November Paws Newsletter

For the first two months, we focused on planning and prioritizing. Now, as we enter the holiday season, let's focus on social intelligence and empathy.

This month, we challenge your family to adopt The Two-Sided Panther Pause. This activity is designed to teach students (and adults!) the crucial skill of perspective-taking—how to truly understand a situation from someone else's point of view. This helps them become more Respectful and Responsible communicators.

The goal is to teach your child that every situation has at least two "sides"—theirs and the other person's.

Focusing on the "Two-Sided Pause" teaches your child that their feelings, while valid, are only one part of the story. By intentionally shifting perspective, they gain the wisdom and maturity needed to navigate complex social situations—a skill essential for success at school and beyond.

If this is your first year with us, we recommend focusing on a routine for sharing their academic learning at home. Join the Two-Minute Panther Prowl-Down!

When your student walks in the door, don't ask, "How was your day?" Instead, ask: "What's one artifact you used today that you can teach me about in two minutes?" This quick activity shifts the focus from an emotional report to a celebration of academic achievement, and it helps them solidify their own understanding by teaching the concept to someone else.

Maybe your student snoozed through their alarm and doesn't have time for breakfast. Or too many things went wrong to get your kids fed before they left for school. Maybe your child flat-out refuses to eat breakfast.

It's not unusual to miss breakfast occasionally. But if it becomes the norm, your child is missing out on multiple benefits for their health, well-being and even their school performance.

As the first meal, breakfast gives kids energy to start the day. Despite this, 13% of school-aged kids skip breakfast. This number jumps to more than 27%, on average, for adolescents aged 12 to 19 years. Females start skipping breakfast earlier than males, and skip more regularly.

Kids of all ages have all kinds of excuses for skipping breakfast. Some are selective eaters. Others don't like traditional breakfast foods. And some kids may skip the morning meal in an attempt to avoid weight gain. Many older teens are busy until late into the night with homework, extracurricular activities and part-time jobs. They go to bed late, then get up and rush off to school, leaving no time to eat.

Biology makes this even more complex, as a growing teen's circadian rhythm shifts. It's even natural for teens to be unable to fall asleep until 11 p.m. or midnight. They then wake up later in the morning, a schedule that often doesn't match what's set by schools. Most sleep-deprived kids would rather snooze an extra 15 minutes then get up for a bowl of cereal. In addition, when kids don't get enough sleep, they may wake up too tired or too nauseous to eat.

Experts agree that getting kids to eat breakfast is important. Breakfast has been associated with many benefits, including: Healthier body weight

Weight gain and obesity are a major public health concern. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 21% of 6- to 12-year-olds and more than 22% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 have obesity. Obesity can lead to serious health problems such as diabetes, breathing issues, joint problems and heart disease.

A 2019 review of studies in the journal Nutrients found that children and adolescents who don't eat breakfast are more likely to be or become overweight or obese. This may be partly because many kids who skip breakfast tend to eat unhealthy foods later in the day. Eating breakfast gets your child's metabolism going. This means their body starts to burn calories. Breakfast also makes it less likely that they'll overeat later in the day because they're hungry from not eating breakfast.

Studies show that eating breakfast positively affects school performance. They have better concentration and more energy."

Research findings include:

Kids who skip breakfast seem to be more likely to develop metabolic conditions such as high blood sugar, increased blood sugar, abnormal cholesterol levels and extra fat in the waist. These conditions increase the risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

Children who eat breakfast are in better health overall. This may be due to the types of food that are typically eaten. Breakfast gives you the opportunity to bolster your child with some key nutrients they may miss out on the rest of the day, including:

Breakfast is a great time to consume fiber in the form of whole-grain cereals and breads. Fiber can help with weight control and constipation. It also helps prevent heart disease and diabetes and lowers the risk of certain types of cancer.

Breakfast is also a good way to feed your child bone-building calcium and vitamin D. Kids enter their peak bone-building years in adolescence. They continue building bone into their early 20s. Vitamin D may also boost immunity and help keep depression at bay.

The best way to get vitamin D is from foods. Foods such as breakfast cereals, milk and yogurt are fortified with vitamin D — all perfect for the morning meal. Eggs and fatty fish such as salmon are great sources too.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child's diet and health, talk with your pediatrician.

For more information, including tips for making breakfast easier and healthier, please visit: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/Breakfast-for-Learning.aspx

One way to think about Gratitude is “choosing to appreciate the people and things in our lives.” Practicing Gratitude can increase our well-being and our happiness. - Character Strong Newsletter

We’d like to express our deepest gratitude for the sacrifices made to maintain the freedoms that we have not only to our many active and reserve duty members, but also to their families.  You are valued and appreciated.

The North Whidbey Help House is offering holiday food baskets for Thanksgiving and Christmas again this year. These contain a turkey and all the trimmings and are designed for those who may not be able to afford a holiday meal.

Please reach out to your student’s counselor if your family could use this assistance.

Grant Finney- Student Last names A-K- gfinney@ohsd.net (360) 279-5312

Chandra Mays- Student Last name L-Z- cmays@ohsd.net - (360) 279-5311

If you are wondering what you can do to assist Help House with this important program, you can donate food items, make monetary donations to help them in purchasing items, or bring an entire holiday food basket to Help House. If you have questions, Help House can be contacted at 360-675-0681.

During the month of September, there were 208 students with Perfect Attendance! Well done, Panthers! October’s list will be coming out soon!

Each month, students have the opportunity to earn a perfect attendance award or go for a perfect attendance streak of several months! Each student earns a reward certificate when they are present every day of the month!

Students who attend more than 90% of days, have higher test scores, are more likely to graduate and report being more connected with school. This means missing no more than 2 days of school per month, for any reason!

Please let us know if we can do anything to help you and your student get to school more often!

Although ASB is just getting started for the year, we already have some exciting things in the works! Here’s a quick look at what we’re working on:

We’re excited for a great year of activities, school spirit, and opportunities to bring our OHI community together!