October 28, 2009
Dear Parents,
Here are some tips on report cards and conferences gathered over the years. Many parents have found them helpful in the past, so we offer them to you once again.
Tips at Report Card Time
The purpose of report cards is to communicate to parents information about their child’s progress and achievement. Here are a few tips on how to handle report cards when they come home:
1. Keep your child’s report card in perspective. Avoid the extremes! Be cautious about rewarding good performance with food or money. Be cautious not to overreact to poor performance with anger or undue punishment. (Think about the message that this gives to our children about their worth – their dignity as human beings and children of God comes from who they are, not what they do).
2. Take time to sit down with your child and go over the report card. Ask your child to tell you about his/her report card.
3. Focus first on the positives on the report card – one or more grades, attendance, behavior/conduct, work habits, an improved grade (in subsequent quarters). Use specific praise: “You did a good job at…”
Ø When a report card is outstanding, it is important to help children to learn to be humble and express gratitude to God for the gifts that He has given them.
4. Be calm and empathetic about poor grades or marks. Chances are that your child doesn’t feel good about his/her performance. Ask how you can help your child do better, without taking over his or her responsibility.
Ø When a report card is disappointing, it is important to help children 1) to recognize their gifts and build on strengths, and also 2) to plan for a more successful quarter the next time
5. Make a plan. Choose one or two goals for the next quarter. The goals may involve raising a grade, improving behavior, improving work habits…
Tips at Conference Time
The purpose of parent-teacher conferences is to provide parents and teachers with an opportunity to communicate with each other in regards to a child’s education and to build a partnership that supports the child in achieving success. Here are a few tips on how you can help to make parent-teacher conferences a productive encounter:
Before the Conference
Prepare ahead of time for the conference.
Ø Inform your child that you are meeting with his or her teacher so that you can work together to help your child succeed. Discuss what the child feels are his/her successes, likes/dislikes and/or concerns about school. Ask if there is anything you should discuss with the teacher.
Ø Write down questions you want to discuss such as: Does my child act in a Christ-like manner? Is my child prayerful and devout? How is my child doing in class? Is my child performing at his or her grade level? Does my child listen, follow directions, use time well? How are my child’s work habits? Does my child need help in any academic area? How much time should I expect my child to spend on homework each night? What aspects of school does he/she seem to enjoy most? What are my child’s strengths and weaknesses? How does my child get along with classmates? Does my child show any leadership qualities? What can I do at home to support what you are doing in the classroom?
Ø Write down important information you wish to share with the teacher. Let the teacher know about key events (separation or divorce, family illness, new baby, death in the family, loss of a beloved pet, etc.) that may affect your child’s behavior and/or academic performance.
At the Conference
Ø Be on time for the conference and stay only for the amount of time scheduled. If more time is needed, ask to schedule another appointment.
Ø Listen:
§ Be open to suggestions from the teacher. Ask for his/her views on needed improvements. Ask what you can do at home to help your child be more prepared for school. Understand that teacher feedback is critical to your child’s academic success.
§ Ask the teacher to explain anything you do not understand.
§ Work with your child’s teachers to determine goals and expectations.
§ Take notes about what has been discussed (specific comments or recommendations) to share with your child.
Ø Share/Ask:
§ Begin with gratitude and positive comments.
§ Offer suggestions and insights into your child.
§ Ask the questions that you prepared in advance.
§ Summarize your understanding of your child's progress and your child's teacher's comments to make sure you and the teacher are in agreement.
After the Conference
Ø Discuss with your child what was said during the conference. Be sure to emphasize any positive comments the teacher made. Talk about strategies for improvement in academic areas and about other topics such as discipline issues, school activities that might interest your child, work habits, getting along with classmates.
Ø Follow up on any plan of action agreed to by you and your child’s teacher. Stay in touch with the teacher. If you think of additional questions later, send a note or leave a message at the school for the teacher to call you.
God bless you! Christ our King, reign over us! Mary our Queen, pray for us.
In the Heart of Christ the King,
Sister Mary Alma, C.K.
NO SCHOOL on Friday, October 30, due to the Teacher Workday.
REPORT CARDS will be distributed on Wed., Nov. 4. Junior High Honor Roll certificates and 5-8th grade Special Achievement certificates will be in the Report Card envelope.
PARENT/TEACHER CONFERENCES All families should have received an orange information sheet last week with directions on how to schedule your P/T Conferences. If you have not yet done so, please sign up for your conference, particularly if you have several children to schedule as available times are filling up. PickAtime will only be available through Monday, November 2. There is no school on both Thurs.-Fri., November 5-6.
All students in grades 4-8 are expected to attend conferences. The teacher or parents may ask the students to wait in the hall after an initial few minutes of conferencing so the adults may speak privately. Junior High conferences are held in the gym. Please speak in low tones in the gym.
Mrs. Keifer, Educational Consultant and Special Education Coordinator, is available in her office to conference with parents. She is a good one to see if your child has developmental or behavioral concerns.
Sister Mary Angela, Religion teacher for grades 2 and 4 will have her conferences in the room across from the Religion Center on the bottom floor.
TUITION REMINDER Report cards will be held at the end of the quarter if you are not current on your tuition payments.
JEANS DAY NOTICE In celebration of a great job in selling magazines during our Magazine Drive, all students may wear jeans with their St. Peter shirts/sweatshirts on Wednesday, November 4. Parents, please use good judgment in guiding the students’ choice of jeans. Jeans may not be torn or have holes in them. They should not be low cut nor tight fitting. The classroom winners will also be going roller skating on Nov. 4.
READING TIP #8 Look for unusual places for your daily reading time with your child. Here are some suggestions: under a tree, in a sandbox, at a park, under a covered table, or keep a book in the car for those times you're waiting in the bank line or for siblings to finish with practice or dance. (From “The Parenting Institute”)
A MOTHER/DAUGHER Program will be presented for 10-13 year old girls on Sunday, November 8 from 2-4:30 pm at Blessed John XXIII Diocesan Center. It is presented by the Diocese of Lincoln Family Life Office and the Lincoln FertilityCare Center. Cost is $10 per family. Deadline to register is November 3.
SCRIP VOLUNTEERS A new volunteer list will be sent home this week for Nov. 2009-Oct. 2010. Knights of Columbus will sell Scrip this weekend (Oct. 31/Nov. 1). If you are a Knight, please check the schedule to see when you are scheduled to sell. If you are attending Mass and notice no one is selling, please ask Father for the Scrip box and sell at that Mass. Thank you for your support of the Scrip program.
eSCRIP SIGN-UP Have you sent your completed packet to the school office yet? We have 28 families signed up, and we are at 37% of our sign-up goal which is 75 families by Jan. 31. Please help support our efforts to reach our goal of 75 families. All families are needed to participate.
eSCRIP orders totaled $4,900 on the Oct. 16 batch of orders! The program is growing. It’s an easy way to buy Scrip. Simply complete your registration form (about 5-10 min. of your time) and then open your child’s backpack and get your Scrip order. It’s that simple! The payment is automatically deducted from your checking account, so no checks to write. Take the hassle out of buying Scrip. Sign up today and give it a try. We need everyone’s participation.
FALL FIX-IT PROJECTS? Stop by the Scrip counter and pick up Home Depot, Lowe’s or Menards Scrip (always in stock). For large projects (putting in new cabinets, new tile/carpet, buying appliances) simply email kasp@windstream.net by Sunday 3PM and your order will be in on Wednesday of the same week. For example, $3,000 of building supplies from Lowe’s or Home Depot would earn St. Peter’s $120 – just by planning ahead! Keep Scrip in mind for all of your home improvement projects.
PARKING LOT When you come to Mass on the weekends, please be gracious by not parking in the reserved parking places. Thank you!
CANDY DRIVE will run November 2-3. Save 10% of your Halloween candy and bring it to school during this time to be donated to less fortunate children. Thank-you in advance for sharing with others!
DENNIS UNIFORM is running some specials. Please stop by the office and pick up a flyer with details.
SEND IN BOXTOPS NOW! The first postmark date for Boxtops logos is October 31. Please continue to send them to school so we may earn as much as possible during this semester
BOYS BASKETBALL SCHEDULE November 2 @ St. Joseph
November 2 @ St. Peter 5:45 St. Peter Cardinal vs. St. Joseph (6)
5:45 Park View Christian vs. St. Peter Black (6) 6:45 St. Peter Cardinal vs. St. Joseph (7)
6:45 Lincoln Christian vs. St. Peter Black (7) November 2 @ St. Teresa
7:45 Lincoln Christian vs. St. Peter Black (8) 7:45 St. Peter Cardinal vs. St. Teresa (8)
November 5 @ St. Patrick
5:45 St. Peter Black vs. St. Patrick (6)
