Guest Blogger Addeline Morlan Tells Her Joyology Journey

Joyology!

by Addeline Morlan

            Joyology is a student-run group at Carlisle Middle School that spreads kindness, positivity, joy, and acceptance throughout the school to make people feel more included and welcome in the school environment. 

            I created Joyology in fifth grade when I noticed more and more kids being excluded, and when others were alone on the playground. When I noticed this I started to go over to them and be kind to make them feel included. Soon other friends joined me and we would go around the playground and be kind to those students. We would also offer for them to join us at recess. Not only would we help kids who were excluded, but we would also help solve disagreements between friend groups. 

            In sixth grade, I decided to build upon the same concept, but instead, turn it into a student-run group. This is when many of my friends got involved and wanted to help. Joyology then became an official group. Throughout our middle school years, we have had regular meetings during lunch. At our meetings, we planned events and small acts of kindness to do for the students and staff of our school. 

           Some examples of Joyology’s kind acts include: candy and compliments, hanging up posters, kindness challenges, candy cane bombing the parking lot, and giving the teachers notes and treats.       

  

            I feel that kindness is important because if someone feels good in response to a kind action, then they are more likely to spread the kindness that they received, creating a ripple effect.  Also, you never know what battles people are fighting, and to do something kind, even though it may be small, could really impact someone who is having a tough time. This kindness is needed to help kids who are having a hard time, and it is especially needed in middle school. It is nice to know that people have your back, so I feel like doing these small acts of kindness is a reminder that there are people who care. 

Joyology has helped me realize how important kindness is, no matter how small the kind acts are, they are always appreciated by someone who needs it. Joyology has helped me strive to do little acts of kindness everyday. If there has been anything that I have learned, it would be that acts of kindness, big or small, can have a big impact. I have also learned that kindness never has a downside. I believe kindness is a super power because it can change the world.

Summer Meal Programs!

Summer Meals and Pantry Programs!

     With summer approaching very soon, our counseling and student support team wants to make sure families in our community know and have a few resources when it comes to food and meals. We know the summer can be tough for some families to provide enough food for their family, especially their children. Our community is fortunate to have two different food pantries. One is our School Food Pantry located in our elementary building. The other is the Community Food Pantry located at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Carlisle. Here are the “open” dates for the School Food Pantry this summer:

June 6^th

June 20^th

**July 2^nd (This is a TUESDAY. We will not be open on July 4^th)

July 18^th

August 1^st

August 15^th

   The Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Carlisle (1100 Market St.) has a food pantry open to the community on the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesday of the month. This pantry is open from 4:00-5:30 p.m. on these days.

   One final great source of food and meals is the Summer Meal Meet-Up program. There is a graphic attached to this Counselor’s Corner giving more details. This program provides daily breakfast and lunch to children age 18 and under here in Warren County. Polk County also has several daily breakfast and lunch programs as well. If these Warren County locations do not work, feel free to text “FOOD” to 877-877 to find out where the nearest free meal location is each day. You can also call the United Way at 2-1-1 and ask about the Summer Meals program.

    If you have any questions, please reach out to a school counselor in our district. We are here to help and we want to make sure the children and families in our district have resources to help with any of their food/nutrition needs.

Love and Logic Resource Links for Parents

Here is a brief article from our Counseling Corner that gives parents some resources and tools from Love and Logic, a great resource for parents and anyone who works with kids.

Have things been a little chaotic lately?   Looking for a few new tools to add to your parenting toolbox?

Perhaps you will find exactly what you need with Love and Logic.   Love and Logic provides strategies to help raise self-confident, happier, responsible, and motivated children while making parenting fun and rewarding.

Sound too good to be true? Check out https://www.loveandlogic.com/articles-advice/parents

This website is full of articles, video samples, and resources to get you on your way.

For frequently asked questions check out https://www.loveandlogic.com/faq

Love and Logic does offer online classes (https://www.loveandlogic.com/love-and-logic-parenting-on-line) and many short video clips can be found on Youtube.

CMS 8th Graders to Visit College Campuses Around Central Iowa

            Our 8^th graders have begun their final semester of middle school and now is the time we really begin to get ready for high school. But we do not only prepare for high school, we also prepare for life after high school. We have a focus on creating students who are “College and Career Ready” at Carlisle and for 8^th graders, this means a busy final semester. So while 8^th graders are making their 4-year plans and selecting high school courses, they are also going on one of six college campus visit days as well!

            Beginning this week with an Iowa State trip, groups of 20-35 8^th graders will go on a trip to either Iowa State University, Simpson College, Grandview University, Central College, Drake University, or Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) in Ankeny sometime in the next month or two. Each student was placed on one of these visits based on college or career interests they listed on a notecard. The goal of these visits is for students to see what a college or university looks like, help students see themselves on a college campus someday, and to get ideas and plans in their heads as they begin to plan their high school coursework. While not every student goes on to a 2 or 4-year college after high school, we want all students to know and understand this option and how a student could pursue this option if that is the route he/she chooses to go.

            Near the end of the year, the Carlisle Alumni Association puts on a Career Day for our 8^th graders. This event brings 20 or more Carlisle High School Alumni who are working their careers and want to help our students understand how to work towards getting into a similar career. This helps our students who have already seen what colleges are like to now see what a few careers are like. These two events combined are a great way to expose our students to the “College and Career Ready” culture we try to foster each and every day across our district. Being that this is our 5^th year of doing the college visits, when this year is done, every student grades 8-12 will have been on a college campus via this annual program!

School Counseling Week 2019!

School Counselors Celebrate During National School Counseling Week, February 4-8, 2019

National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), will be celebrated February 4-8, 2019, to bring attention to the unique contribution of professional school counselors.  National School Counseling Week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and graduate college and career ready.

School counselors are actively engaged in helping students examine their abilities, strengths, interests and talents; work in a partnership with parents as they encounter the challenges of raising children in today's world; focus on positive ways to enhance students' social/personal, educational and career development; and work with teachers and other educators to provide an educational system where students can realize their potential and set healthy, realistic and optimistic aspirations for themselves. Professional school counselors are certified, experienced educators with a master's degree in school counseling. The combination of their training and experience makes them an integral part of the total educational program.

Carlisle Community School District has a strong team of professional school counselors who work with students every day.  The counselors host many events throughout the school year including:  College Planning Night, Financial Aid Night, Resource Fair, Mental Health Awareness Night, Career Day, 8^th Grade College visits, Character Education, and Operation Backpack. 

Be sure to thank the counselors for all the work they do with our students!

Elementary Counselor:  Alex Wright

Hartford and Middle School Counselor:  Kim Flagor

Middle School Counselor:  Ben Barry

High School Counselors:  Stephanie Guthrie and Leah Heidemann

Counseling Corner: Counselors Busy with 2019-20 Student Planning and Registration!

Counselor’s Corner

            Our High School and Middle School counseling staff is starting to get very busy helping our 8^th grade through 11^th grade students get prepared for the 2019-2020 school year. This means a lot of meetings with groups of students to look over possible courses and plan for courses for the next school year. This is an exciting time for students and an important time for students to be thinking not just about next year, but to be thinking about their future after high school graduation.

                Currently, Mr. Barry has been working with 8^th graders using our Naviance software. Naviance Student is an amazing system for students and parents to use to research possible careers and colleges for ALL students in grades 8-12. Eighth graders have taken a few surveys to learn more about their personality and career interests. They have also spent some time looking into other post-secondary options such as 2-year college, 4-year college, military, and other options that students bring up as possible interests. Be sure to ask your 8^th grade child about Naviance and have your child show you how they log in. Once logged in, you will be able to see what careers and colleges he/she has saved and favorited. This site is available 24/7 year round, so feel free to explore it with your child whenever you want!

                Our high school counselors will soon join Mr. Barry and work with 8^th graders to actually learn about high school, learn about the courses the high school has to offer, and eventually create a 4-year plan of courses that will help each student graduate with enough credits. This is a big step for 8^th graders but a fun one.

                Our high school counselors also stay very busy in February and March working with each high school grade of students to help the students get registered for their next year of courses. If you have a high school student or an 8^th grader, February and March is a great time to ask your child about their career and college interests and what courses they are thinking about taking in the next year.

                By the time our students hit Spring Break, with the help of our counseling staff, their parents, and their own hard work and planning, all 8^th graders through 11^th graders should have an updated 4-year plan and should be registered for their 2019-20 courses. From there, our HS counselors have the tough job and getting all the students placed into their courses and adjusting the master schedule to make everything work as smooth as possible. It is a tough job, but getting everything to balance so that our students can benefit and achieve as much success as possible makes it all worth it. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to any of our counseling staff.

Key Dates for Students/Parents with Course Registration

February 13^th: HS Counselors will have met with all HS students on course selections.

February 13^th/19^th: HS Counselors work with 8^th graders on HS course selections and 4-year plans

***February 26^th***:  9^th grade Registration/Orientation Evening for 8^th graders and parents in the HS Auditorium at 6:30pm

March 7^th: By this date, HS students will have registered for 2019-20 courses

March 12^th: 4-year plans from 8^th graders DUE!

April 2^nd: ACT testing for all juniors (no school for 9^th, 10^th, and 12^th graders)

April 5^th: No school for Juniors

Counseling Corner: Our School Food Pantry...What is it, How Do I Use it, and Where Did it Move to?

School Counseling Corner

Our K-12 Counseling team would like to highlight the Carlisle Schools Food Pantry.  The pantry is an extension of the Food Bank of Iowa.  The pantry is open to the public on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursdays of the month from 4-6pm.  The pantry is now located in the elementary just across from the nurse’s office.  Visitors to the food pantry should use the West Entrance of the elementary.    We ask that community members wait until all students and buses are off campus before visiting the pantry (around 3:45pm).  Carlisle students are also able to access the pantry during the school day by contacting a school counselor. 

There is also a Carlisle Community Food Pantry located at the Holy Cross Lutheran Church on the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays of the month from 4-5:30pm. 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

Families and community members of the Carlisle School District. 

ARE THERE INCOME GUIDELINES?

There are no income guidelines. A brief, one-page application must be completed once per calendar year by individuals visiting the school food pantry.  

WHAT FOOD ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE?

Available foods will vary depending on Food Bank of Iowa’s supplies. Basics such as pasta, rice, breakfast cereal, canned vegetables, canned fruits, juice, etc., will always be available. Fresh dairy, produce, and bread are typically available during the times open to the public.

Can I make a donation to the School Food Pantry?

YES!  We accept donations at any time to the pantry.  You can drop off donations at the elementary or high school office during school hours.  We are always in need of personal care items such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toilet paper, deodorant, etc.  We also accept monetary donations that help us purchase milk, bread, and eggs each time the pantry is open. 

We would like to say “Thank You” to many groups in our community that have helped organize collection drives or make regular donations to the pantry.   Some of the groups include:  American Legion Auxiliary, Great Western Bank, Peoples Bank, Carlisle Student Council, Eagle Scout projects, Carlisle Wrestling and Football teams, and many others.  THANK YOU!

6th Grade Needs Assessment

6th Graders, please take the following survey. Your answers will not be seen by anyone other than Mr. Barry and Ms. Flagor. The results from the 6th grade as a group will be reported to your 6th grade teachers. Mr. Barry and Ms. Flagor will review the individual results and may invite you to groups based on these results. If you are in immediate need of talking to someone, please stop down and visit with one of us.

Great Links for Parents when it Comes to ESDs (Electronic Smoking Devices)

  Instead of making a variety of posts on our Counseling Facebook page, I figured it would be easier to put all the links in one blog post. Thank you to ISTEP (Iowa Students for Tobacco Education and Prevention) for all of these links and more in their recent newsletter. Electronic Smoking Devices (ESDs) such as Vapes and JUULs have exploded in use in middle and high schools across the country including our own schools. Some kids don't think it is that big of a deal. But it is. For teens and adolescents, these are not "Smoking Cessation" devices, these devices are designed to encourage students to smoke more and more and even take up smoking cigarettes. The information is there, the research is there, but our kids aren't seeing it, hearing it, and/or believing it. As parents and adults, educating ourselves so we can educate our children is key. With that being said, please take some time to click on these links and review the information.

Infographic on what Juuls are and how they hurt our young people

4 things Parents need to know about Juuls

Another Infographic from the CDC on ESDs such as Juuls

Smoking E-cigarettes Increases Likelihood Adolescents Will Smoke Cigarettes

8th Grade 2018-19 Needs Assessment

8th graders: Please take this Needs Assessment by clicking "Agree" or "Disagree" for each question. Make sure to type in your first name and last name in the first two questions. Please know that your answers may not be reviewed immediately, so if you do need to see Mr. Barry or Ms. Flagor about something important, come see them and do not wait for your survey to be reviewed. Your personal answers WILL NOT BE SHARED with anyone other than our counselors. Grade level data/answers will be shared with teachers, BUT NOT EACH STUDENT'S RESPONSES! Thank you!

8th Grade Bully/Harassment Survey

8th graders: Please take the following short survey and click submit at the bottom of the survey. We will use these results in a variety of ways to constantly improve how we work with students and staff on our Bullying and Harassment policies and procedures. Thank you!

Three Weeks Until School: How to Gently Get Your Child Back into School Mode!

     Self-disclosure....I have 5 school-age kids now and the transition back to school has highs and lows. The highs are pretty much limited to the excitement of the first day and getting all dressed up and running on adrenaline. The lows....are pretty much everything else. Earlier to bed (I can't sleep..it's light out!), earlier getting up (what time is it? Where is the sun?), schedule changes all over, homework, sitting in a desk for 7 hours a day, earlier lunch and no mid-afternoon snack (so we won't eat lunch at 1 p.m. Dad?), evening practices, not enough time to do all the fun stuff we want to do, etc., etc., etc.  Bottom-line, the two weeks it takes to adjust to this schedule is not fun for the kids or the parents. And I haven't even talked about the ramping up the skills needed to start at the next grade level. But, there are some simple things you can do to get your child ready for this change without having them freak out that you are ruining their summer (and if they do....remind them they got the first 10 weeks to do nothing, you are only using about an hour a day of their final 2-3 weeks!)

   *Start slowly changing their sleeping hours. Depending on the age of your child, the times may be different, but my guess is they are going to bed later and waking up later than normal. This doesn't happen for everyone, but it does for most. For my oldest two (6th/9th grade), they are now going to bed around 10 and waking up around 8 or 9. Hmm....that won't work. I need them in bed at 9 and up at 6:30. So, in August, we try to get there by August 23rd a little at a time. Begin with the wake-up process. I'm now getting them up at 8 a.m. at the latest. Sometimes I go to "work" at 7:30 or 8, so I get them up even earlier to help with watching the little kids. Do I have to go to work? No. But, by doing so, they have to get up and get going with their day. Win-win! By August 20th or so, we hope to have everyone up and ready for the day by 7:15 or 7:30. Next, work on the bedtime. Our goal is to get kids in bed and reading by the time we would normally want them asleep on a school night in a few weeks. They don't have to be asleep, but in bed with devices off and reading with start training their brain that this is time for bed. By the first week of school, their brain will see this as normal. With all the anxiety and excitement of the first day and week of school, it will be tough to sleep anyway.

  *Reading/Language Arts: If your child doesn't read daily, start this habit. It is the one habit that will not only help them in every subject in school, but study after study shows it leads to more success in life, a healthier life, and a longer life. Let your child pick the book or reading material, but don't settle for "I don't want to read", "I'm too old to read", or "No, I'm not reading." Here's a key point though....kids read more and fight you less if they see parents reading as well. So, find yourself a good book and take time each day to read. We pick a set time each day and call it "Reading time". Whole house shuts down and kids and parents read for 30 minutes. For my wife and I, it is one of our favorite times....it is QUIET and PEACEFUL! And I think it helps our stress level as well.

*Math: Elementary/Middle School age....take 5-10 minutes and do some basic math drills. If you have a device the kids like to play, put some math games on there and tell your child they have to do 10 minutes of math games if they want to play the device each day in August. There are a lot of fun math games out there. Find fun math videos on Youtube or online. Do practice problems. Take your child shopping and let them help you shop and explain how you are paying for it all. Financial literacy! Have your child pick up 10 toys and put them away. 20 toys! (Our house....20 toys each!). Anything to get your child using numbers and thinking numbers. Ten-fifteen minutes a day may not sound like much, but again, it gets the brain in number-mode which helps the transition back into math go much smoother.

  *All the other stuff....science, social studies, foreign language, computers, etc. Well, your child has already committed to losing about an hour of daylight by changing sleeping habits and now another 30-60 minutes doing reading and math, so piece in the other parts where you can. Go to the State Fair and really take in all the exhibits and things to see. Visit the State Capitol Building. Go hiking or fishing. Watch some cool science or travel shows on TV. Download Duolingo to your device/child's device and brush up on their Spanish if they are 6th-12th grade (Duolingo is AWESOME!). But make learning fun. Teach your child that life-long learning is and can be fun.

*Devices. Oh....continue to use them but set limits. So much of the new research is really scary about smart phones/technology and use by teens (and all people). And please....please.....keep the technology out of the bedrooms. Studies are unanimous about that idea. Smart phones, laptops, TVs in the bedroom of a child is NOT GOOD. Did you know the blue screen of phones actually keeps us awake? Companies know that if they used a yellow/dim screen at night, it would trick our brain into producing sleep-inducing hormones and cause us to fall asleep. So they purposely chose a color that does the opposite so we use their product more!! So....keep the tech out of the bedrooms and build good sleeping habits with your children.

   This may all sound like a lot, but really it is slight adjustments day by day to your child's sleep schedule and about 30-45 minutes a day of reading and some fun math stuff. You might be surprised at how it works and you may find your child has more immediate success to start the school year with their homework/grades.