SKYBLUE MESA PARENT NEWSLETTER

SKYBLUE MESA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

A California Distinguished school

28040 Hardesty Street

Canyon Country, California 91351

Phone: (661)298-3260 Fax (661)298-3256; email dbohn@saugus.k12.ca.us

Volume 3 Number 10 November 3, 2009

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From the Principal’s Desk

Dear Parents,

Healthy kids—that’s what every family wants. Here are some important things to think about in terms of your child’s mental and physical health.

Mental Health

They need their sleep. Children need 10 hours of sleep each night to be well rested and ready to do their best. Keep the TV out of their bedroom and have a firm “lights off” policy, with a little flexibility on Friday and Saturday nights.

Keep the lines open. As busy as you are, it is essential to be available when your children have something they need to talk to you about. Set up a code word, something silly, like “banana,” that they can mention to you when they have something troubling them. Let them know that the code word isn’t to be used lightly—like when a sibling is bothering them. When they do call you aside for something serious, give them your full attention.

Eating and Drinking

Ditch the junk. We all need a minimum of five servings a day of fruits and vegetables, so stock up on fresh fruit and 100 percent fruit juice drinks. If your kids eat at school, encourage them to take as many fruits and vegetables as they are allowed to have—and eat them before they start to eat their main dish. If you pack their lunches, stop including cookies and high-fat snacks. Substitute pretzels or light popcorn and fresh or dried fruit.

Watch what you drink. Water is absolutely the best thirst quencher around—zero calories, always available, and free. And, as great as milk is for growing bodies (adults too), it’s important to choose low-fat or fat-free milk instead of whole milk.

Physical Health

Move it. Go for family walks, runs, or bike rides several days a week. Have a family fitness “club,” charting everyone’s progress on everything from shooting hoops to jumping rope.

Keep your home smoke-free. If you or other adults in your household smoke, do your children a lifelong favor—never smoke in the house or in a car with them.

Second-hand smoke can lead to a number of serious health problems, from breathing difficulties to cancer. Quit if you can. Cut back as much as you can. And do everything you can to keep your children from ever taking up the habit.

Don’t overlook checkups. Fluoride treatments and early detection of cavities or gum problems can save your children toothaches and other dental problems. The same goes for doctor’s appointments—an ounce of prevention really is a pound of cure. There’s so much to worry about when you have children at home. But remember this: Keeping them healthy—both mentally and physically—is your most important job.

Debbie Bohn, Principal

Help the Children

For the month of November, we will collect all canned vegetables other than green beans and corn. Thank you

H1N1 Vaccination Clinics
Public Health's H1N1 vaccination clinics will provide free H1N1 vaccines to More ...

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From the Principal’s Desk

Dear Parents,

Studies have found that most children have cheated, or thought about cheating, on schoolwork. While schools battle this issue, there are two important things parents can do to help. First, from the time children are very young, parents must emphasize and reward honest behavior. Second, parents must make sure that their children know that cheating will not be tolerated at home or at school. Here are some more ways parents can stop children from cheating.

Stop schoolwork-related cheating by:

Monitoring writing projects.

Plagiarism—passing off others’ words or ideas as your own—used to mean copying a few lines or paragraphs from an encyclopedia. Today, with the help of the Internet, children can steal entire essays and research papers. Read your children’s assignments before they turn them in. If the writing doesn’t “sound” like theirs, talk with them about how they came up with the ideas.

Believing the teacher. Teachers don’t make accusations of cheating lightly. If the teacher says that your child was cheating, avoid getting defensive. First, get the facts. Then, if necessary, set up a meeting with everyone involved. Finally, establish consequences both for the specific incident and for any “repeat

performances.”

Fighting peer pressure. Peer pressure can be difficult to handle. Children may have a hard time rebuking a friend who asks to copy homework or peek at test answers. Remind your children that it’s

OK to say “no” to their friends. Let them use you as an excuse: “Sorry. My parents would be furious if I let you see my homework.”

Allowing your children to do their own work. Giving your child a little guidance about a school project is fine. Doing even a small bit of the work for them is cheating.

Prohibiting pirating. Not only is it dishonest to download music or copy computer games without paying for them.

Sharing stories. When you read an article in a magazine or newspaper about an honest act—perhaps someone turning in a wallet full of money—share it with your children and talk about how important it is to resist the temptation to keep something that isn’t theirs.

Finally, scrutinize your own behavior. If they see you using office supplies brought home from work, overhear you  talking about subtle ways to cheat on your income taxes, or witness you calling in sick when you’re not, they’ll believe that cheating is OK.

 

Debbie Bohn, Principal

 

Help the Children

For the month of November, we will collect all canned vegetables other than green beans and corn.   Thank you

 

PTO Holiday Kids Gift Shop

The PTO presents the Kids Holiday Boutique More ...

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