Lowell School's families now have access to The Parent Institute's electronic Family Engagement Resource Center. This electronic resource center offers booklets, quick-tip brochures, cards, and videos on a range of topics from how to work with your child’s teacher and get involved to tools on motivating and teaching your child at home. Please feel free to take advantage of your full access to the entire electronic Family Engagement Resource Center. You may browse, view, read, download, and print on demand all year!
For the week of 6/5/23: Since every child is likely to encounter some problems in life, it’s important for them to learn how to handle setbacks. You can teach your child that every problem is also an opportunity in disguise. The pamphlet "Help Your Child Learn from Mistakes" gives some ideas you can use to help your child bounce back and keep going.
For the week of 5/29/23: Teachers know that children who think they can be successful in school usually are. And those who think they can’t usually aren’t. The pamphlet "Teach Your Child How to Set Goals…And Reach Them!" explains how you can help your child develop the positive attitude that can lead to achievement in school and in life.
For the week of 5/22/23: Academic success depends on a student’s ability to study effectively and efficiently. This goes beyond just completing daily assignments. It means making studying meaningful and seeing it as an opportunity to really learn. The booklet "Top Five Study Skills Every Student Needs" offers ways you can help your child learn strategies for achieving goals beyond simply getting good grades. With a little practice, your child will develop the study habits necessary to be academically successful.
For the week of 5/15/23: Standardized tests have been used to measure student achievement and ability for many years. The booklet "Questions and Answers About Standardized Tests" will help you learn more about standardized tests. It will give you information about: • The kinds of tests your child may take.
• What test scores tell you and your child’s teachers.
• Ways you can work with your school to help your child succeed on standardized tests.
For the week of 5/8/23: These days, students get tested a lot. There are school readiness tests … placement tests … standardized tests … and regular classroom tests. Ideally, students who work hard should do well on tests but that doesn’t always happen. Some students study and pay attention in class, yet still get disappointing grades. Improving their studying and test-taking skills can help. Those are skills that can be learned, and the booklet "Studying for & Taking Tests" will show how families can help.
For the week of 5/1/23: Organization is one of the most important skills successful students have. Effective organization helps them keep track of assignments, finish projects on time and study efficiently. The booklet "Getting Organized for Schoolwork & Homework" is full of tips for organizing everything from notes to notebooks. Soon your child will become a more organized—and more successful—student!
For the week of 4/24/23: Schools work hard to teach students self-discipline, but the most effective lessons a child will ever learn take place at home. The booklet "Helping Children Learn Self-Discipline" is full of ideas you can use to teach your child the skills and attitudes needed to become a self-disciplined person ready to succeed!
For the week of 4/17/23: Whether it’s a disagreement with a friend, a run-in with a teacher or an argument with parents, all children experience conflicts in their everyday lives. Conflicts can happen at home, in school or in the community. The booklet "Helping Children Learn to Resolve Conflicts" is full of practical ideas to help you help your child learn how to resolve and even benefit from conflicts.
For the week of 4/10/23: Students learn facts and figures, dates and places, spelling, math, history and much more in school. But as important as it is to learn basic facts, experts say critical thinking skills are more important for success in school. The booklet "Critical Thinking" is filled with activities you can do together to build strong thinking skills.
For the week of 4/3/23: Of course, schools teach reading skills in class but your child spends far more time at home than at school. Home is where some of the very best learning takes place! The booklet "Reading for Meaning" is filled with ideas for ways you can help your child read for meaning. You’ll also find fun and interesting ways to practice these skills every day.
For the week of 1/30/23: Interest in science begins at home. As a parent, you play a crucial role in helping your child develop a positive attitude about science. The booklet, “What Parents Can Do at Home to Help Students with Science“ includes games, activities and suggestions that use everyday experiences and materials around the home.
For the week of 1/16/23: Whether it’s a disagreement with a friend, a run-in with a teacher or an argument with parents, all children experience conflicts in their everyday lives. Conflicts can happen at home, in school or in the community. The booklet, “Helping Children Learn to Resolve Conflicts” is full of practical ideas to help you help your child learn how to resolve and even benefit from conflicts.
For the week of 1/9/23: This week please focus your attention on the booklet, “Questions Parents Ask About... Bullies”. This booklet raises questions parents frequently ask about bullying and provides answers that will help you help your child feel safe at school.
For the week of 1/2/23: Inside the booklet, “Questions Parents Have About Attendance," you’ll find guidance and answers to questions many parents ask about attendance. Empty seats in a classroom indicate that students are missing out on learning—and teachers are missing out on teaching those students! When they return, students have to work harder to catch up—and teachers may have to disrupt current lessons to help them. Some students get overwhelmed and give up.
For the week of 12/19/22: This week please focus your attention on the booklet, “What Parents Can Do at Home to Help Students with Math”. Whether you’re looking for extra math activities to enjoy with your child or advice on how to help a struggling student do better, this booklet can help. By working on these activities with your child, you can promote a healthy interest in math, an appreciation of why math is useful and a positive attitude about studying math in school.
For the week of 12/12/22: There are school readiness tests, placement tests, standardized assessments, and regular classroom tests. Improving their test taking skills can help. This week focus your attention on the booklet, “Studying for & Taking Tests: Ideas to Help Your Child Do Better in School”. Knowing how to take tests is a skill that can be learned and this booklet can help!
For the week of 12/5/22: Motivation is important for your child. Kids who are motivated are excited to try new things. Not surprisingly, motivated kids do better in school. This week please focus your attention on the booklet, “25 Ways Parents Can Motivate Children”. No one has more influence over your child’s motivation than you. This booklet explores 25 ways parents can motivate their children.
For the week of 11/28/22: Is your child having trouble listening and following directions? If so, this week please focus your attention on the booklet, “Listening Well & Following Directions”. Listening and following directions are skills. Like other skills, they get better with practice. This booklet will show you how to help your child succeed in school by improving their listening skills and ability to follow directions.
For the week of 11/21/22: Studies show that school attendance is linked to school achievement. Learning builds day by day. And if your child is not in school, they can’t learn. It’s that simple. So make every effort to get your child to school on time every day. In the booklet, “Questions Parents Have About Attendance” you’ll find guidance and answers to questions many parents ask about attendance.
For the week of 11/14/22: For many children, getting ready for school each day involves a daily scavenger hunt: Where’s my homework? Who took my lunch box? This week please focus your attention on the pamphlet, “Help Your Child Take Responsibility for Belongings & Schoolwork”. It provides ways to help your child learn to take responsibility for their belongings and schoolwork.
For the week of 11/7/22: Educators know that one of the best ways to give children the motivation to reach their dreams is by teaching them how to set achievable goals, reach them and then set even higher goals. The pamphlet “Teach Your Child How to Set Goals - And Reach Them!” provides a step-by-step approach you can use at home to teach your child how to reach his/her goals in doing chores, getting ready for school on time, doing homework, or achieving a better grade on a math test.
For the week of 10/31/22: This week please focus your attention on the booklet, “What Parents Can Do at Home to Help With Math”. Whether you’re looking for extra math activities to enjoy with your child or advice on how to help a struggling student do better, the activities in this booklet can help.
For the week of 10/24/22: Parents are teachers too. Helping children build good homework skills is one of the most important ways parents can help children do better in school. This week please focus your attention on the booklet, “Building Homework Skills. Ways Parents Can Help Their Children Do Better in School”. This booklet gives practical ways you can help your child build homework skills.
For the week of 10/17/22: One of the best places to help your child learn and practice critical thinking is right at home! This week please focus your attention to the booklet titled, “Critical Thinking”. This booklet is filled with activities you can do with your child to build good thinking skills
For the week of 10/10/22: This week please focus your attention to the booklet titled, “Teaching Children Responsibility for Their Learning Behavior”. This booklet informs you of the important action steps to take to guide your child into becoming a well-disciplined and self motivated student that takes responsibility for their own learning and behavior at home and at school.
For the week of 10/3/22: This week at Lowell School students will be engaged in activities that will help them refrain from bullying, learn to stand up for others, and respect the differences in others. At home, please focus your attention on the booklet, “Questions Parents Ask About Bullies”. It raises questions parents frequently ask about bullies and bullying, and provides answers that will help you help your child feel safe at school.
For the week of 9/28/22: Children need to learn responsibility. Home is one place they can learn it. Responsible children do better in school and they grow up to become productive, responsible adults. The booklet, “25 Ways Families can Build Responsible Children”, gives helpful tips on how to build responsibility in your child.
For the week of 9/19/22: This week please focus your attention to the booklet titled, “Teaching Children Responsibility for Their Learning Behavior”. This booklet informs you of the important action steps to take to guide your child into becoming a well-disciplined and self motivated student that takes responsibility for their own learning and behavior at home and at school.
For the week of 9/12/22: This week please review the booklet titled “Questions and Answers about Standardized Tests”. This booklet will help you learn more about the kinds of standardized tests your child may take in the upcoming months as well as ways you can work with school personnel to help your child succeed on these types of assessments.
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