Clara H. Carlson School recently kicked off its new club, the Build and Bond Buddies Club. The club, facilitated by school counselor Jane Dragovich and kindergarten teacher Kimberly Ludwin, was created for inquisitive young learners in pre-K through first grade. During the eight-week program, the students will incorporate a social-emotional learning component with STEM activities.

Fifth graders, who were recommended by their teachers, assist the club and serve as the “older buddy” and positive role model for their younger peers. Fathers, uncles and other father figures are also invited to attend the club each week.

On March 25, the Build and Bond Buddies Club members visited the Lego Robotics Club. They received a demonstration of the team’s robot, and each had a turn to prompt the robot to complete a task on the board. The SEL theme for that session was sharing. Following a game of Kahoot!, the students practiced their sharing skills by playing with Legos, Lincoln logs, Magna-Tiles and Play-Doh together.

School Counselor Dragovich created the outline for the club. She chose the SEL concepts to focus on each week, as well as the activities. Throughout the eight weeks, the students will focus on teamwork, empathy, confidence, decision-making and more.

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Date Added: 4/10/2024

Clara H. Carlson School spread kindness and the message of anti-bullying during its recent P.S. I Love You Week. P.S. I Love You Day is held annually in February to spread mental health awareness. This year, the theme was “Love is meant to be given.”

The week’s activities were organized by the building’s P.S. I Love You Week Committee, which was led by sixth grade teacher Jenna Naclerio and pre-K teacher Jayme Phillips. They were assisted by school counselor Jane Dragovich, pre-K teacher Stephanie Gillam and school psychologist Johanna Lemoine.

P.S. I Love You Week kicked off with students in pre-K through second grade completing an anti-bullying contract, and the whole building collaborated on the creation of love chains, which were purple paper linked together with positive messages. Each morning, every classroom started the day by playing an arrival song, such as “All You Need is Love” by The Beatles and “Brave” by Sara Bareilles. Throughout the week, students created origami hearts, wrote letters to the Solely Sunshine Foundation, wrote kind things about their classmates, wrote a letter or note to someone special in their life and participated in a friendship web activity with a ball of yarn. In the middle of the week, students participated in a schoolwide meditation moment, as well.

P.S. I Love You Week concluded on P.S. I Love You Day. The entire building was encouraged to wear purple to commemorate the day.

Date Added: 2/28/2024