Expectation Spotlight: RESPONSIBILITY
For the month of APRIL, we are targeting student attendance and punctuality by focusing on expectations for student RESPONSIBILITY. As a collective team, we can prioritize reteaching, modeling, highlighting, and acknowledging responsibility and punctuality at the Bay.
Showing up matters for R.E.A.L because it is an opportunity to:
Build Routines
Increase Engagement
Provide Access to resources
Support Learning
Routines: Establishing a routine of daily attendance helps reduce stress at home, and supports a habit of attendance that will help your teenager get and keep a job.
Engagement: Being in school helps students to get to know each other and school staff and builds relationships that can motivate participation in learning.
Access to Resources: Schools provide access to valuable resources such as meals, health, mental health supports and fun enrichment activities such as sports, clubs, music, and other afterschool and summer programs.
Learning: Students who attend school regularly do better academically in middle school and are more likely to graduate from high school.
Each week, attendance challenges will be announced for a friendly competition amongst students and staff. All students with less than 5 unexcused tardies for the MONTH will be invited to an exclusive social event during school.
Teenagers’ prefrontal cortexes— the part of the brain responsible for rational thinking and problem-solving– are not yet experiencing consistent, fast-acting connections to the rest of the brain. Therefore, teenagers are more prone to risk-taking, boundary-testing, and inconsistent behavior.
Teenagers, especially, need structure to thrive. From developing a healthy relationship with their technology and social media, to getting enough sleep, to developing strong study skills or applying to college, to practicing self-care and playing, to building a social life, they have a lot to manage!
Predictable, consistent routines can be an anchor for peaceful mornings, smoothly flowing after-school hours, or relaxing weekend mornings.
Three key ingredients to building structure in the home:
Consistency – doing the same thing every time
Predictability – expecting or knowing what is going to happen
Follow through – enforcing the consequence
The benefits of routine include:
Enhanced closeness and bonding: Consistent routines send the message that you’re there for your teen and they can trust and count on you.
Physical well-being: Regular bedtimes help set your teen’s body clock so they know when it’s time to go to sleep and wake up. Similarly, regular mealtimes help teens stay on track with healthier habits.
Increased responsibility: When teens’ chores are scheduled and expectations are clear and consistent, they learn to keep commitments and care for others.
Executive skills: Predictable routines help teens learn valuable lifelong skills like time management, organization, self-monitoring and self-control.
Helpful Links:
Is Your Child Missing School Due to Anxiety