Three A's to Awesome

http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome.html

Creating Lasting Positive Change

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html

The Happiness Advantage:  

Rewiring a Student's Brain for Success   

  

Thanks to 8 to Great Trainer Debbie Way for sending us a powerful TED video link last week. It explains with scientific research why 8 to Great has such an amazing impact on student performance and staff morale. It's a TED talk on how optimism and 3 daily gratitudes rewire the brain for success. To watch the 15-minute video,  

click here . If you'd rather read a 3-minute version, see below...  

Harvard Researcher Shawn Achor shares    

                                    "The Happy Secret to Better Work"   
     We have long (wrongly) assumed that our external world is predictive of our happiness levels. But in fact, if I know everything about your external world, I can only predict 10% of your long-term happiness. A full 90% of your level of long-term happiness is predicted not by the external world, but by the way your brain processes the world.   

    It's time we reverse the old formula for happiness and success. In the past few years, I've found that most companies and schools follow this formula for success: "If I work harder, I'll be more successful, and if I'm more successful then I'll be happier." That assumption undergirds most of our parenting, educating and managing styles. The problem is it's scientifically broken and backwards.
     Every time we have a success we change the goalposts of what success looks like. You got good grades, now you must get better grades to be happy.  You hit your sales target, now we're going to change your sales target. If happiness is on the other side of success, your brain never gets there. We think we have to be successful, then we'll be happier. But our brains work in the opposite order.  (Happiness must come first)   

     When we raise a student's

level of positivity, their brain experiences what we call "A Happiness Advantage." The brain in positive mode performs significantly better than in neutral, negative, or stressed:
- their intelligence rises
- their creativity rises
- their energy levels rise   

Meanwhile, when an educator's brain is in positive mode:
- They are 30% more productive  

- They are more resilient
- They are less likely to experience burnout
- They are less likely to quit, lowering turnover

    In short, when we find a way to become positive in the present, our brains work harder, faster, and more intelligently. Dopamine, which floods into our system when we're positive has two functions: not only does it make us happier, it turns on all the learning centers in our brain, helping  us more easily adapt to the world.  
     The great news is that we can train our brain to become more positive. In just two minutes per day done over 21 days in a row, you can rewire your brain, allowing it to work more optimistically and more successfully.
     In every school and company we worked with in our research, we had them write down 3 new things they were grateful for for 21 days in a row. At the end of the 21 days their brains start to retain the pattern, scanning the world not for the negative, but for the positive first.  

     By simply doing that, we confirmed the formula of happiness 1st and success 2nd. With a focus on gratitude and hope comes happiness, and from those, we can create a real revolution.      

CIA Rocked the House this Year

Thanks to a great year kids and staff!

The end of the year celebration was a blast!

Alva and Miss Wilma

Alva and Miss Wilma visited each classroom to share with them all the great things the Chadron Public Library has to offer.  The Tooth Fairy and Little Lamb followed them to school today to talk about the Summer Reading Program that all the students were invited to.  For more information please call the Chadron Public Library.

Tree Planting

Pictures by Cydney D. Janssen

Thanks to Lucina Mays, The US Forest Service, and several other agencies, CIS has some new trees.  In an effort to promote A Greener Nebraska Community seven very nice trees were planted on the North side on the last week of school.  Students enjoyed helping dig the holes and planting the trees. 

Planting Trees at CIS

Volunteers from Greener Nebraska Towns and the US Forest Service came this week to help students plant trees all around Chadron Intermediate School.  The students learned how to plant trees correctly to help ensure their survival as well as how to take care of them once they are planted.  The students had fun getting their hands dirty and we now have several trees around the school for the students to enjoy.

For more information on Greener Nebraska Towns, clink the link here.

CIS Summer Science Camp

CHADRON INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL

SUMMER SCIENCE CAMP

Join us for experiments, projects, games, cooking, art, engineering, and creative drama activities with a Cosmic Connection Theme as well as sun and star gazing activities

When:  Choose either Monday, June 11^th through Friday, June 15^th or Monday, June 18^th through Thursday, June 21^st

Where:  Chadron Intermediate School

For:  Current 3^rd and 4^th graders

Cost:  $10 supply fee (Fee can be waived if your student qualifies for free lunch and has paperwork on file with CPS)

Instructors:  Dee Dee Grant & Kaci Swinney

Sponsored by:  Chadron Public School; 21^st Century; Nebraska Blast Summer of Innovation

Deadline to Register:  May 17, 2012 – Limited to 30 students per camp – We will accept the first 30 paid registrations.

Camp #1 - Times: Monday, June 11th – 8 a.m. to 12 noon Tuesday, June 12th – 8 a.m. to 12 noon Wednesday, June 13th – 8 p.m. to 12 midnight Thursday, June 14th – 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, June 15th – 8 a.m. to 12 noon

Camp #2 - Times: Monday, June 18th – 8 a.m. to 12 noon Tuesday, June 19th – 8 a.m. to 12 noon Wednesday, June 20th – 8 p.m. to 12 midnight Thursday, June 21st – 1 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Complete and detach registration below and return to CIS with your $10 check made payable to Chadron Public Schools by May 17^th.

Campers:  Look for more information and parent permission form to come by mail prior to camp.

Student’s Name:_____________________________________________________________

Mailing Address:  ____________________________________________________________

Parent’s Name(s):__________________________________________________Phone:_______________

Circle which camp you plan to attend:     Camp 1 (June 11-15)      Camp 2  (June 18-21)

Fee:  ________Included    _________ Waived

Bird Watch

Students, parents, and staff enjoyed an early morning bus ride to Chadron State Park.  Although getting out of bed an hour early was tough, it was worth it remarked one of the students as they got off the bus.

The grouped left at 6:45 a.m. early Friday morning!

Two bus loads of students arrived at the park and walked to the shelter near the pond.  They broke into three different groups.

Students acted like different kinds of birds. We had to guess what they were.

Students pretended to be adult birds who had to feed their "brood".  They had to use different tools to gather their food.  Some were handicapped in someway and had to work extra hard to gather the food and get it back to the nest.

We had a great group of parents who really got into the action.  Thanks for all your help!

Kids finally gathered together for a group picture.  Students saw lots of birds and even had an unverified mountain lion sighting.  Three kids fell in the creek(one shoe is still missing)-please let us know if you find it floating toward town.

Note to self:  Don't stand too close to Mrs. Swinney when you are near the water!