TOPICS
OF INTEREST
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I. Study Skills |
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We provide periodic study skills groups from which your child
may benefit. Students can be referred by their parents, teachers, or they
can self refer. A useful website to help your child learn
study skills is:
http://www.how-to-study.com/
Just a reminder that we maintain a list of available tutors. Feel free to stop in the Student Services office to check out the list. The list includes anyone who has indicated to us an interest in tutoring. You would need to interview any potential tutor to determine if he/she is a good match for your child. We do not endorse or recommend particular tutors.
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II. Parent Involvement |
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Working With Your School
Find out teacher expectations for your child this school year
Middle school teachers will expect your child to be more independent than her elementary school teachers did. Encourage this independence, but continue to support your child. One way is by getting to know her teachers and what they expect. You can:
- Introduce yourself to teachers at open house or
back-to-school night. Give your full name and your child’s full name. Let
teachers know how to contact you and find out how to contact them.
- Find out how your child should track
assignments. Often, this is with a notebook that goes back and forth to
school. Ask to see your child’s notebook. Encourage your child to write
down due dates.
- Find out how much time teachers expect students
to spend on homework for class. Then you can spot trouble if your child
never has any homework or if it takes her far longer to do it than it
should. The earlier you alert the teacher to any problems, the easier it
will be to solve them.
Reprinted with permission from the September 2006 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2006 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Rosemarie Clark, Donna Hawkins and Beth Vachon, The School-Savvy Parent: 365 Insider Tips to Help You Help Your Child, ISBN: 1-57542-072-4 (Free Spirit Publishing, 1-866-703-7322, www.freespirit.com).
Homework/Study
Skills
Help your child start the school year with good study
habits
Establishing and using good study habits now, before your child gets to high
school, may be the best thing he can do to be successful.
Encourage him to:
- Find out what works best for him. This includes
when to study, where to study and how to study.
Does he need quiet or does he concentrate better with background noise? Can he work well at the kitchen table, or only in his room? Is it more efficient for him to complete one thing before starting another, or can he work on several things at a time? - Get his timing down. Can he work straight
through for several hours, or does he need to work in 15 to 20 minute
bursts? Some students find breaks refreshing, while others get distracted
too easily.
- Always read directions. Have your child ask
himself if he really understands the directions. Then have him read them
again. He can’t do the assignment if he doesn’t know what he is supposed
to do.
- Remember presentation. Teachers can’t give
credit for homework they can’t read. His sloppy work shows disrespect for
the teacher and himself—it bars him from demonstrating how much he really
knows.
Reprinted with permission from the September 2006 issue of Parents Still
make the difference!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright ©
2006 The Parent Institute®, a vision of NIS, Inc. Source: Ron Fry, How to
Study, ISBN: 1564142299 (Career Press, 1-800-227-3371, www.careerpress.com).
Building
Responsibility
Help your middle school student build a true sense of
responsibility
Boost your middle schooler’s sense of responsibility and you’ll help him in the classroom and out. Responsible students take learning seriously. To nurture his sense of responsibility:
- Expose him to money. If he does not have an
allowance, consider giving him one. By letting him manage money (and not
spotting him a few bucks each time he runs low), he may develop more respect
for it.
Include him when you’re paying bills or working on your budget. Don’t share every financial detail, but let him see what budgeting looks like. “I’d love to order pizza tonight, too, but it’ll have to wait. Payday isn’t until Friday.” - Revamp his chore list. Are you still packing
your child’s lunch? How about doing his laundry? If so, pass the torch.
Now that he’s a preteen, your child is capable of handling such day-to-day
chores as cooking and doing laundry. Don’t overload him with hours of new
tasks, but work toward giving him meaningful responsibilities.
- Let him take his lumps. When your child makes a
mistake, don’t swoop in to save him (unless he’s in true danger). By
allowing him to experience the consequences of his actions, he’s more
likely to learn not to make the same mistake again. If you’re always
running to his rescue, he’ll only learn that he doesn’t have to take
responsibility for anything.
Reprinted with permission from the September 2006 issue of Parents Still
make the difference!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter.
Copyright © 2006 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.
Attendance
Matters
Attending school will help your child avoid trouble
Your child’s education can open a world of possibilities, but walking through the school door is the first step. Regular attendance is essential for school success.
As important as school success is, it’s just one reason why regular attendance is critical. Students who skip school are more likely to:
- Fall behind their classmates.
- Drop out.
- Join a gang.
- Use alcohol or illegal drugs.
- Get arrested.
You can influence your child to reduce risks and increase his chances for
success (unless he is ill or there is an emergency). To keep attendance up:
- Make clear to him that you expect him to be in
school. Let him know you place a high priority on this.
- Have consequences if he is truant. Discuss these
with him in advance.
- Schedule doctor appointments during non-school
hours if possible. If this is truly not possible, write a note to his
teachers and the office staff explaining his absence.
- Remember that school is his job and don’t keep
him out of school to work outside the home.
Reprinted with permission from the September 2006 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2006 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Eileen M. Garry, “Truancy: First Step to a Lifetime of Problems,” Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/truncy.pdf.
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III. Careers |
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Eighth graders will be focusing on learning more about careers this year. They will have the opportunity to identify areas of interest and see how these related to various careers. They will use this self-knowledge to help them choose appropriate high school courses.
A good site for exploring
information about health and medical sciences careers is:
http://www.science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/feature/index.htm
North Carolina's Career Resource
Network can be accessed from:
http://www.ncsoicc.org/
For college planning, go to:
http://www.cfnc.org/
Students learned more about how interests are related to careers by taking an interest inventory at http://www.kuder.com/. This site is available to them to explore various career clusters and to find out about different colleges. Students will need to know their log-on and password to gain access to the site. If they were absent the day we took the interest inventory, students can see me to obtain a password.
Bullying is problematic in almost every school. It can been seen in
three different forms: Physical, Verbal or Psychological. No
matter which form it takes, it is harmful. Check out this
website for more information:
Stop
Bullying Now
Bullying can also take place on the Internet. Check out this site for
some great suggestions on how to prevent cyberbullying:
http://www.cyberbully.org