Tribeca Learning Center
PS 150
334 Greenwich St
New York NY 10013
ph: 212-732-4392
fx: 212-766-5895
contact us
Parent Log On

Major Events

I often send home notices and letters, and this page will be a copy of my most recent letter. You may also click on the the subject in the gray bar above to view my past letters. As always, if you have comments or questions, please email me at MSiena@schools.nyc.gov. -- Maggie.

November 21, 2007

Dear Families,

This week Rebecca Newfield, our guidance counselor, has been visiting classrooms and talking with kids about our new discipline policy. This policy is explicitly about peer-to-peer aggression, and the goal is to address and eliminate bullying in our school.

Though bullying is a long-standing issue in childhood, it is not “normal” – and it is definitely not acceptable. Bullies do not naturally out grow bullying behavior, and children targeted by bullies cannot be expected to stand up to bullies by themselves. Any incidents of bullying are serious, and it is our responsibility to give them our serious attention.

The discipline program we are implementing, drawn from Stan & Julia Davis’ book Schools Where Everyone Belongs, focuses on peer-to-peer aggression. It addresses name-calling/teasing, exclusion, and physical aggression – all manifestations of bullying. And while not all name-calling/teasing, exclusion, and physical aggression are bullying, educators have found that consistently confronting these behaviors helps resolve bullying situations. It is explicitly for kids in grades 1 – 5.
 
Earlier this month, Rebecca and I presented a workshop on the new plan to a group of parents. For those parents who did not attend we have put together a comprehensive packet of our presentation materials and handouts for all families. Please take a few minutes to look through the packet to familiarize yourselves with the discipline process and the philosophy behind it. This packet includes:

• What is bullying? How do we stop it? Ho can we help children accept responsibility for their actions?
• The discipline process
• The consequence rubric
• Resources for talking with your child at home about bullying and ways to handle difficult feelings

The discipline process is just one part of our ongoing work in being a caring community. Recently the whole school has been discussing what it means to be considerate. These conversations are helping make us all aware of ways we can be kinder to each other: you may have noticed the children walking silently through the halls, and we are hearing please, thank you, and Want to play with us? a lot more these days. In addition, the classroom teachers are doing explicit work with their students to build caring classroom communities. This includes cooperative group activities, reflections on and acknowledgements of helpfulness and kindness, lots of positive reinforcement of positive behaviors, and community building activities.

We are lucky to have such a lovely, warm, school environment. The conversations we are having, the activities we are engaging in, and the clear line we are drawing against hurtful behavior can only make a wonderful place even better.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or Rebecca if you have any questions or concerns. I can be reached at msiena@schools.nyc.gov and Rebecca at rnewfield@schools.nyc.gov . We can also be contacted at 212-732-4392.

Wishing you a happy & healthy Thanksgiving,

Maggie & Rebecca

Updated 12/3/07