All About Mrs. Yates
What is Mrs. Yates favorite dessert(s)?
Brownies and/or chocolate chip cookies
What does it mean to have self control?
It means to be able to control yourself and the way you express feelings/choices you make and what you say and your body
What is Intent?
What you mean when you say or do something
What is a calming strategy used for?
To help us regulate our emotions and stay in control of the choices we make regardless of what big feelings we might be having. They can help us get through tough situations.
What was the bucket filler activity? How did it spread kindness?
Where we wrote words of kindness/compliments to others. It brought joy to others and made other people feel good when they read the notes.
What is Mrs. Yates job title?
What does she do in her job?
School Counselor
She helps students solve problems, listens, teaches lessons on important skills, and more!
What was the point of the candy challenge?
To practice having self control even when there is something tempting in front of you. Being in control of what you focus on and what you do.
What is impact?
How someone else feels because of what you said or did. How what you said or did affected a situation or another person/people
Name 3 calming strategies
Starfish breathing, square breathing, count to 10, color or draw, journal, go on a walk, take a nap, meditate, yoga, go on a walk, exercise, eat a snack, listen to music, talk to someone, cuddle a pet, yell into a pillow, read a book
What was the "one word for 2026 lesson?"
It was the lesson where we picked one word for the year that was going to motivate us and help us set goals and work to be our best.
What 2 colleges did Mrs. Yates attend?
University of Iowa and Vanderbilt
What was the game controller strategy?
What might the impact be in this situation: You start making a joke to a friend during class.
What does it mean to be an independent problem solver?
That you try different strategies (I statement, talk it out, try different ways to figure out an issue) before always going to an adult and expecting them to solve a problem for you
What does "words are permanent" mean?
It means that once you say something, it can't be erased or taken back. Once someone hears it, you can't change it. You can try to apologize and make things right, but the words are there. And if you put them online, even if you delete something, someone could have taken a screenshot and it is around forever.
What is one of Mrs. Yates biggest pet peeves during lunch bunch?
Burping
What does it mean that all actions (or choices) have consequences? Are all consequences negative?
No they are not all negative. It means that every single choice you make has a consequence, and the more self control you have, the more positive consequences you will have.
Why is learning intent vs. impact important?
It helps with perspective taking and empathy. It can help with communication and conflict resolution. It can help us think before we speak so we don't hurt others. It helps us with self control. We can reflect on our intent and how our choices affect others.
A friend made a joke that hurt your feelings and went and said it in front of everyone at lunch and again at recess.
What would the I-statement sound like?
I-Statement:
I feel sad and hurt when you make that joke and do it in front of others. Please stop saying that joke.
What is a meaningful apology?
A meaningful apology includes taking responsibility, acknowledging the other person’s feelings, and offering a way to move forward.
How many Taylor Swift concerts has Mrs. Yates been to?
9
How did playing Jenga and Simon Says help us practice self control? Why would Mrs. Yates spend so much time on this topic?
Jenga and Simon says are both games that require focus. In Jenga we practiced remaining in control of our volume, our words with other players, staying in our area, and reactions if the tower fell. In Simon Says, we had to practice self control by being focused and listening so we didn't do the wrong action.
Mrs. Yates wants us to practice self control because it will help us with EVERYTHING
What might the intent be in this situation: A classmate sees you struggling with a math problem and comes up and offers to help you figure it out. It makes you feel embarrassed and annoyed.
What was impact for you? If you knew intent would it change the impact?
If their tone was kind, they probably just intended to offer help.
Impact: You felt embarrassed and annoyed BUT if you paused to ask yourself or them what their intent was, you would know it wasn't unkind, so it could prevent those annoyed feelings
How could you solve this problem independently?
A classmate is constantly trying to talk to you and disrupt you during work time or instruction.
You don't need the teacher RIGHT away, but you could give an I-statement: "I feel distracted and annoyed when you keep talking to me. Please stop talking and let me focus." If it continues, you give one more I statement and then ask the teacher to step in and help.
What was the attitude switch lesson about?
About turning our attitudes from "whiny" to "shiny." Not just complaining about things and being negative but finding the positive.