Now that our new website is up and running, expect periodic news briefs from your administration. The Principal’s Post will be a regular part of our website and will feature a few articles that address academic and social domains.
Enjoy!
Your Principal,
Pat Ryan
The First Focus: Home Math Activities
Many parents read to their children at home. But it is equally important to help children acquire and reinforce math skills and concepts. Here are some ideas to bring math activities into your home lives without a lot of time and expense.
Creative Home Projects: Why not try to make or build something? Both sewing and building involve a lot of math skills. So find time to work with your child on measuring, cutting and sewing fabric to create an article of clothing or a simple tote bag. For a different challenge how about building a birdhouse or a small garden structure out of wood? The measuring, planning and buying of materials involves many everyday math skills and a project like this can be a great bonding time between family members.
Money: Do you pay an allowance to your child? Have them perform chores for money and keep a chart of their jobs performed and the money earned. If they are saving up to buy special items have them tally the amount of money earned against the cost of the items they are trying to purchase. This real life investment will go a long way in cementing math skills and a general sense of money.
Car Games: Planning a family vacation or just a long trip? Have your child use a map to figure out the distance a complete trip will be. Along the route, they can be in charge of announcing your progress at specific points and also noting the miles remaining. For younger children, play a license plate game where they must find a car with plates that total a specific number. For older children they can use a variety of operations to get to that number.
Computer Time: Allow your children to play computer games that reinforce math skills. There are several well known sites listed at www.kidsites.com/sites-edu/math.htm and this page is constantly updated.
Other places where math skills are typically in use include the garage when using tools or fixing items, in the kitchen when cooking and using recipes and shopping. But what ever venue you choose to use to explore math in the real world, know that you are extending to your child’s skills from school and that you are helping them to make a valuable connection for a life time.
The Second Set: Bullying
Studies show that as many as one out of four students has been the victim of bullying at one point or another. Today, efforts to reduce bullying are strong in New Jersey. Recent legislation gives schools great power to address bullying issues and to help students stand up for themselves and prevent bullying. However, students still need social skills to handle themselves. Here are some ideas to discuss with your child:
- Don’t respond – By not responding, the bully is not reinforced and less likely to persist.
- Tell a friend – Ask a friend for help. It is harder to pick on someone who has support.
- Walk away – It’s hard to bully someone who is not there, so walk away if possible.
- Write it down – Keep track of what happens in a diary. Record the date, time, place and what happened. Write down exactly what the bully says. When ready to tell an adult, there is proof.
- Tell an adult – If unable to stop the bullying, then it is time to tell an adult. Start by telling parents. Then parents should contact either the teacher or the principal.
Bullying does not have to be a part of your child’s life. The sooner it is acted upon, the sooner the bully will stop.
(Sources included the NAESP Report to Parents and the Parent Institute.)