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Thursday, May 6, 2010 N/Warren Town and County News
Page Nine
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OVIATT ELEMENTARY
ByDr. Laura Sivadge
Preschool-lst Grade Principal
and Rodney Martinez
2nd-3rd Grade Principal
Five Key Skills For Academic Success limited distractions and interruptions.
It's never too early or too late to help your child de- Tips to help your child concentrate:
velop the skills for academic success• Learn how to build Turn off access to email and games when your child
these skills and stay on track all year long. works on the computer.
By GreatSchools Staff Declare the phone and TV off-limits during home-
It takes a combination of skills - organization, time work time.
+management, prioritizatien, concentration and motiva- Find space that fits the assignment. If your child is
tion - to achieve academic success. Here are some tips working on a science project, she may need lots of space;
to help get your child on the right track, if she's studying for a Spanish test, she will need a well-
Talk to your child, lit desk. -
To find out which of these skills your child has and Help your child concentrate during homework time
which he can develop further, start a simple conversa- , by separating her from her siblings.
tion that focuses on his goals. Ask him about his favor- 5. Motivation
ite subjects, classes he dreads and whether he's satisfied Most children say they want to do well in school, yet
with his latest progress report, many still fail to complete the level of work necessary
GreatSchools tip: to succeed academically. The reason is often motivation.
Most children say they want to do well in school, yet Tapping into your child's interests is a great way to get
many still fail to complete the level of work necessary him geared to do well in school.
to succeed academically. The reason is often motivation. Tips to help motivate your child:
Tapping into your child's interests is a great way to get Link school lessons to your child's life. If he's learn-
himgeared to do well in school, ing percentages, ask him to figure out the price of a dis-
Listen for clues, counted item next time you shop.
Incorporate your own observations with your child's Link your child's interests to academics. If he's pas-
self-assessment. Is your child overwhelmed by assign- sionate about music, give him books about musicians
ments? She may have trouble organizing time. Does and show how music and foreign languages are con-
your child have difficulty completing her work? She may nected.
get distracted too easily. Is your child simply not inter- Give your child control and choices. With guidance,
ested in school? She may need help getting motivated, let him determine his study hours, organizing system
Identify problem areas, or School project topics.
Start here to help your child identify which of the Encourage your child to share his expertise. Regu-
five skill areas are trouble spots, larly ask him about what he's learning in school.
1. Organization Congratulate your child, encourage him and celebrate
Whether it's keeping track of research materials or all his successes.
remembering to bring home a lunch box, children need Often what holds children back from trying is the
to be organized to succeed in school. For many students, fear of failure or the memory of a time they didn't do
academic challenges are related more to a lack of orga- well. You can help break this cycle by celebrating your
nization than to a lack of intellectual ability, child's successes, no matter how small and by giving
him opportunities to succeed academically.
Tips to help your child get organizedi
• Make a checklist of things your child needs to bring
to and from school every day. Put a copy by the door at
home and one in his backpack. Try to check with him
each day to see if he remembers the items on the list.
Find out how your child keeps track of his home-
work and how he organizes his notebooks. Then work
togetherto develop a system he will want to use.
Shop with your child for tools that will help him stay
organized, such as binders, folders or an assignment
book.
LAKEWOOD ELEMENTARY
By Jill Anderson, Principa!
Dave Oleson, Dean of Students
2. Time Management
Learning to schedule enough time to complete an
assignment may be difficult for your student. Even when
students have a week to do a project, many won't start
until the night before it's due. Learning to organize time
into productive blocks takes practice and experience.
Tips to help your child manage time:
Track assignments on a monthly calendar. Work back-
ward from the due date of larger assignments and break
them into nightly tasks.
Help your child record how much time she spends
on homework each week so she can figure out how to
divide this time into manageable chunks.
Together, designate a time for nightly homework and
help your child stick to this schedule.
If evenings aren't enough, help your child find other
times for schoolwork, such as early mornings, study
halls or weekends.
3. Prioritization
Sometimes children fall behind in school and fail to
hand in assignments because they simply don't know
where to begin. Prioritizing tasks is a skill your child
will need throughout life, so Ws never too soon to get
started.
Tips to help your child prioritize:
Ask your chikt to write down all the things he needs
to do, including non-school-related activities.
Ask him to label each task from I to 3, with I being
Fifth Grade May Term: One of the emphases of our
fifth grade teachers is on transitioning skills. May 10,
we will start "May Term" which will be for ten school
days. This changes the fifth grade area into a Mini
Middle School which allows the students to have the
skills necessary for success next year at Middle School.
The reason for May Term is that research says the
biggest fears of Middle School students are the ability
of getting to class on time, working locker combinations,
keeping up with materials and remembering dass sched-
ules. Solutions that will be used by the students will be
a bell system to move from class to class throughout the
building, using locks" that have been attached to their
locker, being required to transition materials to class
with them and each student will have an individual
schedule.
Other benefits of May Term are that teachers will at-
tack the deficit skills based on the ITBS before they at-
tend the Middle School and work on transitioning skills
and ease the perceptions of the students. This also keeps
the students motivated during the month of May.
There will also be other middle school transition ac-
tivities for our fifth graders. Ken Foster, sixth grade prin-
cipal will bring sixth graders to visit the classrooms to
answer questions and explain the basics of attending
Middle School. Brett Collins, Lakewood Counselor, has
also been working with several fifth graders to help ease
any transition concerns.
most important. May 11
Ask about each task so that you understand your
child's priorities. If he labels all his social activities as 1, May 12-14
then you know where his attention is focused. May 14
Help your child change some of the labels to better May 20
prioritize for academic success. Then suggest he rewrite May 21
the list so all the ls are at the top. May 26
Check in frequently to see how the list is evolving May 28
and how your child is prioritizing new tasks. May 31
4. Concentration June 1
Whether your child is practicing her second-grade June 4
spelling words or studying for a trigonometry test, it's
important that she works on schoolwork in an area with June 7
June 8
Band Concert at Middle School
at 7 p.m.
Iowa History Play at Lakewood
Last day to check out Library Books
Honor Choir Field Trip
Hershey Track Meet
DARE graduation, 1:00 at FCC
All Library Books Due
No School, Memorial Day
5th grade Capitol trip
Field Day
Talent Show at High School
Last Day of school
NHS BLOOD DRIVE
Alex Alberts, wearing the blood drop costume, is as-
sisted by Ashley Nguyen as they recruit blood donors
for the National Honor Society blood drive.
rJ
Tori Mateer helps Allie McCurnin adjust her mask as
part of the blood drop costume for the National Honor
Society blood drive. Photos submitted•
The April 14 Blood Drive, sponsored by Norwalk
High School's National Honor Society, was a huge suc-
cess. Once again, students, staff and community mere- ~,
bers answered the call for blood donation. The volun-
teer spirit was truly evident as preliminary results show
that 88 people registered to donate. There were 40 first
time donors. Ten double red cell units were part of the
collection with 80 total units collected.
All the junior members of the National Honor Soci-
ety took part in helping to make the Blood Drive a suc-
cess. Students helped with publicity, hanging signs,
going to advisements to encourage students to donate
and three students even dressed up in the blood drop
costume. During the day of the drive students helped
in the welcome and check-in area as well as in the can-
teen. Comments by the blood center staff at the end of
the blood drive were very complimentary toward the
student body.
National Honor Society members would like to ex-
press their appreciation to all the donors who made a
valuable contribution to the blood donor program.
DALLY FAMILY VALUE
After 4 p.m.
Mon.- Pot Roast
Tues.- Beef & Noodles
Wed.- Chicken Fried Steak
Thurs. - Chicken & Noodles
Fri.-Hot Beef Sandwich
sat.- Baby Back Ribs
Family Value Meals Include
Potato, Green Beans & Dinner Roll
1031 Sunset Dr., Norwalk
981-1031
