“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~ Dalai Lama

This month at Cottage Lane we are focusing on compassion. At today’s assembly, we discussed the meaning of compassion and how we can show compassion in school, at home and in the world. Our Compassion Cards encourage us to perform random acts of compassion. From the Smile Train Fundraiser to Valentine’s for Veterans, our compassion can make a difference in the lives of others.

Our book of the month, Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, gives a lesson about how even small acts of kindness can change the world. The main character realizes the lost opportunity for friendship and thinks about how much better it could have been if a little compassion was shown toward others.

Remember…Don’t be a wrinkle in someone else’s heart. Instead…make time this month to complete your compassion cards. Together we can fill our hallway heart!

SOCSD afforded an amazing opportunity for students in grades 5-8. Malala Yousafzai spoke to our students about the importance of education and especially for girls. She has a new book called, We are Displaced. Please read or listen (scroll to the bottom of page) to her biography – Malala Yousafzai. Watch an interview with her below.

“Malala is a symbol of hope and an inspirational role model, particularly for girls. On her 16th birthday, she gave a passionate speech to the United Nations. She was inundated with awards, culminating in the ultimate honor in 2014, the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Read more here:

• Kids Rights – Malala
• Biography – Malala
• Time – Malala
• Time for Kids: Heroic Returns
• CBS interview “We are Displaced”

What amazed you most about Malala? Post your comment to this blog.

Welcome to an exciting New Year, and may you achieve all your goals in 2019.

This month’s assembly, Colors of Character for January, reminds us that perseverance is essential to success.

What can you learn from:

• Understanding Talent
• Your Brain on Books
• Ezra Frech Sports Illustrated’s SportsKid of the Year Award.
• The Royal Bee

“YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT. YOU CAN DREAM IT. YOU CAN HOPE IT. OR YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!”

Post your goal for 2019 and the steps you will take to achieve this goal.

Empathy is the feeling that you understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions.

• Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
• Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes.
• Empathy makes the world a better place.

Practice empathy by being observant of others, using active listening and donating a pair of new or gently used shoes for Soles to Souls.

Our book of the month is The Yellow Star by Carmen Deedy. After reading and listening to the Legend of King Christian X of Denmark, explain why the author titled the book The Yellow Star. What does the yellow star symbolize?

The 4th grade students in room 306 had a fun filled day that included Halloween activity packets, a class party with treats and goody bags, a dance party and a Halloween parade that took us around the halls to be admired by our friends in 3rd and 5th grade. We also had fun watching the 5th graders march past us as we cheered and admired their great costumes.

Sunday, November 11th is Veterans Day. Our book of the month, America’s White Table. Listen to the significance of each item placed on the table and how Katie comes to understand and appreciate the depth of sacrifice that her uncle, members of the Armed Forces and their families have to make.

It is important Americans give thanks for their freedom. The perfect way to do this is by thanking our active troops, our veterans, our heroes. It is important to show gratitude toward those who serve. Consider writing a card to send to a veteran.

Additional Resources:

• Learn how to say thank you to veterans – The Gratitude Campaign!
• Bet You Didn’t Know: Veterans Day | History
• Men’s Basketball Veteran’s Day Recognition
• History of the Holidays: History of Veterans Day | History

What’s your favorite book? Are you ready to encourage others to read it? Now is the time to use some writing skills and creativity for Mrs. McBride’s monthly challenge,The Book Bottle Buddy Challenge.

Reuse a bottle and get to work! All entries are due November 21st.

This month we celebrate Thanksgiving and Veterans Day. It is important to show gratitude for your own happiness, health, relationships and impact on the world.

Cottage Lane will be growing a gratitude tree. The gratitude tree will show everyone that we appreciate the small things in life, are grateful for everything they have, are mindful of the things that are going right in their lives and hold people in our lives close to our hearts.

In your writing journal write daily gratitude responses. Feel free to go above and beyond and say thank you to others, write them a letter and share that letter with them. After 7 days of gratitude responses, receive a leaf for your teacher and add it to the CLE gratitude tree. If you need writing prompts, try these:

• It was a good moment today when __________________.
• I’m glad I had the opportunity to _________________ this week.
• Thinking about _______________ makes me feel good.
• I like seeing _______________________ in nature.
• I’m grateful I’ve accomplished ________________ in my life.
• I learned _________________ from a challenge.
• ______________ always makes me smile.
• Additional gratitude writing prompts can be found here.

This month we celebrate and practice ACCEPTANCE!

• Acceptance is the willingness to embrace feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own.
• Acceptance is the ability to experience or survive something unpleasant.
• Acceptance is the willingness to tolerate a difficult or unpleasant situation.
• We all have the human need and right to be accepted.

Here is a recording introducing and pronouncing Duncan Tonatiuh.

Sylvia Mendez (left), 73, talks to her sister Sandra Mendez Duran (right), 59, about Mendez v. Westminster, their family’s 1945 lawsuit that won Mexican-American children the right to attend white schools. Listen to them speak here, Story Corps – Mendez.

What surprised you about this story?

Happy Socktober! Each night in the United States, an estimated 600,000 people live on the streets. This October, we want 2 million people to show that even a small act of love, such as donating a pair of socks, can make a big difference in the lives of our neighbors who are homeless.

Kids and adults around the world have started their own sock drives to benefit their local homeless shelters. Cottage Lane Student Advisory Council will collect and donate new socks to People to People.

Please bring in a new pair of unworn socks by October 25th.

As a school we will celebrate this event by wearing our own pair of Crazy socks on October 25th!