ARMS Teacher Appreciation Luncheon- Call for Volunteers

The ARMS Teacher Appreciation luncheon is being held on Thursday, March 13th.  (Please note that this is an early release date for our middle school students.)

This event is an opportunity for all of us to show the teachers and staff at ARMS how much we appreciate them--and we need your help!  We ask that you consider donating a dish of your choosing AND donating some of your time for advanced preparations or helping out the day of the event.
You can find a sign up list at:
http://armspgo.bringit.bz/public/efde38

We expect about 100 guests, including all teachers and staff.  Dishes should each serve 6 to 8 guests.  Dishes may be dropped off in the school office on the morning of the 13th between 7:30 and 9:30 AM.  (Volunteers can reheat items if appropriate.)  

If you are able, please consider signing up for multiple tasks.  If you are unable to cook or volunteer your time but would still like to help, we can accept monetary donations to be put towards the cost of goods.  Monetary donations may be left in the school office for the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon.

We also need volunteers to help students write thank you notes on Tuesday March 4th and Friday March 8th from 7:45 to 8:05 AM.  If you are able to assist with this, please contact Jen Veshia at jnbus@comcast.net.

A volunteer from each team is needed to organize a few students to make a thank you poster.  (You can sign up for this via the link above.)

A follow up email with more specific instructions for volunteers closer to the day of the event.  In the meantime, please feel free to contact Laura Wear with any questions at: l.wear@comcast.net  Thank you so much for your help!

6th Annual Empty Bowls Dinner

MA 2014 Family Engagement Survey / MA 2014 Encuesta de Compromiso Familiar

Counselor’s Corner: Healthy and Unhealthy Coping Strategies Denise Green, Ph.D., School Psychologist

By Denise Green, Ph.D., School Psychologist (Excerpt from In the News at ARMS, Vol. 4, No. 7, February 2014)

The social scene can become intense, and opportunities for disappointment abound. All the talk on Monday is about a party that happened on the weekend – and not everyone was invited. The romantic interest turns out to be interested in someone else. Those couple of homeworks that got skipped turns out to be quite a few, and parents and teachers are putting some pressure on to get them done. What started out as mostly good-matured joking around has gotten nastier, and now it feels more like bullying. The long-time best friend seems more interested in a whole new group of friends, and not so interested in old friendships. Of course, some students are dealing with more serious family, medical, or personal concerns as well. 

In this age of constant access to and communication with peers, it can be challenging for a young teen to slow down and figure out how to cope with the various stressful and even painful events in their lives. The crazy hormones don’t help, either! Developing healthy coping strategies is an essential task that must be mastered in order to grow into a stable, emotionally competent adult, though.

Young teens benefit from experiencing their feelings when they are in distress, and feeling supported by parents, family members, or trusted friends so that they can talk through things that are upsetting. In the process, they learn to tolerate some uncomfortable feelings, and also how to resolve difficulties or move on. Family members or friends may offer information about how they dealt with a similar situation; even just listening to a student can help. Other healthy coping strategies might include: writing in a journal, listening to favorite music, exercising, engaging in a family activity such as a game or movie, engaging in a favorite hobby, or spending relaxed time with one or a few close friends.

Sometimes we see students experiment with, or even become dependent on, unhealthy coping strategies. They may bounce from one drama to the next, without gaining self-understanding or problem-solving skills. Rather than learning to tolerate uncomfortable feelings and attempting to resolve issues, students may seek to avoid them. They may engage in self-harming behaviors such as cutting, they may use alcohol or drugs to numb feelings, they may become addicted to video games, or develop disordered eating. If you have concerns that your son or daughter may be headed down one of these paths, we can help you access resources in the community for assistance. The following links provide more information:

Healthy coping strategies: 

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/emotions/stress.html# 

http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Helping_Teenag

ers_With_Stress_66.aspx 

Cutting: 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/teen-girls-crash-course/201301/cutting-cope-part-two 

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/cutting-self-harm-signs-treatment 

Teen alcohol and drug use: 

http://teens.drugabuse.gov/parents 

Eating disorders: 

http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/

Video game addiction: 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201308/are-video-games-addictive 

Thursday, March 13 – Early Release Day. Students are dismissed at 11:55 a.m.

No lunches are  served.

Friday, March 14 – Teacher Work/Curriculum Day – School is Closed

Thursday, March 6 – Late Start Thursday

MCAS Dates for March and May

Thursday, March 13 – MCAS Practice Tuesday, March 18 - 7th Grade ELA Composition Thursday, March 20 - 7th and 8th Grade ELA Comprehension Tuesday, March 25 – 7th and 8th Grade ELA Comprehension Tuesday, May 6 – 7th and 8th Grade Math Friday, May 9 – 7th and 8th Grade Math Tuesday, May 13 – 8th Grade Science/Technology Friday, May 16 – 8th Grade Science/Technology