A New Year...New Opportunities!

New Years has become our annual time of reflection. A chance to look back, take stock, and make adjustments or "resolutions." Did you know the shelf life of most New Years resolutions is about 45 DAYS??? About 80% of us give up on our resolutions within the first few weeks of January, in fact. There is something both amusing and sad about looking back on my resolutions that I set for myself at the beginning of 2024. My waistline is still about the same as it was then, my book to write about my life my kids gave me last year still just has my name in it, and a lot of blank pages, and my yard still is in need of landscaping. Not meeting a grand goal is disappointing. Quitting is something that never feels good to anyone. My errors are that once I don't see immediate success, I give up and walk away from these things completely. And then I feel bad...I feel like a quitter. Psychologists have long complained that New Years Resolutions are a healthy idea that we have completely botched. Reflection and adjusting how we do things are both good things to do. However having a realistic expectation, a plan, and discipline to carry out that plan are what keep us from making our resolutions a reality. These experts would argue that instead of a yearly process of reflection and change, we should shift our focus to a smaller window of time. Like Daily. Each day brings us an opportunity to look at things and make adjustments. And if we don't get it done today...tomorrow is a new opportunity. This is true of students in school, or you in your daily lives as well. We all have had that day that is just horrible. We go home, at some point we go to bed, and in the morning a dawn comes. Its a new day, and a new opportunity to take stock, and do what we need to do! I hope as we move through January, embarking on another trip around the sun, that we can shift our focus, and try to make each day as fulfilling as we can! And if we can't today....the dawn of a new opportunity is just hours away. Happy New Year to you all...May 2025 be the year you look back on as one that was challenging, but rewarding. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns that we need to be aware of. Our office phone number is 360-538-8220.

Mr. Allan, our CTE teacher for Robotics and Coding, would like to thank, and honor the following students:

CTE Student of Month Robotics September

Ashlynne Carpenter- Ashlynne has a great work ethic to complete projects with a high degree of proficiency. Love having her energy in class.

CTE Student Of Month Coding September

Juan Quintero- Arellano- Juan daily goes above and beyond what is asked in coding and has an  amazing understanding of programming challenges. So much fun to have in class!

CTE Student of Month Robotics October

Matthew Dollarhyde- MAtthew is a building and programming genius at heart. Wow, he does some amazing things and asks great questions in his process. 

CTE Student Of Month Coding October

LunaBelle Jullian- Luna is so much fun in class with her own outlook and creativity added to everything. Such an artist and sharp mind with ability to create masterpieces of code.

CTE Student of Month Robotics November

Jasmine Johnson- What an amazing young engineer. I can always count on Jasmine to nail the assignment and programming the challenges to work. Love having Jasmine's positive energy in class every day!!

CTE Student Of Month Coding November

Charles Montoure- Hathaway- Charles has already mastered the language of coding and is a master problem solver. What a great future engineer.

CTE Student of Month Robotics December

Andres Carrada-Morelia- Andres is so much fun to have in class with his great work ethic and fun personality. He always seems to go above and beyond with his builds and programming. What a creative engineering mind!

CTE Student Of Month Coding December

Yutaka Hughes- There seems to be nothing Taka can not handle in what challenges. He is such a focused and determined young man to match his dynamic and peaceful personality.

Congratulations to all of these students, and thank you for all that you do!

We have all been there at one time or another. We go to the game or meet excited to watch our child compete, and two hours later we are leaving frustrated, because things didn't go like they hoped they would. Sports parents (and I have walked this path with all of you with my own two children) will probably know moments of great pride, and intense frustration (sometimes within moments of each other) throughout your child's sports career. There are a lot of things that we can do, and some things we definitely shouldn't do to help our kids get the maximum enjoyment from choosing to take part in a sport or activity. The following is an excerpt from an article found on the website for The Association for Applied Sports Psychology. You can find the whole thing here if you want to read the article as well as link to some of their great resources!( https://appliedsportpsych.org/resources/resources-for-parents/dos-and-donts-for-parents-of-young-athletes/ )

Some Do's and Don'ts for Parents of Young Athletes

Kay Porter, Ph.D.
Porter Performance Systems

Probably since the beginning of sport history there have been parents who were enthusiastic, shouting, supportive, critical, loving, pushing, caring, and demanding, on the sidelines or in the stands.  Most of the time, this is crucial to the performance, good or bad, of the child’s athletic endeavor.  The following are powerful DO’s and DON’Ts that will assist parents  in supporting their child in the most positive and beneficial way.  Coaches may be interested in giving this list to the parents of their athletes.

The DO’S

• Allow your child to be interested and want to play whatever sport he or she chooses.  Provide the opportunity of many choices and support his/her choice even if it is not yours.  Support your child’s choice to play NO sport when he/she is the most comfortable with that option.

• Teach your child to respect his/her coach.  Do this primarily by showing respect to the coach yourself.  It is vital to the child’s progress and performance that he or she listen to and trust the coach’s advice and instructions.

• Be willing to let your child make his/her own mistakes and learn from them.  When your child makes a mistake, ask what they think they could have done differently, what they learned from the experience, and if they would like any feedback (not criticism or blame) from you (such as what you saw, and what you think they might have done differently, and what you think they might have learned)….

• Be interested and supportive, light and playful, understanding and open-hearted.  Be accepting and tolerant of your child’s learning process and her/his physical abilities.  Acknowledge and enjoy your child’s participation and successes….even the small ones.

• Model flexibility of your own opinions.  Be willing to be wrong and move off your position.  Listen to the other side of the situation and let go of the need to be right or in control.

The DON’Ts

• Don’t try to relive your youth through your child.  Just because you wanted to be, or were, a hero on the football field or in gymnastics does not mean THAT sport will be your child’s choice.  Accept that your child may not excel in that or any sport.

• Don’t blame the equipment, coach, other players, referees or even the weather if your child or the team does not do well or win.  Blaming others teaches non-accountability to kids.  They do not learn to look at what they could have done differently, or learn from their mistakes if they learn to blame others.

• Don’t push, push, push….Children who are pushed beyond their capabilities may lose their self-confidence, become resistant and resentful toward their parent, become unsure of themselves and their abilities, and may stop trying.  They may also exhibit a disturbance in eating and/or sleeping habits.

• Don’t expect perfection or tie your ego or image to your child’s performance.  Perfectionism is a very hard expectation to live up to.  Laying guilt on a child because “their performance made YOU look bad,” is highly destructive.  Your child is NOT responsible for your ego or your reputation in the community.

Remembering this simple list may assist parents in remembering that youth sports are to be enjoyed by children as well as parents.  Most children play sports because they have fun playing.  When sports become work and drudgery, they lose interest and some of the joy in growing up.  Remembering to be a little less serious about life helps all of us to enjoy athletic competition.

Counselor's Corner

Happy holidays!!

This is such a busy time of year with all of the hustling and bustling getting ready for the festivities.  This year I have been thinking about family.  Family is important, whether it is your biological family or your friend family, both are very important.

Time spent with family is the best part of the holiday season, except for the expectations that may come with it.  This is something I'm working on this holiday season.  To remind myself it isn't all the planning, gifts, and food, but the time together laughing, telling stories, and maybe even some tears.  

Let's put away our devices for a few hours, even me, and watch a family movie, play a game, get a group out to do some caroling through the neighborhood, etc.  Remembering those precious moments of being with others are the core memories we will never forget.

Hope Squad

We put on our first ever Family Hope Night.  We had 67 total people, not counting the squad, in attendance.  The students started with this idea in September and started planning it.  My only part is being the fairy sprinkling things around making sure they had everything they needed.  They were so excited for this event.  If you attended, we thank you for much!!  We heard some families say they would like to see a spring one, so we will see.

Attendance

Attending school regularly helps students feel better about school and themselves. #ShowingUpMatters #AttendTodayAchieveTomorrow

Reminder!!  Parents/guardians have 48 hours to call and excuse your child.  Per the state, students should not have excessive absences, whether excused or unexcused.  Make sure you are calling your child in for absences! It is important to be in school.

Last month Hope Squad and Mr. Pelan, Jr.'s homeroom tied with a win with the most students attending school!!  Donuts were loved by all.

We love seeing your child(ren) at school!  If they are absent, make sure you are calling the school to excuse them.  If they have a doctor's appointment, bring in a doctor's note to excuse.  If you are planning a vacation, contact the office to set this up in a timely manner.  Mrs. Glasgow is our attendance person, 360-538-8221 or hms.attendance@hoquiam.net.