Bully Prevention Goal –
TIPS FOR PARENTS: WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CHILD WITNESSES BULLYING
Many children are observers or “bystanders” in cases of bullying at school. It is important that even students who are bystanders in a bullying situation take action to get help, so the bullying stops. We are taking steps to teach this important information to students at school. Here are some things you can do to support these efforts at home.
If your child talks to you about the bullying that he or she witnesses at school, you are encouraged to do the following:
· Teach your child how to get help without getting hurt.
· Encourage your child to verbally intervene if it is safe to do so, by saying such things as: “Knock it off! This isn’t going to help anything.”
· Tell your child not to cheer on or even quietly watch bullying. This only encourages a child who bullies-who wants to be the center of attention.
· Encourage your child to tell a trusted adult about the bullying. Talking to an adult is an act of courage and safety. Suggest going to an adult with a friend, if that will make it easier.
· Help your child support others who tend to be bullied.
· Teach your child to include these children in activities.
· Praise and reward “quiet acts of courage” – where your child tried to do the right thing to stop bullying, even if he or she was not successful.
· Work with your child to practice specific ways he or she can help stop bullying. For example, role-play with him or her what he or she could say or do to help someone who is being bullied.
Math Computation Goal –
As our students continue to work toward automaticity on the basic mathematical operations through daily drill and weekly timed tests, teachers continue to report progress. Our math committee continues to meet as we evaluate the math computation goals we have set for each grade level and our system of reporting to parents regarding these goals. We know that some of these things will have to be adjusted as we work through the first year or two of the program. Families can continue to support our math computation goal by:
· Asking your child about their progress on the weekly timed tests.
· Communicating with your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns.
· Practicing the math facts at home and encouraging/praising your child as they practice and improve.
Written Communication Goal –
Having past the mid-year mark we continue to instruct and encourage writing in grades kindergarten through 8. We are giving our students more time to write, more freedom to write, more opportunities for feedback, and a larger variety of writing experiences. Research tells us that this sustained and concerted effort over time will bring about positive changes in our students’ writing skills. Our writing committee continues to meet and reassess our grade level goals and the rubrics used to evaluate each child’s progress on those goals.
Our efforts to improve student writing are also helping to support another positive initiative at Seton, curriculum mapping. As we continuously seek to make our instructional and assessment efforts more efficient, mapping out our entire curriculum in each subject from kindergarten through 8th grade is helping us to see and fill gaps and avoid excessive overlap. As we work to improve writing, we are amending our language arts curriculum maps to show the changes we are making. This is all a tremendous effort on the part of our staff to continuously improve the quality of instruction, to use a variety of assessments to further direct instruction, and to bring about our ultimate goal – increased student learning.
