Jan 11 RAMblings

Happy New Year!! 

Welcome back to school.  I hope everyone had a nice and restful break.  It is now time to refocus on school and student achievement.  A quick reminder about how student achievement is directly tied to student attendance.  Please make sure during the cold season that you are making every effort to avoid things that would contribute to your children being sick.  We want to see the smiling students' faces each and every day.

Dealing with Bullies

Believe it or not, most of the student discipline issues we deal with have to do with Bullying.  It is important that parents and students understand that they are not helpless.

Parents sometimes tell their children to strike back at bullies.  Usually, that creates more problems than it solves.  What I hear most often from students and parents is that the student is afraid to tell me because the bullying will get even worse.  If you are being bullied, you are not helpless.  You can do some things that may stop the bullying.  Here are a few things students might try:

• Tell a friend.  Ask your friend to help you. It's tougher to pick on a person who has someone there for support.
  
• Walk away.  It's harder to bully someone who will not stand still to listen.
  
• Don't fight back.  Usually, bullies are bigger and stronger than you are.  If you try to fight, you will probably get the worse end of the deal.  By fighting back, you will be part of the problem, not the solution.
  
• It's pretty tough to stop bullying by yourself, even with the help of friends.  So if you have tried some of the things on my list and the bullying has not stopped, it is time to tell an adult. 

Nobody likes to admit that they are being bullied.  However, bullies usually have more than one victim, so if you don't tell; the bully will just keep on harassing other people, too.  There are things we can do to stop kids from bullying, but we can not take action if the
Teachers or I do not know what's happening. So please, come and see Mrs. Marr or myself if you are being bullied.

Starting Monday January 11, student council will be selling student body cards.  They will cost one dollar each and are available in the office.  The student body cards can be used to get into school events a discounted price.  Most high school games will honor student body cards upon admission. All school dances here at Gerber will give students a discounted price with the card.  All proceeds from the sales of the student body cards will go to the student council fund to help pay for school events. Thank you for supporting Gerber Student Council.

We are excited to announce that Gerber School has new play equipment for our students.  Come a take a look at our new play structures in the Kindergarten and intermediate play areas.  We are constantly trying to improve our school and make it an exciting and fun place for our students. 

Coming Events

1/13         Los Molinos @ Gerber – All Teams 3:45, 4:45, 5:45, 6:45

1/14         Capay @ Gerber – “A & B” Girls Teams, and “A” Boys Team

1/18        No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

1/19         Gerber @ Bend – “A” Girls – 5:00PM and “B” Boys – 4:00 PM

1/20         Gerber @ Sacred Heart – “B” Girls and “A & B” Boys Teams – 4:00, 5:00 & 6:00PM

1/25         Board of Trustees Meeting – 6PM

1/25         ELAC/DLAC – 4:30                            

1/29         Student of the Month

Assemblies – 9:00AM & 9:30AM