3-2-1 TUESDAYS WITH MS NIV

Issue #253, 13th May 2025

“You’re old enough to make your own decisions. We trust your judgment.” OR “You’re not ready for that responsibility yet. I need to approve your choices.”

“Be yourself. Your uniqueness is your strength.” OR “Why can’t you be more like others? You need to fit in better.”

“Take care of yourself. Your mental health matters more than grades.” OR “You need perfect grades to succeed. Other activities are distractions.”

When students, especially adolescents, are actively forming their identity and worldview, how do you shape your messaging? Consider this as a parent or as an educator.

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Three Images of the Week

Two Thoughts of the Week

“End is not the end if fact E.N.D. Means “Efforts Never Dies. – Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

“There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.” – Ralph Marston

One Video of the Week

A few words can change the course of a life; they have the power to shrink, expand or transform someone’s identity — even your own. Social psychologist Mesmin Destin explores how everyday interactions and experiences play a powerful part in who we become, sharing the key moments and messages that can inspire us to grow into our best selves.

Reading with Ms. Meenu: Tip of the week

Where to do a StoryWalk?

Everywhere! Playgrounds, hallways, gardens, wooded areas, libraries, cafeterias and classrooms can all be the perfect setting for a special book. What could cheer up sick students better than reading “ A Bad Case of Stripes”. It’s a great idea to laminate pages from joke books and other quick reads for the walls of any classroom. By doing this regularly you will see the value in having books become integrated into physical spaces because StoryWalks give the message that books and the written word belong everywhere.

Logistics: How to make a StoryWalk

·         The Book: You’ll need two copies of the books, three ideally. While there are copyright restrictions for copying books, once you buy the book you can take it apart to post the pages. You will need two copies because pictures are printed on both sides and ideally, you’ll have a third for revisiting in the classroom as a read aloud or for students to pick up on their own. Budget considerations: The paperback version often less expensive is fine.

·         Lamination: You’ll want your outdoor story to withstand rain, wind or even snow. Laminate the pages with the thickest possible laminating sheets so that they don’t curl, and you can use them multiple times.

·         Posting pages: You’ve got lots of choices here, depending on what works best for your site. Outdoor natural areas or gardens can use stakes or fences indoor walks can be displayed on walls or bulletin boards. Sturdy wooden garden stakes or the stronger green metal ones can become a part of a permanent path or be installed when you’re featuring a StoryWalk.

·         Page height: How tall is your audience? The height of your most intended audience will be important to consider, whether it’s you and your colleagues setting up a walk for your students or your class designing their own StoryWalk for others.

·         Sharing resources/dissemination: Once you have created a walk out of a picture book or your students have written one the lamination preserves it for use the next year and allows you to create a reusable resource for the entire school or even district. The story pages might be checked out of a central library for other schools or classrooms to use. After the initial energy of installing the stakes or hallway hooks, your main focus will be selecting new books for the walks.

Happy Reading!

Meenu Gera 

Consulting home and school librarian reading guide

Showcase: Thrive Beyond School – A unique STEAM education project for very young learners.

This week in STEAM class, our young scientists Samyuktha, Neev, Mayra, and Tara had so much fun learning about the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas!

We started with a fun guessing game using clue cards to figure out the topic. Then, during our Matter Hunt, the children searched around the classroom to find things that are solids, liquids, or gases and drew or wrote them down. In State Charades, they acted like tiny molecules standing still like solids, swaying like liquids, and moving fast like gases to see how matter behaves.

During the Ice Melting Race, they guessed which ice cube would melt first and watched to see what happened.

Finally, in their Matter Journals, they drew and labeled examples of each state and even showed how matter can change. Through movement, experimentation, and observation, students discovered that matter is all around us and always changing.

Tara:5.9 years old Neev & Mayra:6.9 years old Samyuktha : 7years old

And finally… against all odds

Dear reader,
I work with the school leadership team as an advisor and collaborate with teachers as a pedagogical trainer. I also help parents as a parenting counselor and regularly engage one-on-one with students as a personal guide and mentor. This weekly newsletter shares what I read, learn, and experience.

3-2-1 Tuesdays with Ms. Niv is a newsletter you can subscribe to and enjoy your learning journey with me.