We’ll soon be seeing those familiar yellow school buses traveling through the community. Yes, the new school year is right around the corner, but what does that mean for all of us?
For parents it means needing to get their child back into the routine of getting a good night’s sleep and getting up at the same time every day so their child is ready to be at school every day, on time. Good attendance is important because research shows that students who have 95 percent or better attendance do much better in school. It also means making sure your child has breakfast either at home or at school. Here again, research shows that students who eat breakfast do better academically.
It will also mean getting back in the habit of checking your child’s backpack every day to see if he or she has homework or other things you need to see. Talk to your child about what he or she learned at school each day. If daily reading has slackened off over the summer, it means starting to make sure your child is reading, or being read to, at home every day for at least 15 minutes.
It will mean making sure you have contact with your child’s teacher, not only at conference times but whenever you have concerns about his or her schoolwork. If your child’s school has an Open House before school starts, that’s a good time to get to know the teacher(s) and start building that communication.
If you don’t have a child in school, it means you still are important to our community’s children and schools. Think about volunteering at one of our neighborhood schools. Many of our children need extra tutoring in reading or math. Many students, especially some of our middle school and high school students, could use a caring adult to mentor them. You’ll likely find that you will get as much out of your volunteering as the children.
If you can afford it, donate to a local school — either with a monetary donation or a donation of school supplies. It also means planning to attend concerts, plays, math competitions, robotics demonstrations, science fairs and art fairs at your local schools to encourage the students. Plan to attend some of the various sports competitions at Henry High and North High schools and cheering on our student athletes!
Let’s all make this a great school year!
**A note to families of students at both Patrick Henry High School and North Community High Schools. Ms. Mauri Melander Friestleben, the principal at North, and Mr. Yusuf Abdullah, the principal at Henry, have jointly announced that both schools will follow the Minneapolis Public Schools policy of NO Cell Phones in class. They made a joint video message that you can watch on either school’s Face Book page.