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Announcements:
April is Alcohol
Awareness Month!
Info for Parents
on their role on preventing substance abuse:
According to the
substance abuse prevention website www.Theantidrug.com,
parents play an essential role in keeping their children
and teens drug and alcohol free. As a parent of a pre-teen,
you may worry that you are no longer the most influential
force in your child's life as they look to their peers more
and more for guidance. But the reality is that pre-teens
and teens need (and secretly want) your help. Surveys of
teens show that they appreciate you and listen to your advice,
even if it seems they aren't paying attention!
Key Principles to
Navigating the Pre-teen/Teen years and Raising Healthy Children:
1. Tune Into your
Child: take advantage
of everyday times like driving your child to school or watching
TV togeher to engage in conversation. Ask about interests
and activities to find out what's going on in his/her life
2. Guide and Monitor
your Child: Set expectations
and rules to provide support and structure for young people
dealing with new situations and challenges. They provide
a concrete way to help your kids understand your expectations
and learn self-control. Kids will be more likely to accept
and understand rules if you take the time to teach your
values important to your family.
3. Respect your
Child: Children should
respect their parents but respect is a two-way street, and
teens are very concerned about fairness. You don't have
to agree all thetime to show respect, but try to listen
and treat them fairly.
4. Be a good Role
Model: Your actions
communicate a great deal to your child, especially about
substance abuse. Deliver a clear and consistent message
that you don't want your teen using substances and tell
them why. Research shows that even if parents smoke or drink
alcohol, telling your teen to stay away has a major impact
on their actions and keeps their use down.
For more info, check
out the following websites dedicated to providing substance
abuse prevention information and resources:
www.drugfree.org
www.theantidrug.comwww.health.org
www.nida.nih.gov
www.family.samhsa.gov
www.niaaa.nih.gov
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Attention
7th and 8th grade students:
End of the Year
Exams are just around the corner! Exam dates are May 21,
22, and 23.
We will be offering
a Pre Exam Prep workshop
for any student who is interested in getting some extra
help getting organized and prepared for exams.
Pre Exam Prep will
be offered at FLEX on Tuesday, May 13 and
Thursday, May 15. (Location is TBA...stay tuned for
details.)
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Summer
Opportunity to
Boost
Study Skills
July 7 -
11 and July 14 - 18
Episcopal Middle School is offering a two-week
course we are calling Study Skills
Basics. This course also will meet Monday through
Friday each week from 10:00 – 10:45 each morning.
Mrs. Martha Guarisco, our sixth grade English teacher, will
teach the course. Topics included in this experience include
learning styles, memory strategies, organization, note taking,
test-taking tips, time management, and study habits. The
fee for this two-week course will be $75. The course will
be helpful to students who are coping with learning obstacles
and those who have chosen to schedule the sixth grade study
skills course, Aids to Better Grades.
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PARENTS:
If your child has
a Learning or Attention Difference
or if your child is having academic difficulty, contact
Alicia Kelly at ext. 1477, the
coordinator of our Learning Support Services (LSS).
Parents are invited to join us for
the LSS Parent Support Group on the 4th Wednesday of each
month.
11:30-12:30 pm in the Alumni House
Parlor
For more details and for meeting
times, click
here.
Feel free
to bring your lunch and join us for networking with other
parents facing similar issues
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CHARACTER
EDUCATION
PROGRAM
The character traits
for 2007-2008 are:
August/September:
COOPERATION
October/ November:
ASSERTION
December/January:
RESPONSIBILTY
February/March: EMPATHY
April/May: SELP-CONTROL
******************TIPS
FOR PARENTS**************
*Ask your child what the
character trait means to them.
*Discuss the importance of
good character in one's behavior. (How can you tell a group
is cooperating?)
*Talk about how they can
exhibit the trait in their daily lives.
*Encourage them to think
of specific examples.
* Reward good character when
your child exhibits it! And of course, be a good role model
and model good character daily!
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Middle
School Advisory Program
Our mission of the advisory program
is to provide students with additional adult support, encouragement,
understanding, and acceptance within a small-group setting.
The small advisory groups help to support our school's mission
and nurture the whole student--spiritually, intellectually,
morally, physically, and artistically.
The advisor facilitates the efforts of the
advisee to grow as a person, to be a positive member of
the school community, to succeed in educational endeavors,
and to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the
school. The advisor serves as a liaison in assisting the
rest of the staff in providing more affective assistance
to his or her advisees.
-Advisory Meetings:
Middle School faculty members
meet biweekly on Tuesdays with 6th, 7th, and 8th students
in small groups to discuss a variety of issues. Topics include
adjusting to middle school, friendship, leadership, character
building, conflict resolution, communication, improving
organizational and study skills, time management, and stress
management. During the second semester, students will be
planning community service projects within advisory groups.
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Middle School Counseling
Services
-Individual Counseling:
The middle school counselor
is available for individual counseling for 6th, 7th, and
8th grade students. The purpose for counseling varies from
student to student. Any parent or teacher who
Referrals can be made by teachers, parents,
or by students themselves by contacting the counselor or
by request through your child's teacher.
-Classroom Counseling
Activities/Lessons: The
counselor will collaborate with teachers to meet the needs
of students by going into the classroom. The counselor is
available to present classroom guidance lessons on the following
topics: friendships, mental health awareness, stress management,
test anxiety, relaxation strategies, anger management, conflict
resolution, study skills, as well as additional topics requested
by teachers to enhance theircurrent lesson plans.
-Support Groups:
Student support groups are developed and are contingent
on the needs of students as well as student, faculty and
parent requests.
-Parent-Teacher
Consultation: The middle
school counselor is available to attend parent-teacher conferences
on a per request basis. The counselor collaborates regularly
with all grade level teachers on behalf of student needs
and in order to effectively support students.
-Parent Network and/or
Educational Gatherings :
Parent to Parent
is a national organization that is run FOR parents BY parents.
****For more information on Parent
to Parent, contact: Leslie Arceneaux or visit the
Parent to Parent link on the school's homepage under Parents.
Parent to Parent is:
• For parents of all ages
• Facilitated by the parents for parents
• A parental network
• A video based program
• Eight individual sessions aimed
at strengthening parental skills and building confidence
in this Toxic Culture (more
information)
***Counselors in each divison have audio
CDs of the program to loan to interested parents who cannot
make it to any of the classes or for their personal use
(great for the car!). Please contact one of us for more
info.***
Classes are currently being
formed for parents of all ages!!
School Wide Counseling
Programs: (coordinated by the counseling
department)
-EMPOWER Program
This national program for students addresses
the root causes of violence and the wide spectrum of behaviors
that students have either engaged in, been subjected to,
or have witnessed. Founder of the program is Rosalind Wiseman,
author of the books Queen Bees and Wannabees and
Queen Bee Moms and King Pin Dads.
The Owning Up curriculum teaches
students to be accountable for their own actions as well
as educates them about the negative effects of social hierarchies
and exclusive behaviors. The program is implemented in each
division (with consideration to age appropriateness) through
retreats, classroom counseling activities, or small groups.
We are currently conducting classroom counseling
lessons for this school year using the Empower Curriculum
for every middle school grade level.
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Counseling
