Dear Parents,
October was quite an eventful month! Our PTA had numerous successful events that included Fall Festival, Reflections, Walk to School Day, the Sally Foster Fundraiser and Red Ribbon Week. Mountain View parents and committee chairs worked very hard to make these events great. Many volunteers also helped to make these events spectacular. Also, our Foundation president, Barry Wolfert is working diligently to get Foundation donations to be able to KEEP our full time computer lab teacher. Cobb County School District does NOT fund such a position for elementary schools, and it is greatly important that if you have NOT donated to the Foundation, that you STRONGLY consider doing so very soon.
This month, please join your children for Thanksgiving lunches. These will be held on November 10 for kindergarteners and fourth graders; November 11 for fifth and second graders; and November 12 for first and third graders. Teachers will send home a note with specific classroom lunch times. In addition, students will be out of school for Thanksgiving break from November 23 to 27.
As you share a week of family time at the end of this month, please consider ten ways that words can enrich family life. These come from a book that I love, “Positive Words, Powerful Results,” by Hal Urban.
1. Model the language you want your children to use.
2. Read to your children.
3. Have a meaningful conversation – parents need to make face-to-face, meaningful conversation a high priority.
4. Ask good questions. Instead of asking, “Did you learn anything today?” ask, “What was the best thing that happened to you today?” This question will garner better results, and you will probably find out what was learned.
5. Celebrate the day at the dinner table.
6. Catch your kids doing something right.
7. Correct gently.
8. Use and teach the magic words “please” and “thank you.” For hundreds of years, these magic words, along with other terms of courtesy, were taught and modeled in virtually every home. This began to change in the mid -1960’s for a variety of reasons. While good manners are still stressed by many parents, it is no longer assumed that most children are learning them in the home.
9. Write a family mission statement about words in the home: a brief declaration of purpose that helps keep its members focused and reminds them of their responsibilities.
10. Schedule a family night, and keep in mind four simple rules:
a. Have it the same time and day each week.
b. Hold family night even if a family member is absent.
c. Make sure it is at least one hour long.
d. Ensure conversation takes place during the activity.
As always, thanks for what you do for me and the staff at Mountain View Elementary. I appreciate each of you!
Angela M. Huff
