March 3, 2020

March is shaping up to be such an exciting month! We are into our third and final trimester for the 2019-2020 school year and are excited about finishing the school year strong. I will be focusing on two very important topics in March: Mindfulness and College Awareness. Keep reading to find out more!

One thing I wanted to highlight this month is Mindfulness. Based off of the needs survey conducted at the beginning of the year, one of the top three areas of need, for the school counseling program to address, included stress and anxiety. Part of how I wanted to address this area of need was to offer a mindfulness workshop series that I'm calling Mindful Mornings. Mindful Mornings will take place every Wednesday morning this month, at 8:30am in room 90. Any student can drop in to participate in mindfulness activities such as guided meditation and yoga. These activities have been found to reduce stress and anxiety while increasing focus, academic success, and resilience. They have also been found to increase patience and improve students' ability to regulate their emotions. Students don't need to bring anything to participate, however, it is suggested that they wear something comfy and they can bring a yoga mat or beach towel if they prefer. Light, healthy refreshments will also be provided to anyone who participates!

The other topic I wanted to focus on this month is College Awareness. The bulletin board got an upgrade to reflect just that. Students can lift the college logo card to reveal which celebrity went to which college or university! Curious about which well-known actor went to Sac State? Stop by to check it out!

We also have an exciting new opportunity coming up in March available to our 8th grade students. The Reality Fair is scheduled to take place on Friday, March 27 from 9-11:30am and the goal of the Reality Fair is to help students increase their financial literacy skills while learning about the correlation between educational attainment and potential income.

Students will be randomly placed into an income bracket that corresponds with one of four levels of education. These numbers, or salaries, are based on the average salary for that level of education in the state of California. On the income bracket sheet, students will see how much is taken out for state and federal taxes and will be left with a net monthly salary. They will receive a “check book” sheet where they can keep track of their withdrawals and deposits as they visit the various booths throughout the fair. Students will spend the morning rotating between these Reality Fair Booths, and also high school and post-secondary booths. Our Reality Fair booths include housing/utilities, wellness, transportation/insurance, entertainment, groceries, banking, and more! At each booth, they will receive a stamp on their stamp card. At the final booth, the Math Check Booth, students will work with a parent volunteer to check their math, submit their stamp card, and receive a Pay Day bar for their efforts and participation. After their completion of the stamp card, students will be invited to participate in other related activities such as completing a career survey with MyNextMove.org or submitting a video recording of their reactions to the Reality Fair using FlipGrid. There will also be a photo booth, and Kona Ice will be available for students to purchase in the small quad. Overall, we are looking forward to a successful event and can't wait to give our 8th graders a "dose of reality"! If you have any questions about this event, please see myself or Mrs. Liebman.

I will leave you with this picture, taken last month, of our teacher boxes in the staff room. Kindness Club wanted to treat our hard-working teachers and staff for Valentine's Day by decorating bags and filling them with candy. We love our teachers, and appreciate them so much, and wanted to spoil them for the day and spread a little Kindness.

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and fulfilling month of March! #OurNestIsTheBest