November Family Update
November 30, 2016
“The reporting period marks a new beginning to set goals as well as reflect on past work habits,
achievements, and hardships. Most important, it is a time for parents to communicate with their children
and determine a path for future academic enrichment and social/emotional growth.” ~ Terry Farwell
Dear Families,
It’s hard to believe that December is upon us and the first term of the school year will come
to a close next week! Report cards will be sent home on Tuesday, December 13th. Following this
week’s parent conferences and upcoming report card distribution, please engage in the opportunity
to use all of this information to reflect on your child’s progress, both privately as parents and in
collaboration with your child. With this in mind, we would like to share the following article with
you all:
Talking to Your Child About Report Cards
by Terry Farwell
A child's report card can bring feelings of joy, excitement, and pride; it can also cause concern,
frustration, and uncertainty. In either case, the reporting period marks a new beginning to set
goals as well as reflect on past work habits, achievements, and hardships. Most important, it is
a time for parents to communicate with their children and determine a path for future academic
enrichment and social/emotional growth.
Focus on the positive
Regardless of the grades your child brings home, you must first focus on positive aspects of the
report. This is not always an easy task. For some parents, this might mean highlighting a strong
effort or citizenship grade, or congratulating an academic accomplishment. It could mean
praising a perfect attendance record or acknowledging a small improvement shown in a
particular area. Starting on a positive note shows your child that you truly care about the
accomplishments, not only areas that need improvement.
Ask the right questions
Be careful not to overreact to low grades, or grades you view to be unsatisfactory. Instead, use
this time to look at past performance and plan for the future. Talk to your child, asking
questions to understand how a particular grade was earned:
•
Was the work too difficult?
•
Could the pace of the class be inappropriate (too fast, so that your child feels "lost," or
too slow, causing your child to feel "bored")?
•
Does your child complete all homework and ask questions when problems arise?
The answers you receive might indicate a need to review your child's study habits. Determine
whether or not your child is recording all assignments and bringing home all materials necessary
to complete them. Does your child have a specific place to study where resources (including
someone to answer questions) are available and distractions are minimized? Is your child
completing all homework on a nightly basis, or are assignments being turned in late, or not at
all? Once you have determined the problem, you can begin to create a solution.
The next step
Creating a plan to maximize future academic success is an important part of every child's
education. Help your child set realistic and attainable goals for the next reporting period.
Outline ways in which these goals can be met, as well as rewards and consequences if they are
not. Type the "official plan" and post one copy in a prominent household location, another in
your child's binder, and forward another to her teacher. Involving your child gives her ownership
and importance in this process; and this makes the report card important not only to you, but
also to your child.
As parents, we want the best for our children, but in too many cases this is measured only by the
number of [high marks] brought home. Emphasize to your child the importance of doing the
very best job that he can. Encourage him to succeed, and measure his progress in realistic terms,
letting him know that you care and are available to help. Break tasks into small steps, so that
even the youngest child can measure her growth, and the most advanced child can monitor her
progress. By reviewing the report card, and developing a plan for the future, you will help your
child find the road to success.
Read more on FamilyEducation: http://school.familyeducation.com/report-cards/parents-andschool/38368.html#ixzz3KnNH6ptd
As always, if you have any questions about your child’s report card or overall progress, we invite
you to contact your child’s teachers or us. We are confident that, by working together, we can help
all students to reach their goals!
Respectfully,
Evemarie McNeil
Principal
[email protected]
Sarravy Connolly
Assistant Principal
[email protected]
In this Update:
1. Parent/Teacher Conferences
2. Inclusive Schools Month
3. Nurse’s Notes
4. Nutrislice Program (school lunch)
5. Did you know? Bullying defined
1. Parent/Teacher conferences are occurring at JFK primarily this school week. If you have not
received any communication about signing up for a parent/teacher conference please reach out
to your child’s teacher. It is possible that the teacher does not have your most up-to-date email
address. Wishing you a very productive conversation about your child’s current school
experience!
2. Inclusive Schools Month: JFK will be celebrating the fact that we are an inclusive school
throughout the month of December. What does that mean? Well, it is an opportunity to
overtly celebrate how JFK provides a supportive and quality education to our diverse student
population, including students who could be marginalized due to disability, gender, socioeconomic status, cultural heritage, language preference and other factors. The month also
provides an important opportunity for educators, students and parents to discuss what else
needs to be done in order to ensure that JFK continues to improve our ability to successfully
educate all children. Be sure to check our website and Twitter feed for photos of our monthlong celebration! (For more information check out: http://inclusiveschools.org/ )
3. Nurse’s Notes from the desk of Ms. Ellen Gould:
Update Contact Information: As the year goes on please remember to keep the contact
information current on your child’s emergency card. Many times work and cell numbers
change as well as contact people. Please inform the nurse of any changes.
Illnesses: Strep throat is still circulating, please continue to notify the nurse of any cases
of strep or other communicable disease. Students under treatment with antibiotics
must stay out of school for the first 24 hours of treatment. A child who has been ill with
vomiting or a fever should not return to school until he/she has been vomiting- free
and/or fever-free, without medicine, for 24 hours. Please keep sick children home for
their own comfort and to prevent the further spread of illness to others. Insist on proper
hand washing at all times for your children; this simple step could keep them healthy!
Ticks: The warmer fall means the ticks are still active. Continue to check yours children
for ticks any time they’ve played outside. For more information about ticks and Lyme
disease: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/
Cough Drops: Cough drops, as with all medications, including over-the-counter
medications, must have a doctor’s order and written parent permission provided to the
health office in order for student to have drops at school. Students may not consume
these in the classroom as they are a choking hazard. Cough drops must be delivered to
the school nurse by a responsible adult (parent or designee).
Winter Clothes: Winter is around the corner. The students do go out to recess every
day, unless it’s raining or if temperature and/or wind chill is too low! Please be sure
your child comes to school with a warm jacket, hat and mittens when the temperatures
drop. Once the snow comes an extra pair of socks in your child’s backpack is a good
idea, as students wearing boots often come in from recess with cold, wet feet.
4. Nutrislice Program: Please check out the link to our school lunch program where you will find a
lot of information to help you and your child make informed lunch choices, and the opportunity
to offer feedback on the menu options: http://franklindistrict.nutrislice.com/
5. Did you know? Bullying Defined: It can be difficult for students and families to know the
difference between unexpected and annoying or mean behavior and bullying. At JFK, we take
all unexpected behaviors very seriously and address these with our students as they continue to
learn appropriate ways to interact with one another. Proactively, we work hard to establish
classroom and school communities which promote respect, inclusiveness, safety, and kindness.
We also actively partner with our families when students are having difficulty letting someone at
school know that they are not feeling respected/included/or safe. Thank you for partnering
with us to support your child as we work hard to foster students’ social, emotional, and
academic growth. One of the ways you can continue to assist us is to talk with your child about
specific incidents at school and partner with your child’s teacher to better understand the whole
picture and next steps. There are occasions, far and few between, where there is a real concern
that bullying is occurring. To meet the criteria for a determination of bullying there must be a
specific target or target group, the behaviors are repeated over time, and there is an imbalance
of power between the alleged bully and target. Alleged incidents of bullying require a serious
investigation where multiple witnesses are interviewed, safety and support plans are developed,
and students’ school freedoms are often impacted. Thank you for your help to reserve the word
“bullying” for incidents that meet the three criteria noted above.
http://franklindistrict.vts.net/pages/franklindistrict_webdocs/Franklin%20Public%20Schools%20Anti-Bully%20Plan.pdf