September From Our Teachers
Leawood Elementary School
LEAWOOD TRACK TEAM 2022-23
Calling all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders! Leawood’s Track Team is assembling once again for this school year, and we would LOVE for you to join us! Leawood Track will begin Wednesday, September 7, and it will be held every Monday and Wednesday from 3:45 - 5:00 pm, and on Friday mornings from 8:00 - 8:50 am.
Our goal is to introduce students to the sport of track and field, inspire healthy and active habits, and promote positive values such as discipline, perseverance, goal-setting, commitment, and teamwork (among others). Our program will include a variety of track and field practices such as properly warming up, training, setting goals, learning skills in different types of events, teamwork, and sportsmanship.
The track season will end with a culminating activity for our Leawood athletes who have attended and participated in our practices, demonstrated good sportsmanship, followed track practice rules and expectations, and maintained a positive attitude! This culminating activity is the Leawood Invitational Track Meet. The track meet will be Tuesday, October 11th at 11:15a.m., and it will be held at Jefferson County Stadium off of 6th and Kipling. Admission is free.
We are excited for this new track season!
All Our Best ~ Ms. Field, Mr. Gonzales, Mrs. Faulkner, Mrs. Wheeler, Ms. Sue, and Mr. Boogert
Leawood Library
Hello Leawood Lions! My name is Lisa Pepper and I have enjoyed serving as DTL (Digital Teacher Librarian) for several years. Angela Langowski is also returning as our wonderful library assistant.
Our digital citizenship focus in August was student expectations and device care. I visited each classroom to teach students how to take proper care of their Chromebook. Some of the topics we discussed were carrying the device with two hands, protecting the delicate screen, keeping water bottles and food away, charging safely, and keeping passwords safe. Thank you for reading through the Technology Contract with your student and returning it to the classroom teacher. To see a sample of the presentations at different grade levels, click on the slide shows below.
Chromebook Device Care: Grades 1-4
Chromebook Device Care: Grade 5
During the month of September, we will discuss Digital Footprint and Identity. Please use the link for home discussion ideas.
Attention 5th Grade Parents
Please visit Leawood’s homepage, Family Resources, 5th Grade 1:1 Chromebook Initiative to find more information about the device your student will borrow until 9th grade.
A Message From The Social Emotional Learning Specialist
Dear Leawood Family,
We want your child to be successful in school and that means supporting and encouraging their whole development. While excelling in academic classes is important, children also need skills to take on learning challenges, make good decisions, manage strong emotions, and get along with others.
To help achieve this goal, we will continue using Second Step® Elementary, a research-based social-emotional learning program designed to improve children’s social-emotional skills. For those of you new to Leawood, Second Step skills and concepts are designed to help children both in and out of school. Four units will cover the following:
Growth Mindset & Goal-Setting: Children learn how to pay attention and manage distractions, develop a growth mindset, and apply goal-setting strategies to their social and academic lives.
Emotion Management: Children learn how to identify and label emotions and use emotion management strategies—including stress management for older students—to calm strong feelings.
Empathy & Kindness: Children learn how to recognize kindness and act kindly, have empathy for others and take others’ perspectives, and recognize kind acts and empathy as important elements of building and maintaining relationships.
Problem-Solving: Children learn how to identify and state a problem, recognize if a problem is an accident, and use the STEP problem-solving process:
S: Say the problem
T: Think of solutions
E: Explore the outcomes
P: Pick a solution
You’ll receive communications from your child’s teacher to help you reinforce Second Step language, skills, and goals at home. If you have any questions about Second Step Elementary, please don’t hesitate to contact me or your child’s teacher for more information. Thank you for your support as we work to build a safe and supportive school community.
Sincerely,
Jeni Wells
Social Emotional Learning Specialist
Columbine Hills and Leawood Elementary Schools
(303)982-8088