Better Late Than Never!

Despite having the very best of intentions, it can be challenging to start a Circle of Friends group at the beginning of the busy school year. Sometimes we don’t know our students’ needs well enough yet at that early point in time. Or, as the school year progresses, teachers feel a greater need for this support intervention as isolation, bullying, and other behavior issues emerge as significant problems. Perhaps you or a colleague are a newer teacher who’s finally come up for air and is now able to start a COF group mid-year.

Good news…it’s not too late! We’re offering an opportunity to receive guidance on facilitating a COF group starting right now. There are still four months in the school year and you’ll be surprised how quickly things can turn around for focus students in need of friendship. Plus, if you get a group started now, you’ll be able to hit the ground running as your group continues this coming fall. Interested?

Contact mary.schlieder@gmail.com and we’ll help you or someone you know get started right away!

2024 NE ASD NETWORK CONFERENCE

April 4th and 5th, 2024

Kearney, NE

Huge thanks to Hannah Gay and Ashley Forbes for volunteering to share their COF success stories in a conference session this spring. If you or a colleague are looking for inspiration, ideas, or even the basics of starting up a COF group, we encourage you to attend their session.

Check the Conference website for more details. Register HERE.

Are you in the market for summer professional development geared towards helping plan for next year’s COF?

Work at your convenience in our free independent study COF PD followed by a Zoom Q & A consultant-led session. Participants will work at their own pace anytime between the months of May and August. The Q & A will be scheduled during a day/time that works for each individual.

Feel free to pass this info on to interested colleagues.

Download the FLYER

Register HERE

Tips from the Circle

Spreading Holiday Cheer at David City Public Schools, Shared by Anna Kouba

During the month of December, our group made Holiday cards for all the teachers in our building and went around to deliver them to the teachers! We ended with a holiday party doing the Saran Wrap Game and Christmas Jeopardy! 

Anna’s Tip: We use Jeopardy Labs to create our Jeopardy games. Our kids love it!

Successful Fundraiser at Tri-County, Shared by Hannah Gay

Very successful fundraiser! We hosted a PowderBuff Volleyball tournament for grades 7-12 and teachers. The members of COF were in charge of planning it. The girls were the coaches and the boys were the players. They worked together to form teams for each grade, created different shirts for each grade, they worked with our entrepreneurship class to have these created, found teachers to play and coach, worked with our shop class to make the trophies for the winning team, and ran the tournament the day of. We wanted to branch out our inclusive group to the rest of the student body. We invited the community to come and watch and cheer on their favorite class. It was a round robin double elimination tournament. We invited a member of our community who is a photographer that takes pictures during sporting events to make this feel like even more of a competition. We had such great feedback from students and community members! Students who were competing (boys) paid $20 and the girls paid $15. This covered the cost of the shirts and tournament "entrance fees". We had a small concession stand that was run by our COF members as well. The championship game came down to the teachers vs the senior class. This was so fun for everyone to watch and see everyone be involved! The girls are now wanting to plan a PowderPuff tournament for the spring where they play football and the boys are the coaches. There are more rules and items that went into place to get this tournament going so if you have any questions please feel free to shoot me an email! I think this was a great way to get more students involved in something different and fun! I have included two pictures taken by Klasek Photography, one of the sophomore class: my biggest participating class for COF, and one of the championship team, the teachers. 

Congratulations!

January Amazon Gift Card Winner

Congratulations to Dawn Draeger from Crete High School. We loved hearing your group’s success story!

Our Circle of Friends group has been great at fostering inclusion within our school community. Through engaging and impactful activities, we've not only spread kindness but also heightened awareness and strengthened the bonds among our diverse student body.

One notable success was when we decorated pumpkins, a project that transcended our creativity to become a powerful symbol of unity. Students joined forces to create unique and fun pumpkin displays. These creations filled our commons area, serving as a visual testament to the diversity and creativity within our school.

To further emphasize inclusion, we involved our focus students and mentor students in the voting process during lunch. This not only showed their active participation but also allowed them to play an integral role in the collective decision-making. The enthusiasm generated during the voting process was contagious, creating a sense of shared accomplishment among students and staff alike.

These activities have proven instrumental in spreading awareness and inclusivity throughout our school. By engaging the entire student body in such events, we've fostered a culture of acceptance and unity. The success of our Circle of Friends group lies not only in the events themselves, but in the lasting impact on our school's atmosphere, where kindness, diversity, and inclusion are celebrated daily.