Hi families,
Term one is all about helping your child settle into school as best as possible. This can be an emotional and difficult time for some (both parents and students) as you try and establish daily routines and settle back to the business of life.
Hopefully by now you have established some good routines and your child has had a smooth start to the school year. If there are still some struggles, this article looks at strategies to further help you along the way.
I’m sure many of you will find this beneficial and hopefully allow for many positive days ahead.
Happy reading,
Ms Jodie
Make this year your child’s best ever at school
By Michael Grose
Here are seven ideas to help you make the most of the fresh start and make this year your child’s best year ever year at school:
- Commit to your child going to school every day on time. One of the most important things you can do to ensure your child has a bright future is to make sure he or she goes to school every day – and gets there on time. Kids spend more time asleep than at school, so we need to maximise every day to get full value.
- Help kids start each day well.A good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast and some words of encouragement from you will help set a positive tone for a day of learning. This may mean that you adjust your morning routine so that kids have plenty of time get up, eat and get ready for the day.
- Establish work & study habits.The most successful students are those that develop regular study habits that suit their lifestyle, their study style and their school’s expectations. Find out the work expectations from your child’s or young person’s school and help them establish a work routine that matches.
- Make sure your child gets enough sleep.Many children and young people are sleep-deprived, which impacts on their wellbeing and their learning. A good night’s sleep consolidates learning, as well as assisting future learning. Children need between 10-12 hours of sleep each day, while teens need a minimum of nine hours. Help kids get sufficient sleep by having a regular bedtime and get-up time each day. Have a 45-minute wind-down time each night, and remove screens and mobile phones from bedrooms.
- Insist kids exercise.The old saying about ‘a healthy body and a healthy mind’ is so true. Exercise releases the chemicals needed for learning and wellbeing. Yet kids today get less exercise than those of past generations, which is an impediment to learning and mental health. Health professionals recommend a minimum of 60 minutes of exercise per day for kids of all ages. Encourage your child to play sport; promote free and active play and look for ways to make moving part of their daily lives.
- Focus on being friendly.Schools are very social places requiring kids to negotiate many different social situations each day. Yet we often only focus on academic learning. There are strong links between social success, and academic success and wellbeing. Encourage kids to be open and tolerant; to be friendly; to be sensitive to others; to be involved in plenty of activities and to be social risk-takers. These are all characteristics of socially successful kids. At the same time discourage anti-social behaviours such as over-competitiveness, self-centredness and lack of sharing.
- Develop self-help skills.Successful students are often well organised, self-directed and self-motivated. Personal organisation seems to come more naturally to girls than boys, however both genders benefit from coaching in this important area. You can foster organisational skills and self-direction by developing simple, age-appropriate self-help skills related to their every day lives. Such skills as making lunches, packing school bags, and organising after school schedules can be great lessons that impact on how kids perform at school.
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Free webinar by Dr Justin Coulson – The resilient Parent
Thursday 9th of March 8pm
The Resilient Parent is a FREE webinar for parents who sometimes feel overwhelmed with the challenges of the parenting gig. Click on the link below to register.
https://happyfamiliesfamilyeducation.ac-page.com/the-resilient-parent
Children with medical conditions
Just a reminder if you have a child with a medical condition could you please complete a medical action plan for your child and return this to the school ASAP.
This will need to be signed by a doctor.
You can find these plan on the school website. These need to be completed annually so that we can have up to date information.
Thanking you,
Ms Jodie
