This is a friendly reminder that there will be NO SCHOOL next week, from Monday, November 20th through Friday, November 24th, for Thanksgiving Break.
School will be back in session on Monday, November 27th. Have a fantastic break!
Morgan County Schools is excited to offer Paper Online Tutoring to all K-12 students! Paper offers personalized skill and homework support 24 hours a day/7 days a week. You can access this feature now on students' ClassLink dashboard. Sign up for a free family webinar to learn more.
Morgan County Schools is excited to offer Paper Online Tutoring to all K-12 students! Paper offers personalized skill and homework support 24 hours a day/7 days a week. You can access this feature now on students' ClassLink dashboard.
Important dates for November
The Capturing Kids Hearts monthly theme for November is Team Work.
What is Teamwork?
Teamwork is the ability to work in unity with others towards a common goal. For us to learn how to become team players, it is important that we learn to listen, encourage our peers, and allow and invite others to contribute their talents and skills.
Why focus on Teamwork?
Teamwork improves communication: Teamwork helps us improves our verbal and non-verbal communication skills, conveying that we care and a relevant message.
Teamwork builds interpersonal awareness: Growing a great team requires us to first build strong relationships through better understanding ourselves and others.
Teamwork celebrates diversity. Teamwork thrives from diverse ideas that come from a mixture of different genders, cultures, expertise, experience, and problem-solving approaches.
Teamwork in Action:
Call them a team, not a class or group. A group consists of many different people. A team, however, has a common purpose and a shared responsibility for success.
Require teams to set expectations for and manage their own behavior. Do not tell teams what type of behavior is expected -- let them decide for themselves with a Social Contract.
Teach and encourage affirmations. Giving affirmations helps connect the team and builds trust, promotes engagement, and boosts a positive culture.
Morgan County Schools is excited to offer Paper Online Tutoring to all K-12 students! Paper offers personalized skill and homework support 24 hours a day/7 days a week. You can access this feature now on students' ClassLink dashboard.
Seminar for families of K-5 students with Michael Powell School Psychologist.
When: November 16, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Where: Berkeley Springs High School Auditorium
RSVP: No later than November 9, 2023
Registration Link: https://forms.office.com/r/pfsaPcbRwM
The Paw Paw Schools Halloween Parade for grades K-6 will be on Oct. 31, starting at 1:00pm.
Red Ribbon Week is October 23 through the 27.
The theme for each day is as follows:
Monday- Pajama Day
Tuesday- Duo Day: Pick a friend and dress up as your favorite dynamic duo!
Wednesday-Color Grades:
K/1 and 7th- Wear White
2nd and 8th- Wear Orange
3rd and 9th- Wear Gray
4th- 10th- Wear Red
5th and 11th- Wear Black
6th and 12th- Wear Blue
Thursday-Country Western Day
Friday- Paw Paw Spirit! Wear your Paw Paw colors.
Check out our new Paw Paw Pirates School Store! You can order t-shirts, tanks, long sleeves, hoodies, hats, and more! The store will be open until Oct 15! https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpawpawschoolstore2023.itemorder.com%2Fshop%2Fhome%2F&data=05%7C01%7Camguthrie%40k12.wv.us%7C80772adafa81436af24b08dbc37a1bf4%7Ce019b04b330c467a8bae09fb17374d6a%7C0%7C0%7C638318701460024702%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KufbcCUos03j85pbuEoUujPgMUkUzwQ2ZVujLpNfrUI%3D&reserved=0
Paw Paw Schools is looking for examples of your students showing empathy to others. If you have a photo that you would like to share with the school, Mrs. Guthrie will post those to our school FB page to conclude our theme for the month. We will be asking for photos each month to highlight the exceptional students that we have and their outstanding actions. Next month’s theme is self-direction so be on the lookout for examples of students taking the initiative themselves to direct their behavior. Please send all pics to Mrs. Guthrie, amguthrie@k12.wv.us, and she will post those. Some examples have been provided below. Thank you.
Ms. Kasekamp
Examples of empathy in a photo:
Student showing happiness for someone else’s happiness
Student showing sadness for someone else’s sadness
Student consoling an upset person
Student helping someone who needs a listening ear
Examples of self-direction:
Student reading a book without being asked to do so that they self-selected
Student doing a household chore without being asked to do so
Student helping a younger sibling without being asked to do so
Student practicing their sport without being asked to do so
Today we celebrate West Virginia School Service Personnel Day!
School Service Personnel play a critical role in supporting the success of children in our school. Their efforts keep schools running smoothly, provide students with an education, nutritious food, clean and inviting spaces to learn, and safe transportation every day! Thank you!
Tuesday, September 19th is International Talk Like A Pirate Day! We will be adding a little extra Pirate to this day by using pirate-themed announcements, telling pirate jokes, using pirate phrases, and wearing an eyepatch or pirate hat. Here are a few pirate words you can practice with at home.
Attention parents and guardians:
U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Essay Contest
This year, the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree will be harvested from West Virginia's own Monongahela National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service demonstrates how the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree was chosen in West Virginia in "Finding the People's Tree." As part of the holiday season festivities, Senator Joe Manchin has launched an essay contest exclusively for Grade 4 students. They are invited to submit a 500-word essay about their love for West Virginia's enchanting forests and public lands while incorporating the 2023 U.S. Capitol's Christmas Tree theme "Endlessly Wild and Wonderful." This unique contest not only celebrates the beauty of West Virginia but also encourages students to showcase the writing skills they have cultivated in our West Virginia classrooms. The winning student will receive a trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the tree-lighting ceremony. Essays are due by September 26, 2023. Click link to learn more about the contest guidelines and to submit essays.
https://www.uscapitolchristmastree.com/essay/
The Capturing Kids Hearts Monthly Theme for September is Empathy.
What is Empathy?
Empathy is the ability to be aware of, understand, and be sensitive to another person’s feelings. Instead of focusing on how these feelings impact ourselves, empathy motivates us to focus on others and respond with care and compassion.
Why Focus on Empathy?
Empathy builds positive classroom culture. Empathy empowers students to learn to understand each other to build trust and safety in the classroom.
Empathy strengthens community. Empathy helps students strengthen their relationships with classmates, other students and adults at school, and at home.
Empathy prepares your students to be leaders in their community. The best leaders understand the people they lead and are able to show they care.
Empathy In Action:
Take a different perspective. When you take a different perspective, you put aside your own feelings and reactions to see the situation through another’s eyes.
Put aside judgment. Take a pause and rather than express conclusions about a situation based on what you see, step back and consider other things you may still need to know or understand.
Communicate that you understand. Instead of giving advice, respond with reflective phrases like, “It sounds like you...” or “I hear that you...” to express that you understand and care.
A pirates welcome back to school
Due to extenuating circumstances relating to todays power outage Paw Paw Schools students first day back will be Wednesday, August 23 for a full day of school. The Back to School night is rescheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, August 22 from 4:30 to 6:30pm.
Due to the power outage restoration time of 4:00 or later today, the Back to School Night tonight is cancelled. A new date will be posted once the decision is made. Our apologies.
Hello Paw Paw families, this is an information call about the Paw Paw bus route this year. There has been a change in the routes with one bus doing two routes. Posted outside of the school is the new bus route, please call the Transportation Office if you have any questions 304-258-2430 extension 2053 and speak with Tammy Painter the Transportation Director. New kindergarten students will not have a stop on the route yet but you will receive a call from the bus operator when staff returns of stop location and time.