Allen  School’s
E-Newsletter

September 2005

Volume 2, Number 1

Back To School Guide!
http://www.familyeducation.com/home/

It’s school time again and that means a lot of change for children and families. The thought of starting school again comes with mixed feelings. The carefree days of summer are gone however; going back to school can be exciting. Some children begin to feel anxious and nervous about beginning a new school year so talk to your child about their worries and reassure your children that they will be fine. Parents can help to ease the transition from home to school by following a few simple tips:

Tips To Help Your Child Adjust!
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content3/back.school.p.k12.4.html

ü      Get into the routine early. Make sure lunches, backpacks, and clothes are ready the night before school. Create a homework center (not near a T.V.) stocked with supplies needed for homework. Make a special box for your children to place forms from school that need your attention. Have a large calendar visible to fill in events, vacation days, and schedules.

ü       Become familiar with the school environment. Visit your teacher and classroom at the Allen School Open House on Sept. 1^st. Become familiar and discuss school rules with your child. Drive by the school during the summer and review the route from your home. Talk about where the crossing guards are located and areas to take extra care. Remind your kids where you will be dropping them off and where you will be picking them up.

ü       Adjust your clock. About two weeks before school starts begin going to bed and getting up on a school schedule. Don’t make plans for any big events or trips the weekend before school. Don’t forget to check the bus schedule.

ü       Celebrate the new school year. This is a great tradition to start if you haven’t already.  Start the year off with a bang! The night before school starts turn dinner into a party with a special meal or throw a “Back to School” Party with cake, streamers, and hats. For more party ideas click here.

 

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Getting Involved in Your Child’s Education

When parents are involved in their child’s education kids do better in school. Parental involvement can mean reading a book to your child, checking their homework, discussing your child’s progress with their teacher, limiting TV on school nights, or simply just asking your child, “How was school today?” You must ask them everyday and become involved in your child’s education to send the message that schoolwork is important and you expect them to learn. Here are some sites that will help you to make a difference in your child’s educational life:
Disclaimer.

Family Education
This is a great site that offers families advice on a wide range of topics for all ages. The greatest part of the site is when they break down children by grade level and list skill builders by subject, milestones to expect, a section called you and the school, and school safety.  It is such a wonderful resource that each grade level web page has a link going to this resource.

KidsHealth
This very comprehensive site is broken down into sections for parents, kids, and teens. It contains numerous articles on a whole range of topics from infections to emotions and behaviors. The articles are written so they are easily understood, up to date, and accurate. This site will help you to talk to your child about health related issues and/or their fears and anxieties. It is a great resource.

Scholastic Families
Scholastic has this great section of their website dedicated to families! They feature great articles on various subjects and have excellent sections called “Your School Age Child” and “Your Early Learner”. In each of the areas they feature great activities to do with your child and some “five minute fun”.  Check out this wonderful site!

Teachers and Families
This is another great site with tons of articles on many topics.  Most of the site is free to use however there are certain areas that are available to members only, so just be aware. They offer daily parenting tips, monthly features, and sections for parents of gifted and talented, special education, and preschool students.

For a complete listing of resources in All Areas, click here!

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Upcoming Events at Allen School

September is packed full of great happenings at Allen!  Here are just a few that are coming up!

·                     Allen Open House (Breeze Thru)—September 1^st

·                     First Day of School (Full Day)—September 6th

·                     Alligator Day and Papa John’s Pizza Day—September  23rd

·                     Book Fair Week—September 26-30th

·                     Evening Book Fair—September 27th

·                     Back to School Night—September 29th

Check out the 2005-2006 Allen School Calendar for a complete listing of all activities throughout the year!

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What's New on Allen's Website?

The Allen School website changes everyday!  Make sure you check it often!

·                     Nurse’s Page:  Bag those boring school lunches!  Mrs. Kondracki lists sites for great bag lunch recipes!

·                     The Counselor’s Corner:  Back to School Readiness!  Dr. Haggett tackles preparing students for the first day of school. Also on her site are fun activities to get your kids excited about school and a site for special needs families.

·                     September Lunch Menu:  The lunch menu for September has now been posted!

·                     2005-2006 Calendar of Events:  Allen’s calendar of events for the entire school year has now been updated.  Please remember that some dates could change, so check back often.

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Supply Lists, Summer Reading, & Teacher Bios

Don’t forget, the school supply lists for each grade level are posted on their web pages.  In addition, the required summer book is listed along with some activities for the book and check out the teacher biographies!

ü                    Kindergarten

ü                    1^st Grade: The Accidental Zucchini

ü                    2^nd Grade: Frog and Toad are Friends

ü                    3^rd Grade: Dear Peter Rabbit

ü                    4^th Grade: Amber Brown is Not A Crayon

ü                  5^th Grade: Shiloh

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Fun and Educational Sites for Kids

These are some of our kid’s favorite sites and they are educational, too. Shh!!! Don’t tell them!

·         Jan Brett (K-3) Jan Brett, one of the premier authors of children’s books, has the most amazing site to accompany her wonderful books. There are over 3,000 activities, coloring pages, and projects to do at this site. The video section is awesome! Here you get to see how Jan Brett creates her magical creations from the author herself!  There are just too many things to do at her site to list, so check it out!

·         Ed’s Bank (Grades 1-4) Ed’s Bank is a really cool game where kids learn how about money.  For one minute kids must put in as much money as they can into Ed’s piggy bank. After a minute the kids can use the money to go to the store and buy things for Ed or they can return to the piggy bank to save more money.  The choice is theirs!

·         Science Fair Central (Grades 5) The 5^th grade science fair is not until February, but it is never too early to begin thinking of a great science fair project. This is the ultimate Science Fair Site that lists project ideas, books and websites, and how to make a great science fair project.

·         GeoSpy (Grades 4-5) National Geographic has created this really cool geography game!  The “GeoSpy Agency” is asking for agents to help identify continents, states, and countries in order to receive GeoSpy Status.

·         Draw On! (All Grades) This is a really cool online drawing site created by GE.  By using the mouse you can choose a pen, shapes, or stamps to help create an online masterpiece! Change the background color and add text.  When finished, you can save the drawing or print it out.  This site is really cool!

For more fun links and resources click here!

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