Strong attendance is as important to yourchild’s school career as the foundation is to a house. Without

it, there is nothing to build on. Here are just a few reasons

your middle schooler should be in school every day:• School attendance is the law.

Every school district requiresstudents to attend. The onlyexceptions are illness or familyemergency.

• Missing school affects yourchild’s grades. Studies show that when kids aren’t in class tolearn, they suffer academically.

• Peer relations often get startedat school. A child who missesschool may have fewer friends.

To aim for top attendance:• Tell your child that you expect

him to be in school every day.• Schedule vacations during

school breaks or weekends. • Schedule appointments for

non-school hours if possible.• Don’t let your child stay home

from school to avoid taking atest, to catch up on sleep or tofinish a project.

Source: The Importance of Being in School: A Report onAbsenteeism in the Nation’s Public Schools, Johns HopkinsUniversity's School of Education.

Attendance is apriority for yourmiddle schooler

Copyright © 2015, The Parent Institute® www.parent-institute.com Practical ideas for parents to help their children

still make the difference!

®

o you want your child to succeedin middle school? Then stay

involved! Your involvement is thebiggest factor in whether your childwill do well academically.

To get your child off to a great startthis year:• Make your home learning-rich.

Keep materials on hand that stimulate your child’s mind. From simple art supplies to librarybooks, offer creative outlets forher curiosity.

• Encourage reading. Reading forpleasure will help your child buildthe comprehension and vocabu-lary skills she’ll need to tacklemore difficult material. Whetherit’s poetry, historic novels or sci-ence fiction, set aside time foryour child to read every day.

• Talk to your child about theimportance of paying attention inclass. Suggest that she take notes.Encourage her to participate.Challenge her to ask one questionper day in each of her classes. Thiswill keep her focused and engagedin what she is learning.

• Start homework routines. Have aset time for homework. Offer yourchild a quiet place to work. Goodstudy habits will help her throughmiddle school—and beyond. Andon days your child doesn’t havehomework, encourage her to reador review instead.

• Talk about school. Show yourchild that education is a priority inyour family by asking her aboutschool every day. Be sure to reallylisten to what she has to say.

Parent involvement at homeleads to success in schoolD

Sample Issue

When middle schoolershave responsibilities (inaddition to homeworkand schoolwork) theysee themselves as

capable people. These feelings ofself-worth serve them well in schooland in life.

Some children are ready for certain responsibilities before others are. Think about your middleschooler’s development and thenconsider these ideas:• Contributing. Your child should

have a say about decisions thataffect family life. Parents have thefinal word. But ask your child heropinion and consider it.

• Scheduling. Your child can trackher appointments, social activitiesand extracurricular activities. She should mark them on thecalendar and tell you about them.She should also work out with youhow she is going to get there andback.

• Budgeting. Your child can manageher own expenses. Does she wantto buy something? It’s her job to

figure out how much allowanceshe has to save, or what odd jobsshe has to do.

Source: J. Pawel, The Parent’s Toolshop: The UniversalBlueprint for Building a Healthy Family.

2 • Middle School • Parents still make the difference! • Sample Issue

Copyright © 2015, The Parent Institute® www.parent-institute.com

Middle School EditionPublished monthly September through May by The Parent Institute, a division of NIS, Inc., anindependent, private agency. Equal opportunityemployer. Copyright © 2015 NIS, Inc.

Editor & Publisher: John H. Wherry, Ed.D.

Available in four editions: Early Childhood Edition(Parents make the difference!), Elementary Edition(Parents make the difference!), Middle School Edition(Parents Still make the difference!) and High SchoolEdition (Parents Still make the difference!). All foureditions available in English and Spanish.

One Year Subscription Rates*

Individual Subscription. $129 (U.S. funds)—givesyou the right to copy and/or electronically distributeup to four (4) articles per issue in your own publica-tions. Attractive discounts available for subscriptionsto additional newsletter editions. Call for details.

Extra Copies. When you have an IndividualSubscription (above) you are eligible to purchaseextra copies for parents and staff. Those whoreceive the extra copies have no rights to reproduceor excerpt material from the newsletter. Extra copiesare available in bundles of 25 newsletters. You choosethe number of bundles you need. The subscriptionprice is $99/year per bundle of 25 newsletters (U.S.funds). That price provides a bundle of 25 newslettersof that edition, nine (9) times per year.

Ready-To-Reproduce Subscription—gives youthe right to make as many copies as you need ofthe entire newsletter at your school building, schooldistrict or regional education service agency.Includes rights to full print reproduction and elec-tronic distribution to parents at your school ordistrict. You'll receive black and white mastercopies for print reproduction. Downloadableissues, for print or electronic distribution on yourwebsite or via email, can be personalized with yourname/school name or a school/district slogan andare provided in your choice of color or black andwhite. Personalized electronic issues can be auto-matically uploaded to your website each month atno additional cost.

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still make the difference!

®

Your middle schooler’seducation doesn’t justhappen at school. It happens everywhere! Toreinforce his learning:

• Have him teach you a thing or two. Find out what your child isstudying at school, and ask him toexplain it to you. By “retelling” thethings he’s learning, he reinforcesthose things in his own head.

• Put his knowledge into action. Ifyour child just finished tackling

fractions in math, have him joinyou in the kitchen. Show him thereal-life importance of what he’slearned. “This recipe calls for halfa cup of milk, but we only have a1/3-cup measurer. How can wefigure out the right amount?”

• Respect his ability. Let your childuse his knowledge and skills tohelp you. The next time you makea wrong turn somewhere, handhim the map and see if he can figure out a solution.

Never miss a chance to reinforcelearning outside of the classroom

Responsibilities contribute to your child’s school success

Are you instillingrespect in yourmiddle schooler?

Students can’t do theirbest learning in an envi-ronment of misbehaviorand disrespect. Are youteaching your child to be

respectful in all situations? Answeryes or no to the questions below:___1. Do you model respectfulbehavior for your child? ___2. Do you expect your child tofollow rules at school and home?___3. Do you talk with your childabout different points of view?___4. Do you emphasize the importance of manners, such assaying please and thank you?___5. Do you talk with your childabout respectful ways to disagree?

How well are you doing?More yes answers means you areworking to raise a respectful child.For no answers, try those ideas inthe quiz.

Your child will be moremotivated to do her bestif she is working toward aresult that is meaningfuland important to her.

Encourage her to write down a list ofgoals and ways to accomplish them.

Remember, though—this can onlywork if the goals represent what yourchild wants to do. Make sure yourchild’s goals:• Are specific. “I want to raise my

math grade to a B.” Not, “I want todo better in math.”

• Are reasonable. “I want to raisemy math grade by one lettergrade.” Not, “I want to go from allCs to all As on my report card.”

• Include steps for reaching thegoal. “To raise my grade, I willneed to review every day and turn in homework on time. I willget a planner and use it to trackassignments.”

• Include a way to head off problems.“I have soccer practice two nightsa week. I’ll have to plan to do extrareview and homework on Sundayafternoons.”

Post your child’s goals where she cansee them. Once a month, ask her toreview her goals. She can track herprogress and make any necessarychanges.

Source: L. Greene, Improving Your Child’s Schoolwork.

Middle school can bestressful enough, but it may also be the timestudents and parentsneed to worry most

about bullying. Recent studies showthat nasty behavior seems to boostkids’ popularity in middle school.

The bullies of the 21st Centuryaren’t your typical schoolyard bullies.They include the:• Verbally abusive bully who calls

people names and spreads rumors.• Social bully who gets others to

exclude or reject someone.• Cyberbully who posts nasty com-

ments on social media sites suchas Facebook and Instagram.

If your child is being bullied:• Talk to him about it. Understand

that he might be too embarrassedor scared to admit it.

• Be supportive. Assure him that it’snot his fault.

• Ask him how he’s been dealingwith the bully. What has worked?What hasn’t?

• Ask others to help. A teacher or guidance counselor might have a solution you haven’tthought of.

• Encourage him to stay with agroup of friends. Bullies often pick on kids who are alone.

If your child is the one bullying:• Let him know that you will not

tolerate bullying behavior.• Try to get him to acknowledge

his actions. Ask what he did.Whom did he hurt?

• Ask him what he was trying toaccomplish. How might he meetthat goal in the future withouthurting anyone?

• Help him figure out how to makeamends with the person he hurt.

Source: “Bullying Makes Middle Schoolers Cool,” Live Science.

Sample Issue • Middle School • Parents still make the difference! • 3

www.parent-institute.com Copyright © 2015, The Parent Institute®

Experts say middle school may be prime time for bullying

Achievable and specific goalswill keep your child motivated

Q: I know I’m deciding toomany things for my child. Howcan I help him start making hisown choices without letting himmake poor ones?

A: You can’t. Learning to makegood decisions—and learning lessons from the bad ones—is part of growing up. So whenyour child makes a poor choice,don’t see it as “letting” him fail.Instead, view it as allowing him to figure out what gooddecision-making is.

Of course, there are certainareas where your child should not be able to decide things forhimself. These include:• The use of drugs and alcohol.• Chores.• School attendance. Other areas, however, should beopen for discussion—at least to adegree. Here are three:1. Bedtime. If you’ve demanded

the same bedtime for years,revisit the issue. Let your childweigh in on when is a decentbedtime. If it’s reasonable,allow it—as long as he is get-ting good grades and meetinghis responsibilities at home.

2. His room. Do you argue withyour child about keeping hisroom clean? Stop. Assuming it’snot so horrible that the healthdepartment intervenes, let himdecide how spic-and-spanthings should be.

3. Studying. Homework is non-negotiable. But be flexibleabout how your child does it. If he claims he works bestsprawled on the floor withmusic blaring, let him try it. His grades will reveal whetherhe’s correct.

Questions & Answers

4 • Middle School • Parents still make the difference! • Sample Issue

As a parent, you havean important role toplay when your middleschooler takes a test.Your positive attitude

about schoolwork and the way yousupport your child at home arewhat help him do his best.

Commit to doing these fourthings before your child’s next test: 1. Stay calm. Many kids are

anxious enough about takingtests. Your anxiety only makes it worse.

2. Be positive. Your child will benefit from hearing, “You studied hard and you areprepared.”

3. Know what’s expected. Stay in contact with your child’steachers, to learn things suchas how far in advance tests are announced, the format oftests and whether the teachersprovide study guides.

4. Promote attendance. Your child can’t do well on tests if hedoesn’t get to school regularly.He should be there unless he is sick or there is a familyemergency. He also needs atleast eight hours of sleep eachnight, and three balanced mealseach day, including breakfast.

And there is one important thingyou should do after the tests:Understand that sometimes thingsgo wrong. If your child generallydoes well, there is no need to panicabout one poor test result. Just say,“I’m confident you’ll do better nexttime. Let me know if you want meto help you review.”

Four things todo before yourchild takes a test

Copyright © 2015, The Parent Institute® www.parent-institute.com

It Matters: Homework

Share these tips to helpyour child wadethrough, and find, rele-vant information for aresearch report:

• Choose a specific topic. Writinga paper on “World War II ”can beoverwhelming. Focus on just onebattle or aspect of the war.

• Use reliable sources. Ask theteacher how many to use.

• Use the Internet with caution.Stick to sources ending in gov oredu. Sources ending in org can

be helpful, but the groupsbehind these sites are oftenadvocating for certain causes.

• Go to the library! Full versions of articles and books may not beavailable online. But the librarymay have, or be able to get,them. Talk to your librarian.

• Document everything. Have abibliography noting all sourcematerial. Never copy anythingdirectly from a source. All workshould be in your own words.

Source: R. Fry, How to Study.

Master skills and strategies tomake study time productive

Research report? Offer yourmiddle schooler guidelines

n middle school, your child mustincrease her skill level to work

independently and effectively.During study time, she should:• Answer six key questions. She

should always find out: who,what, when, where, why andhow. This will lead to a basicunderstanding of many readingassignments. It will also help her write an outline.

• Know vocabulary. Your child willstruggle with an assignment ifshe doesn’t understand the lan-guage in it. Encourage her to usea dictionary.

• Grasp important information.Many assignments will requireyour child to understand the dif-ference between central ideasand details. Practice this withyour child: “Elise dropped tearson her blue shirt as she walkedup to the house.” What is more

I

important, the fact that Elise had a blue shirt or that she was crying?

• Compare and contrast. Can your child tell how things arealike and how they are differentfrom one another? This skill willhelp her with several subjects,particularly English and history.Ask her, “How are a cat and a dogalike? How are they different?”

Source: D. and C. Johnson, Homework Heroes.