Woodstock Elementary School News
24 Frog Pond Road
www.woodstockschools.net
928-0471~ 928-1220fax
January 2014
January
January
January
January
January
1
20
21
28
29
No School/Winter Break
No School/Martin Luther King Day
No School/Professional Development
2:45 PK-2 Caring Assembly/Gym
2:45 3-4 Caring Assembly/Gym
Woodstock Elementary School CARES!
Grade 4 SPICE students would like to
thank everyone for their generous
donations to the Mitten Tree! We were
amazed by the amount of items that
were collected this year.
The grand total of winter
gear collected was 173
hats, mittens, gloves, and
scarves!! Thank you so
much
for
helping
families
in
our
community and for being
so caring. Happy New Year!
From the Art Classroom:
Your students are
hard at work in
Art but we are
having fun too!
Don’t forget to
check the website
to see what your
kids are up to.
Also on the website I have made an
“Art Room Wish List”. This list has
things that you can save from your
home and send in to help us out with
our projects. Some of those things
include oatmeal containers, coffee
containers, zip lock bags, and metal
hangers. I really appreciate all your
support!
Music News
There’s snow business like show
business.
Thank you to all 4th
grade families for hanging and
for weathering our chorus
cancellation.
The students
have worked very hard at
keeping their spirit alive! Tis the
season to try again as we have
rescheduled
our
concert
for
Wednesday, December 18.
A huge thank you is extended to the
PTO for inviting the “Mistletones” to
lead the sing along at the Holiday Fair.
The musicians chosen for that event
were John Armstrong, Hamilton Barnes,
Mia Ruggeri, Madison Nichols, Lydia
Norman, Isabella Miller, Nicholas Dahl,
Ethan and Paige Campbell, Aliyyah
Ross, Grace Chouinard, Lily Schofield,
Carleigh Boisvert, Emily Blake, Alex
Bissonnette, Hans Rhynhart, Vincent
Tocci and Madison Malboeuf.
Our final song welcomed Santa and the
Grinch into the festivities of the night.
Happy Holidays to everyone, heedless
of the wind and weather. May music
always be a part of your family
gatherings throughout the New Year.
motivations to their actions. We forget
that we’re seeing them through our own
lenses, with our own stories and
experiences as filters that influence
what we think, believe and notice.
But, as my mom has exemplified,
making assumptions can be a positive
thing. Here are five assumptions that
we should try to make about everyone.
5 Assumptions We Should Try to Make
About Everyone
Written by Marsha Rakestraw
Institute for Humane Education website
at http://humaneeducation.org
My mom has been a life-long role model
for giving people the benefit of the
doubt. Even when faced with someone’s
horrific action, she has tried to
suggest a reason they might have acted
that way and has tried to assume the
best about them.
Usually when we make assumptions
about others, they’re not positive ones.
We
tend
to
make
split-second
judgments; build complex stories in the
blink of an eye with them as villain and
us as hero (or victim); attach nefarious
1. Everyone is doing the best they can
at the time. We may not be happy
about someone’s actions or attitude —
we may even find those actions
abhorrent — but it can help if we
remember that (almost) everyone is
doing the best they can given their
current situation and circumstances.
People act and react out of pain,
ignorance and fear.
And we often
don’t know the full context for the
choices they make. So offering them
patience and tolerance will help both
them and us. As Philo of Alexandria
said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet
is fighting a great battle.”
2. People will respond better to
compassion than to anger or hatred.
Humans do a lot of horrible things. To
animals, to the earth, and to each
other. It’s easy for our rage and
despair to flare at the cruelties and
injustices perpetrated. And when we
act from a place of hatred or righteous
indignation, it can certainly make us
feel better. But as anyone who has
faced the brunt of others’ ire knows,
people are much more likely to open
their minds and hearts when they
encounter compassion.
3. People are paying attention to the
message we’re modeling.
We’re modeling a message with our
every word and deed. And people are
paying attention. If we want a
compassionate world, are we modeling
compassion? If we want people to be
their best selves, are we striving to be
our best? Are we modeling a joyful,
humane way of living that reflects our
deepest values and that inspires others
to want to join us? In all my years of
activism I’ve had more people tell me
they’ve been influenced by watching
how I live my life and engage with
others than by any particular campaign
or strategy.
4. People are more than just the pieces
of themselves.
I live in a community in which I’ve built
relationships with people I probably
never would have connected with in
other circumstances,
because the
pieces of themselves that conflict with
my own values would have hindered me
from diving more deeply with them. If
I stop and judge people based on those
parts of them that disturb me--political affiliations, religious views,
values toward money, etc.), then I’m
missing out on so much: the big picture
of who they are; the chance to find
common ground and connect; the
opportunity to learn. I certainly don’t
want people judging me by the bits that
get on their nerves; I hope they see
beyond that to the whole — to the
person I’m striving to become.
5. Everyone has something to teach us.
It may just be “Don’t do that,” but
everyone has something to teach us.
From the person who cuts me off in
the parking lot I can remember to pay
attention and drive with care for
others. From the person yelling at the
sales clerk I can remember to show
kindness and patience. From the person
stopping to help someone in need I can
be inspired to take more time to help
others.
Making positive assumptions about
others (which in no way condones
inhumane or unethical behavior) can
help foster an environment in which
seeing the best in others — and
modeling a humane message for our
children — leads to all of us striving to
be our best selves — which can lead to
a more humane world for all.