Tidbit from Love and Logic:
Dear Kyley,
Many times, parents call us in desperation with difficult problems that their kids have caused, problems that clearly need consequences. Then they ask us to help them find an appropriate, logical consequence. Sometimes they even ask us where they can find a list of appropriate consequences.
There is a reason you won’t find such a list in any of our materials. We believe that effective discipline involves far more than simply picking the right consequence from a list. It involves building and maintaining loving relationships so that: (a) kids are less likely to rebel, and (b) they experience genuine remorse when they blow it. It also involves setting effective limits, sharing control within these limits, and teaching skills so children are prepared for life’s tough challenges.
With this said, there are a variety of consequences that often outperform all others. These are often called “restitution.” We at Love and Logic refer to restitution as the “Energy Drain” approach. Performing restitution means to restore. It means to make things right by performing any action that repairs the inconvenience or damage inflicted on others.
It’s the preferred type of consequence because it:
• Leaves kids seeing they can solve the problems they create
• Requires real thought, action, and learning
• Builds healthy self-esteem and efficacy
• Meets the need to reconnect when relationships have been damaged
Although it’s not always possible to repair a physical object, it’s almost always possible to replace energy drained from another person. Having kids replace the emotional voltage they sap from others is our approach of choice, particularly with youth who feel poorly about themselves and need to feel that they are capable of doing good.
The next time your child drains somebody’s energy you might want to experiment with saying, in a calm and empathic voice, “This is so sad. What an energy drain. How are you going to replace that energy?” Then provide some options, such as:
• “Some kids decide to do extra chores.”
• “Others decide to wash the person’s car inside and out.”
• “Some decide to stay home instead of being driven to practice.”
Be positive and thankful about their energy replacement efforts. Don’t try to make them feel bad, and don’t be surprised if they appear to enjoy replacing your energy. Kids don’t have to feel horrible to learn from restitution. In fact, many will feel good about it. When this happens, it often translates into fewer battles for everyone involved.
To learn more about this approach, and what to do if your child refuses to replace your energy, listen to our audio, Love and Logic Magic When Kids Drain Your Energy.
Thanks for reading!
Dr. Charles Fay
"Yelling from the mountain tops:"
Hot Springs Custodians are the best around. We are celebrating School Custodian Day for the five best custodians. Thank you AJ, Bob, Brian, Rich, and John for all that you do for the staff and students. (picture to come)
Hoping that all of our students would approach inclusion this way too!
https://youtu.be/2orOzspJqkM
We have talented artists in the high school!
In the Hot Springs School District, we believe that teachers have the wonderful opportunity to promote active learning. Our teachers are life long learners that hold their responsibility to nurture our most valuable resource- our students- as the upmost priority. Our teachers acknowledge different learning styles and use a variety of methods to meet the needs of every student in the Hot Springs School District.
We want to thank our PTA. PTA provided over 2500 worth of items to teacher classrooms. Their generosity fulfilled many teacher's "wishlists." On behalf of all of the teachers at the Hot Springs School District, we appreciate this group and every member in it.
The Dakota Smiles Dental Bus will be at the Hot Springs School District beginning on November 11th. We will have between 50-55 slots that we are able to fill for our students. Forms are being sent home for the elementary school in the Tuesday folders. Middle/High school forms are available at the offices. This service is provided by the American Legion and Kiwiana's of Hot Springs. Students have access to the van for free until the age of 18. If you have any questions, please call the nursing office at 745-1210/4264.
Update on the donation for our CTE students from RCS Construction. This is an even better picture of the students WITH the donation
Our elementary students are focusing on the character trait of managing impulsivity. This is a useful link to gain an understanding of what that reinforcement and support could look like at home.
https://goodhealthpsych.com/blog/10-fun-impulse-control-activities-for-kids-building-self-regulation-skills/
Thank you to RCS Construction. The CTE building is a wonderful asset to our school district. Their support for our students did not stop with the building. Last Spring they donated 5,00 0 in Dewalt tools. They stopped by Friday and donated more items for our CTE students.
Update from Boys' Golf:
Results from the Black Hills Conference Championship Golf Meet held on 9-24-24 in Deadwood on the Tomahawk Golf Course.
Schools entered-ST. Thomas More, Belle Fourche, Sturgis, Spearfish, Custer, Hill City, RC Christian, Hot Springs, Douglas & Mahpiya Luta.
STM won the BHC crown with a 4 person 18 hole score of 322,2nd-Sturgis-325, 3rd-Spearfish-336, 4th-Custer-343 & 5th-Hot Springs-367.
Spearfish’s Parker Reede took the BHC medalist honors with a 18 hole score of 75,2nd-STM’s Vincent Vanliere-76, 3rd-BF’s Isaac Voyles-76, 4th-Custer’s Lane Poper-78 & 5th-Sturgis’s Jaxon Dodson-78.
Hot Springs was led by Brock Scchroeder-83- 10th, Austin Heinert-89- 20th, Noah Weiseler-96 -34th, Teegan Lucey-99- 35th & Sammy Waldner-109- 49th.
Varsity plays next in the Region 4 Championship in Custer on the Rocky Knolls Golf Course on Monday 9-30-24 starting at 10am. This meet determines which golfers advance to the State Golf Meet in Hartford on 10/7 & 8th-24
The top 55% and the top 3 teams qualify for the state meet, est. 22 kids.
Results from the Douglas JV meet held in Douglas on the Prairie Ridge Golf Course on 9-26-24.
Schools entered-Douglas, RC Stevens, RC Central, RC Christian, STM, BF, HS, Sturgis, L/D, Little Wound, Lakota Tech & Pine Ridge.
RC Stevens took the team title with a 4 person 18 hole score of 347, 2nd-STM-359 & 3rd-RC Central-389, Hot Springs was 8th with 436.
Trenton Gibbs won the medalist honors with a 18 hole score of 81, 2nd-Cross Schmidt-81, 3rd-Zander-Purcell-84, 4th-Anders Lockhart & 5th-Landon Little-85(I don’t have what schools they were from).
Hot Springs was led by Gabe Burgess-103-31st, Holten Rutz-104-32nd, Hazen Rutz-109-37th, Xander Shaw-120-48th, Kavan Watters-123-55th & Conner O’Hern-139-61st place.
The JV are done for the 2024 season.
Our Middle School Knowledge Bowl team placed 8th this last weekend. They compete again this Saturday AT home from 8-1.
Our art students had artwork displayed at the Buffalo Round Up Arts Festival this weekend. Beautiful!!!!!
Talk about collaboration. Students in our art and shop classes are helping with stage props for the upcoming theater production.
Elementary students might not like this, but we wanted to share some free educational sites that you may want to have students use over the long weekends and/or in their downtime.
ABCY.com- practice math and reading skills
storyline online- free online library where books are read to students
factmonstonster.com- practice math facts
cool math games - however, make sure the game they are playing is more educational than not (I have fallen for this several times with my own child and find out there are more games that are 'entertainment.')
Prodigy
Khan Academy
Great reminder for us parents/guardians from Love and Logic:
Have you ever thought about what a blessing it is to be a good thinker? Now I'm not necessarily talking about being a genius or intellectually gifted. I'm mostly referring to being able to use good problem-solving skills and good old-fashioned common sense.
As this world becomes ever more complex and temptation-laden, it becomes more and more important that we teach our kids how to build their mental muscles. Listed below are some quick tips.
• When your kids ask you for help, encourage them to try a bit longer before you jump in to help them. The only way to really learn good thinking skills is by having to figure out some things on your own.
• Ask them as many questions as possible. Examples include, "What else might you try? What have you seen other people do to solve this problem? What would happen if you tried ______? Where might you learn how to do that? Is that something you could learn about in a book, by asking someone, or by looking on the internet?"
• Allow them to mess up. Too frequently, we step in and tell kids exactly what to do when we worry that they might make a mistake. When the consequences are small, allow them to blow it and learn.
Thank you to our Rotary Organization for the donation to the school's Angel Fund. The Angel Fund goes towards students' needs (food, shoes, coats, glasses, laundry, etc).
Beautiful day for a XC meet.
Career Exploration Camp at Western Dakota Technical College.
Scrubs Camp: October 29th
All programs Camp: March 20th
https://www.wdt.edu/future-students/career-exploration-camps/
BIG NEWS.
The Hot Springs School District's preschool has been recognized by the School Administrators of South Dakota as an exemplary preschool in the state of South Dakota. Exemplary – Programs at this level are exhibiting high quality practices consistently across all categories, structural elements (schedule, teacher training, ratios), classroom environment and dimensions of teacher-student interactions.
https://www.sasd.org/preschool-levels-excellence/