Counselor Notes

Am I Ready To Learn?

Strategies To Get To School On Time & Be Responsible:

The night before...

• Finish all homework
• Put my work in my backpack and in a place ready to go (by the door).Shower or Bathe so I don't have to in the morning
• Get clothes ready for the next day
• Set my alarm clock
• Get a good night sleep

The morning of school...

• Get up right when the alarm goes off or when parent/guardian comes to wake me up.
• Get dressed right away.
• Clean up and brush teeth without reminders from family.
• Remind others we need to BE ON TIME!
• Help others who need it!
• Don't forget my backpack and homework.

Take Steps to Stop It Checklist

• Start early . Parent/child talks are essential. Teach kids to respect others before they start school and continue to talk about this topic on an ongoing basis. Even small acts of teasing should be stopped in their tracks. Don’t fail to correct this kind of behavior due to a child’s young age. This is exactly when to stop it.
• Teach your children how to be assertive. Encourage your children to express their feelings clearly, say no when they feel uncomfortable or pressured, stand up for themselves without fighting and walk away in dangerous situations.
• Stop bullying when you see it . Adults who remain silent when bullying occurs are encouraging it and making it worse.
• Listen and support children who speak up. Telling an adult about bullying is not easy for children. If a child comes to you seeking assistance with bullying, spend time listening to them and provide affirmation and support before taking actions. Read through and discuss our Bullying Checklist with your child as a resource.
• Recognize the signs of depression. Youth who experience persistent bullying can develop signs of depression like sadness, isolation, poor concentration and sleeping problems. These symptoms can affect their relationships and school performance. Many children do not recognize or speak up about their emotional needs. Make sure to reach out and get them help when you see these signs.
• Tell your children to take action when they see bullying behavior. Tell them to speak out against the bully and inform a teacher if the behavior doesn’t stop. Bullying continues only when we allow it to.
• Communicate clear policies and consequences. Bullying is less likely in schools where adults are involved and firm about stopping bullying behaviors. Send out a clear message at your school that bullying will have negative consequences.
• Team up . Work with your PTA or local MHA affiliate to make sure that schools treat bullying as violence. Help them develop programs to prevent bullying and promote safe school environments.

Here are a few tips on how to help a child who is strug­gling with read­ing or writing.

1. Read Every Day

Find a time to read with your child every day. Even a brief dai­ly com­mit­ment can will improve read­ing skills and con­vey that read­ing is an impor­tant pri­or­i­ty for you.

2. Make a Space for Reading

Cre­ate a com­fort­able, con­sis­tent place in your home where you can read togeth­er, enjoy books and chat about them. You might even make it a place where food and drink are wel­come — these sig­nal that read­ing can be a social activity.

3. Make Read­ing Silly

Don’t be afraid to get sil­ly. Read­ing should be fun. Meet your child where he or she is, and don’t insist on ​“seri­ous” or ​“clas­sic” books. Sil­ly books, comics, ani­mé or oth­er art-dri­ven books are a good way to get many chil­dren inter­est­ed in read­ing. If pos­si­ble, act out or sing the words of sto­ries or find oth­er ways to enjoy books.

4. Vis­it Your Local Library

Plan trips to the library. Get­ting your child a library card can get them excit­ed about books. Don’t wor­ry about read­ing every book — library trips should be fun. At first, these vis­its may sim­ply con­sist of spend­ing time wan­der­ing the rows of books and meet­ing librarians.