already reached out to Julie Nolan about participating it should be included in the list. Please keep in mind that tables should not include any political or religious messages. However, it is okay to include religious background in the context of your culture and traditions.
SIGN UP
Feel free to contact Julie Coffman ([email protected]) or Jodi Baxter ([email protected]) with any questions.
From Mrs. O’Keefe: Counselor Connection Newsletter: Find parenting tips and resources in the December Newsletter linked here.
Food Rescue Drive:
Windermere is starting a collaborative project with Food Rescue US- Columbus!
Beginning next week (December 6th), there will be a Food Rescue station in our lunchroom! Students will have the option to drop in unopened, wrapped food items that they do not intend to eat. The collected food will be donated to the YMCA Shelter on Mediterranean Avenue.
We would love more parent volunteers to drive the food donations to the YMCA Shelter on Mediterranean Avenue on Friday afternoons. If you are interested, please email Anjali Das ([email protected]).
The goal of this project is to reduce food waste in landfills, feed people in our local community who are food insecure, and teach Windermere students about sustainable ways to end hunger.
Thank you!
Feeling Ill? We appreciate families being cautious and keeping students home if they are experiencing symptoms of illness. Prior to sending your student back to school, please consider testing for COVID-19 and/or influenza, as flu season is now officially underway. Families may pick up free at-home COVID tests from any school or the main branch of the UA library. Influenza tests are available through your doctor.
The World Almanac for Kids
The World Almanac for Kids from Infobase is free through InfOhio and is a reference resource for middle-grade students with research content on the arts, biographies, geography, health and guidance, language arts, life science, math, physical science, social studies, and sports. Extensive, up-to-date articles with cross-curricular coverage of topics for intermediate students are found in The World Almanac for Kids. It also includes Homework Help and a robust Teacher Resources section with lessons, printable handouts, critical thinking and assessment activities, trivia challenges, and more.
PTO Update
Thank you to all of our parent volunteers who are working hard to make sure our Hawks have lots of fun activities for upcoming class parties and support our amazing Windermere teachers and staff all year long. Before Thanksgiving break, our PTO supported Windermere staff with bags of treats with a thank you note for every teacher and staff member in the building. Many thanks to Grace Malone and Jenni Chatlos for making everyone feel so appreciated!
WINTER PARTIES - Planning for the winter classroom parties has begun so be on the lookout for an email from your room parent if any help or party items are needed.
FROSTY’S PLAYGROUND VOLUNTEERS NEEDED NEXT WEEK! This is a PTO-funded bounce house obstacle course run by our amazing and creative Windermere PE teachers, Jodi Palmer and Julie Meyer. We need lots of parent volunteers to make it happen, though! Sign up HERE for a morning or afternoon time slot (please wear your mask for your time slot). It’s a fun way to see your Hawks in action at school!
OUTREACH - If your family is experiencing financial hardship, the PTO outreach fund is available to assist. Just contact our school’s counselor, Katie O’Keefe, at [email protected]. ***All information will remain confidential*** Also, donations to this fund are ALWAYS welcome, especially this time of year if your family is looking to specifically help others in our Windermere community!
This is a great time of year to give back to our school community. If you would like to join the PTO in assisting members of our Windermere community through outreach, please visit http://uawindermerepto.org to donate, or email [email protected].
GO HAWKS!
Stephanie Tozbikian & Jen Mascho
PTO Co-Presidents