Counselor's Corner
Helpful Hints to Parents and Guardians
About Drugs and Alcohol Abuse
* Educate yourself on the latest information about tabacco, alcohol, and other illicit drugs and how they can destroy your family and community.
* Encourage your child to take responsibility for saying "NO" to drugs and "YES" to healthy and fun activities.
* Keep communication open. Create an atmosphere at home where your child feels free to talk to you whenever he or she has a problem.
* Build your child's self-esteem. Spend time together and let your child know that your love is constant. Praise your child's acheivements and efforts to do his or her best. The stronger your child's self-esteem, the more likely he or she will be to refuse to use drugs.
* Encourage your child to participate in drug prevention activities at school or in your community. These may be during Red Ribbon Week in October or at other times of the year.
* Be a positive role model by maintaining healthy habits in your own life. If you have a problem with drugs, seek help and serve as a role model in that way.
Qualifications for the 5th Grade Jr. Beta Club at Southside Elementary School
1. Worthy Character
2. Good Mentality
3. Creditable achievement
4. Commendable attitude
5. Must obtain an 88 grade average (GPA) or above by the end of the 1st semester
6. Must perform academically/behaviorally on or above grade level (no modifications)
If your child has a yearly average of 88 or higher and meets all qualifications listed above,
he or she will qualify for Junior Beta in 2005-2006. (5th grade)
This is a national organization and these qualifications are determined by the organization.
Classroom Guidance Topics for 2007-2008
RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR
Encouraging Good Citizenship
Promoting Self-Discipline
Respecting Those With Special Needs
Respect and Kindness
Honesty
MOTIVATION
Skills for Academic Sucess
Setting and Achieving Goals
Test Taking Skills
PERSONAL SAFETY
Identifying Potentially Dangerous Situations
Peer Pressure
Drug Awareness and Prevention
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Active Listening
Interpreting and Expressing Feelings Appropriately
Conflict Resolution
CAREER AWARENESS
TRANSITIONING
5th Grade Transition to Rainbow Middle School
Transitioning to the Next Grade Level
Ten Ways to Help Your Kids Get Organized
Developing good organizational skills is a key ingredient for success in school and in life. Although some people by nature are more organized than others, anyone can put routines and systems in place to help a child "get it together." Here's a list of strategies that you can use to help your child get -- and keep -- his life under control.
1. Use checklists.
Help your child get into the habit of keeping a "to-do" list. Use checklists to post assignments, household chores, and reminders about what materials to bring to class. Your child should keep a small pad or notebook dedicated to listing homework assignments. Crossing completed items off the list will give him a sense of accomplishment.
2. Organize homework assignments.
Before beginning a homework session, encourage your child to number assignments in the order in which they should be done. She should start with one that's not too long or difficult, but avoid saving the longest or hardest assignments for last.
3. Designate a study space.
Your child should study in the same place every night. This doesn't have to be a bedroom, but it should be a quiet place with few distractions. All school supplies and materials should be nearby. If your young child wants to study with you nearby, too, you'll be better able to monitor his progress and encourage good study habits.
4. Set a designated study time.
Your child should know that a certain time every day is reserved for studying and doing homework. The best time is usually not right after school -- most children benefit from time to unwind first. Include your child in making this decision. Even if she doesn't have homework, the reserved time should be used to review the day's lessons, read for pleasure, or work on an upcoming project.
5. Keep organized notebooks.
Help your child keep track of papers by organizing them in a binder or notebook. This will help him review the material for each day's classes and to organize the material later to prepare for tests and quizzes. Use dividers to separate class notes, or color-code notebooks. Separate "to do" and "done" folders help organize worksheets, notices, and items to be signed by parents, as well as provide a central place to store completed assignments.
6. Conduct a weekly clean-up.
Encourage your child to sort through book bags and notebooks on a weekly basis. Old tests and papers should be organized and kept in a separate file at home.
7. Create a household schedule.
Try to establish and stick to a regular dinnertime and a regular bedtime. This will help your child fall into a pattern at home. Children with a regular bedtime go to school well-rested. Try to limit television-watching and computer play to specific periods of time during the day.
8. Keep a master calendar.
Keep a large, wall-sized calendar for the household that lists the family's commitments, schedules for extracurricular activities, days off from school, and major events at home and at school. Note dates when your child has big exams or due dates for projects. This will help family members keep track of each other's activities and avoid scheduling conflicts.
9. Prepare for the day ahead.
Before your child goes to bed, he should pack schoolwork and books in a book bag. The next day's clothes should be laid out with shoes, socks, and accessories. This will cut down on morning confusion and allow your child to prepare quickly for the day ahead.
10. Provide needed support while your child is learning to become more organized.
Help your child develop organizational skills by photocopying checklists and schedules and taping them to the refrigerator. Gently remind her about filling in calendar dates and keeping papers and materials organized. Most important, set a good example.
Patty Watkins
Guidance Counselor
Click McGruff for more parent info
Secrets to Help Your Kids Handle Peer Pressure
Nancy Samalin, MS
Parent Guidance Workshops
Special from Bottom Line/Personal
The very idea of "peer pressure" strikes fear in the hearts of most parents. Images of their kids following the crowd rather than remaining independent thinkers is enough to start any parent lecturing children about good judgment.
But what too many parents overlook is that sometimes peer influence can be instructive and even healthy. Kids engage in this social dynamic with their friends because it teaches them how to get along in the world.
So how can parents best help their children develop the judgment necessary to determine when it is beneficial to go with the flow and when it is critical to walk away? My suggestions:
Listen compassionately, not judgmentally. When your child comes to you upset because he/she was picked on or rejected by other children, it's hard not to jump in and intervene.
However, you can't always protect your child from hurt feelings. By nature, kids are fickle. They're insecure about who they are and whom to admire. The child who is "in" today may be "out" tomorrow merely because of what he wore or said or for no reason at all.
These rejections can be painful for any child, and they seem even more cruel when our children are the recipients.
Example: Your child always gets picked last for the team in gym.
What to do: Avoid making derogatory comments about other kids or telling your child it is not worth getting upset about. Listen to his complaints, and act as a supportive sounding board. You can't make the pain disappear, but you can make it safe for him to vent his feelings.
Don't back down from your values. Parents worry that peer pressure will undo all of their efforts to teach positive values. As they get older, your children are going to test your values. They may hear the message from their peers that it's cool to smoke or that it's wimpy to be respectful to adults. Your kids will try on behaviors and attitudes that are contrary to your values.
Important: Your children will still look to you for moral guidance, and you must constantly reinforce your values, not just by what you say but, more important, by what you do. However, your efforts can backfire when your children think you're being "preachy."
Example: You overhear your 13-year-old daughter and her girlfriend making disparaging, mocking remarks about a new classmate. Your daughter says, "What a weirdo. That outfit she wore today looks like it came from a garbage can."
You're distressed to hear your thoughtful daughter speaking this way. Yet it would be a mistake to attack her in front of her friend by saying, "What's gotten in to you? You used to be such a nice girl."
Better: Calmly mention the incident when the two of you are alone. You might say, "I was surprised to overhear you speaking so unkindly about the new girl. You're usually so compassionate. It must be hard for her to come to a new school where she doesn't know anybody."
Teach children to stand up for themselves. When your child is facing a problem with a peer, the best thing you can do is help him figure out how to handle the problem on his own. Sometimes you have to get involved directly if your child can't handle the situation on his own or is in any danger. Ideally, however, helping your child develop his protective responses will enable him to become more self-sufficient.
Example: Your 10-year-old complains that a classmate picks on him every day. Instead of expressing outrage, help him work out a solution by role-playing. Suggest that you'll play the classmate and he can try out responses, such as making a joke, ignoring the classmate or standing up to him.
If the problem persists, it's often best to meet with the teacher. Children have to feel safe and protected in school.
Encourage your child's self-esteem. The compulsion to compare and compete happens early with kids. That's why they brag so much. The pressure to be as cool as the coolest kid is intense. Your child may be convinced that he simply can't survive without the latest $120 sneakers, or that she must dress exactly like everyone else or that she'll die if she isn't part of the "in" crowd.
In fact, most children don't want to be unique. They want to be just like everyone else and be liked by everyone else.
How can you help your child develop self-esteem when all that matters to him is being accepted by peers? What happens if your child is rejected by a clique?
Key: Acknowledge your child's hurt feelings, and let him know you understand how bad it can feel to be rejected. Then help him evaluate the situation beyond his feelings. You might say, "It must be hard not to be in that group. But are those people whom you really admire? Do you think you could trust them to be good friends when the going gets tough? These are things for you to consider."
Praise your child for doing the right thing. Recognize that the hardest thing is when your child takes an independent position because he believes it is the thing to do. The child who learns to limit the influence of peers is the true leader with a steady moral compass.
Example: Your daughter stands up for an overweight kid who is being picked on. Don't take her response for granted or say, "Well, I expect you to do the right thing, no matter what your friends are doing." Instead, express your admiration. Tell her, "Going against the others took guts. I'm proud of you for sticking up for her when everyone else was being weak.
Make sure your child gets plenty of rest the night before tests.
Make sure your child doesn’t go to bed or comes to school angry or upset.
Have your child present and ON TIME for school.
Don’t get up late and have your child rushed and flustered when arriving at school.
See that your child has a well-rounded diet. A healthy body leads to a healthy, active mind. The week of test, be sure your child eats a healthy breakfast.
(Not too much sugar)
Have your child dress in something that makes him/her feel good and is comfortable.
(Pants, shirts, shoes not too tight)
Try not to be overly anxious about test scores. Too much emphasis on test scores can be upsetting to children.
Give your child encouragement! Praise him/her for the things he/she does well.
Encourage your child to pay attention, listen carefully and follow directions during the test.
-Read each question carefully.
-Read all answers choices carefully.
-Read the questions, then the passage.
-If you don’t know the answer, eliminate the obviously wrong answers.
-If you guess, stick with your first choice.
-Pace yourself. Do not spend too much time on any one question.
-Do not leave any answers blank.
-Use scratch paper and check your answers.
-Bubble correctly. Make horizontal marks across the center. Then circle the outer edges of the bubble making sure it is completely blackened.
-Mark the answer sheet correctly. Make sure the number of the question you are on and the number of the answer sheet match.
If your child is feeling anxious about the test- Tell them…
Quietly take a deep breath - (in through your nose, out through your mouth)
Tell yourself, “I can do this!”
Remember-
YOU (the parent) set the tone the morning of the test.
BE POSITIVE!
Set clothes out the night before down to the smallest details.
Have backpack ready to go by the door.
Discuss what breakfast your child wants the night before.
TESTING TIPS and HELPFUL HINTS FOR PARENTS
