October 21, 2019

Dear Families,

I just received a book, Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett. He is the Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Read on. This is such a great description of middle school students, along with adults:

"...we all have feelings more or less continuously, every waking moment - in our dreams - without ever asking or getting anybody’s approval. To stop feeling would be like to stop thinking. Or breathing. Impossible. Our emotions are a big part - maybe the biggest part - of what makes us human.

And yet we go through life trying hard to pretend otherwise. Our true feelings can be messy, inconvenient, confusing, even addictive.They leave us vulnerable, exposed, naked to the world. They make us do things we haven’t done. It’s no wonder our emotions scare us sometimes- they seem so out of our control. Too often we do our best to deny them or hide them- even from ourselves. Our attitudes about them get passed along to our children, who learn by taking their cues from us, their parents, and teachers- their role models."

The book goes on to explore how we can deal with our emotional lives in healthy ways. Brackett writes about being able to name our emotions, and to master them in a way of acceptance, and to make our emotions work for us. If any of you are interested in starting a reading group with this book, please let me know! Some of our staff is planning to read it too.

Clearly we are reminded of the joy and challenges of “mastering” our own emotions and helping our students/children do the same, every single day. We are only human, and it is fascinating and sometimes scary to figure out how to get through the day with success and calm. Google the book, and let me know!

On another note, this is a busy week and it is another example of the community-building work of our school.

Tuesday - Mix and Mingle - at Brass Monkey (adults only).  Please join us! (All details on the website and in the PTA Newsletter). It is relaxing and fun, and you can meet new families and make connections!

Wednesday - 6th Grade Fright Night. It is endlessly cute! We are also very neurotic and are on top of our lovely kiddies! Many adults help with this evening to keep it safe and fun.

Please note that you must fill out the online permissions forms here! This form will only be active until Monday, October 21st at midnight! Don't miss it!  (All details on the website and in the PTA Newsletter)

With Respect,

Jacqui