Topic : School Issues

Number of Replies: 725
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Created on : Friday, July 01, 2005, 01:14:15 pm
Author : dataimport
Does your child dread going to school? Are they having problems with unfinished homework or slipping grades? Is their a personality conflict with their teacher? Share your school issues here and get advice and support from other parents.

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May 1, 2008, 11:26 am PDT

behavior

Quote From: mollyann812000

Becky, thank you for your advice!!  It is so good to hear from another perspective from a parent who has been through the same situation.  I've been following up with my little Kindergarten's teacher, like you have suggested.  We're working together for improvement, and I'm already seeing some changes.  It's too early to tell for sure, of course, but so far, it's good.  I'm very pleased.  Thank you for your input.  It's much appreciated!

Keep it up...kids need constant reminding that "we are watching them"...I think that communication between you and the teacher is probably the most important factor in changing your daughter's behavior for the better...we are still frequently communicating with our kids' teachers...and they're long out of kindergarten...

 

Becky

 
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May 3, 2008, 10:53 am PDT

Homework Contract...an update

We are two weeks into the homework contract...Scott has so far earned 61 incentive points, each point representing one percentage point of improvement in the cumulative scores of his classes.  He is still failing in two classes, but improving his scores.

 

We still have to be diligent about finding out about the assignments...he let his work pile up on him again, so he will be chained to his homework this weekend...500 word essay, due yesterday...got an extension to Monday...creative writing story, due last week...will be counted as "late" when he turns it in...a shame, because he is really good at writing...when he decided to buckle down and do it, that is...2 Science worksheets, Social Studies worksheet...he says that the Math is finished...I have to see it with my own eyes before crossing it off of his list...

 

On the up-side, Scott did turn in his allegory for English class, and he has been doing his Math assignments, and he did a Power Point presentation for Social Studies...he just needs to do all of this other work...otherwise, his percentages will "crash", and he will lose a lot of points...he can't spend his points until he is passing in all of his classes.

 

We have set up his homework this weekend in increments...when he finishes half of it, he will get his hour on the computer today...when he finishes the rest tomorrow, he will get his hour on the computer, plus he will be allowed to go to Youth Group at our church.

 

Matthew has earned 38 incentive points for his AR points...when he reaches 50, he will get to buy something worth $25, or we will contribute $25 toward something that costs more.  He's thinking either a Scout hiking stick, or a Scout knife....when he finishes the book he's currently reading, he will have more than enough points for his goal.  He is currently reading "The Secret Garden"...I loved that book, and both of his older brothers have read it, plus we've seen the movie.  We like comparing the books to the movies...there is a lot of detail left out of the movies because of time constraints.

 

I called John yesterday...he is doing well in culinary school...he needs to be looking for a restaurant in which to serve his externship in October...he is saving his money, but he keeps seeing things that he thinks he "needs"...it's hard for him to resist the temptation to go out and buy stuff...right now, he thinks he "needs" a PDA phone...my husband gave him his old PDA, but our son "doesn't like" having to carry two devices...phone and PDA...but one of those Blackberry phones would be hard to carry around in his pocket, where he currently carries his cell phone.  He is still personal chef for my brother and his wife, where he is currently living.  Yesterday, he was doing something creative with hallibut.

 

My husband and Matthew are working on a shelf for his pinewood derby cars for Cub Scouts.  It will hold all of his cars from every year of Cub Scouts, including a space for next year's car.

 

Post-WASL, Matthew says he needs a "day off"...good thing that this Friday is a "snow make-up day"...didn't have any snow days, so they get the day off.

 

Well, that's it for now...Prof, how are things in Florida?

 

Becky

 
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May 4, 2008, 6:16 pm PDT

School Issues

Quote From: mustbecrazy

We are two weeks into the homework contract...Scott has so far earned 61 incentive points, each point representing one percentage point of improvement in the cumulative scores of his classes.  He is still failing in two classes, but improving his scores.

 

We still have to be diligent about finding out about the assignments...he let his work pile up on him again, so he will be chained to his homework this weekend...500 word essay, due yesterday...got an extension to Monday...creative writing story, due last week...will be counted as "late" when he turns it in...a shame, because he is really good at writing...when he decided to buckle down and do it, that is...2 Science worksheets, Social Studies worksheet...he says that the Math is finished...I have to see it with my own eyes before crossing it off of his list...

 

On the up-side, Scott did turn in his allegory for English class, and he has been doing his Math assignments, and he did a Power Point presentation for Social Studies...he just needs to do all of this other work...otherwise, his percentages will "crash", and he will lose a lot of points...he can't spend his points until he is passing in all of his classes.

 

We have set up his homework this weekend in increments...when he finishes half of it, he will get his hour on the computer today...when he finishes the rest tomorrow, he will get his hour on the computer, plus he will be allowed to go to Youth Group at our church.

 

Matthew has earned 38 incentive points for his AR points...when he reaches 50, he will get to buy something worth $25, or we will contribute $25 toward something that costs more.  He's thinking either a Scout hiking stick, or a Scout knife....when he finishes the book he's currently reading, he will have more than enough points for his goal.  He is currently reading "The Secret Garden"...I loved that book, and both of his older brothers have read it, plus we've seen the movie.  We like comparing the books to the movies...there is a lot of detail left out of the movies because of time constraints.

 

I called John yesterday...he is doing well in culinary school...he needs to be looking for a restaurant in which to serve his externship in October...he is saving his money, but he keeps seeing things that he thinks he "needs"...it's hard for him to resist the temptation to go out and buy stuff...right now, he thinks he "needs" a PDA phone...my husband gave him his old PDA, but our son "doesn't like" having to carry two devices...phone and PDA...but one of those Blackberry phones would be hard to carry around in his pocket, where he currently carries his cell phone.  He is still personal chef for my brother and his wife, where he is currently living.  Yesterday, he was doing something creative with hallibut.

 

My husband and Matthew are working on a shelf for his pinewood derby cars for Cub Scouts.  It will hold all of his cars from every year of Cub Scouts, including a space for next year's car.

 

Post-WASL, Matthew says he needs a "day off"...good thing that this Friday is a "snow make-up day"...didn't have any snow days, so they get the day off.

 

Well, that's it for now...Prof, how are things in Florida?

 

Becky

Short answer is, could be better. Another short answer is, WARM.

 

Spring Fever has set in BIG time around here -- Anne finally got around to telling me that she got a 60 on the most recent Social Studies test and a 52 on last week's Science test. So guess who doesn't see her electronics until the test grades improve (this isn't the 1st time we have had to deal with not studying)?? Admittedly, when the mercury starts hitting (please don't hurt me!! LOL) 80, the young 'uns do seem to prefer playing outdoors, hitting the pool, etc. They seem to forget that there's nearly another month of school yet!!

 

Although the interims don't officially come out until later this week, based on that and some other paperwork from her teachers, I have a pretty good idea of where she stands -- OK, but she can do MUCH better. She's applied to be a Teacher's Aide for next year; her current Math teacher is very interested in having her as an Aide for next year. She meets all the criteria, so it's all but a done deal.

 

Looking ahead, we are planning the Summer camp & vacation schedules -- couldn't do this as long as things were in Limbo job-wise. She'll go to church camp (a first) for a week, we are considering a trip West to see some relatives of Hubs, and Vacation Bible School is in that mix, too, for July. However, June and early August should be fairly low-key.

 

What will you all be up to come summer? Will John come home, or stay where he is and work?

 

Prof

 
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May 4, 2008, 8:53 pm PDT

summer plans

Quote From: profmaryann

Short answer is, could be better. Another short answer is, WARM.

 

Spring Fever has set in BIG time around here -- Anne finally got around to telling me that she got a 60 on the most recent Social Studies test and a 52 on last week's Science test. So guess who doesn't see her electronics until the test grades improve (this isn't the 1st time we have had to deal with not studying)?? Admittedly, when the mercury starts hitting (please don't hurt me!! LOL) 80, the young 'uns do seem to prefer playing outdoors, hitting the pool, etc. They seem to forget that there's nearly another month of school yet!!

 

Although the interims don't officially come out until later this week, based on that and some other paperwork from her teachers, I have a pretty good idea of where she stands -- OK, but she can do MUCH better. She's applied to be a Teacher's Aide for next year; her current Math teacher is very interested in having her as an Aide for next year. She meets all the criteria, so it's all but a done deal.

 

Looking ahead, we are planning the Summer camp & vacation schedules -- couldn't do this as long as things were in Limbo job-wise. She'll go to church camp (a first) for a week, we are considering a trip West to see some relatives of Hubs, and Vacation Bible School is in that mix, too, for July. However, June and early August should be fairly low-key.

 

What will you all be up to come summer? Will John come home, or stay where he is and work?

 

Prof

John won't have a summer break.  School continues all the way until October, at which time he will serve an externship at a restaurant.  He is supposed to be contacting restaurants NOW to set that up, but so far, he hasn't done anything about that.  He thinks he may want to stay in Portland after graduation...don't know WHY...it rains way too much there...I like my Central Washington DESERT!!

 

Matthew will be going to Cub Scout Day Camp for a few days in June, and then, in July, Matthew will go to Cub Scout overnight camp for a week.  Scott and I will both work there as volunteers..it's a blast!!  We've been doing it for 5 years running...I've been the bugler up there for all of those years...I will be sharing the role with Scott this year...

 

Scott is joining up in Boy Scouts, after a 2 year "sabatical"...DAD is signing up to be the Scout Master for a troop right here in our little town...the troop has existed only "on paper" for the last 5 years, and the troop itself is over 80 years old...so we will be re-igniting a long-standing tradition in our town...I hope that there are some boys around here who enjoy hiking and camping, as well as other Boy Scout activities...the 5th graders in Matthew's Cub Scout pack are excited to join up...Matthew will have to wait another year before he can graduate to Boy Scouts.

 

Scott left the old Boy Scout Troop because it was poorly run...when he was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome (heart arrhythmia), the troop leaders said that he could no longer participate in the camping and hiking...according to Boy Scout rules, they were supposed to make accomodations for him...with DAD in charge of the "new" troop, we will make sure that ALL of the boys are able to participate to the fullest.  My husband has had a lot of years experience with Scouting...it was frustrating to watch the leader of the other troop run it into the ground...a lot of boys have left there...hubby applied with that troop to be Scout Master, when the position became available.  They elected the other guy because he is a school teacher, and "knows everything" there is to know about kids...apparently NOT how to make leaders out of the boys...I hope that our local troop will be sucessful...we will be having a hot dog barbeque to bring some more boys and their parents into the troop...the boys will learn to run the troop, but adults are needed to teach the boys how to lead.

 

I don't think that our new Boy Scouts will be able to get to Boy Scout camp this summer because usually a troop needs to reserve their space by January...plus, being  "newly formed", we will not have had the opportunity for fundraisers to pay for camp...it is $205 per boy...kind of out of reach without some donations...we'll see...the paperwork is still underway for reviving the troop...my husband meets Friday with the head guy from the local Scout office, as well as the head of the Lions, our sponsoring organization...all of the signatures have to be in place before it is official.

 

When we are gone to camp, hubby is going to take that week off from work, and have his own private vacation...he plans to do some of the projects he has been wanting to do (wood working), and maybe some day-rides on his motorcycle.  He will be home to take care of the dogs and cats...and the gold fish pond...

 

August plans include a family reunion for my family...if everybody from my immediate family comes...siblings, spouses, children, grandchildren...there will be 52 people...plus there are the cousins on my mom's side...lost count there...it's going to be a huge gathering...will be fun.  Later in August, there will be Band Camp for Scott, to get ready for marching season.

 

Matthew auditioned and made it into the 4th grade Marimba Band...and 8-member group.  He is on the Base Marimba.  They will be performing at their school concert, as well as the elementary school, and possibly at a major art show, taking place in June, right here in our tiny town...they might be featured during the benefit dinner, as well as doing an outdoor concert in the park.  There will be people coming over from Seattle just for the art event.  I hope that they will get to do that one...it is still in the works.  Our neighbor is the owner of the company putting on the event.

 

Well, I have to get the kids going on their bedtime routine...Becky

 
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May 5, 2008, 5:47 pm PDT

School Issues

Quote From: mustbecrazy

John won't have a summer break.  School continues all the way until October, at which time he will serve an externship at a restaurant.  He is supposed to be contacting restaurants NOW to set that up, but so far, he hasn't done anything about that.  He thinks he may want to stay in Portland after graduation...don't know WHY...it rains way too much there...I like my Central Washington DESERT!!

 

Matthew will be going to Cub Scout Day Camp for a few days in June, and then, in July, Matthew will go to Cub Scout overnight camp for a week.  Scott and I will both work there as volunteers..it's a blast!!  We've been doing it for 5 years running...I've been the bugler up there for all of those years...I will be sharing the role with Scott this year...

 

Scott is joining up in Boy Scouts, after a 2 year "sabatical"...DAD is signing up to be the Scout Master for a troop right here in our little town...the troop has existed only "on paper" for the last 5 years, and the troop itself is over 80 years old...so we will be re-igniting a long-standing tradition in our town...I hope that there are some boys around here who enjoy hiking and camping, as well as other Boy Scout activities...the 5th graders in Matthew's Cub Scout pack are excited to join up...Matthew will have to wait another year before he can graduate to Boy Scouts.

 

Scott left the old Boy Scout Troop because it was poorly run...when he was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome (heart arrhythmia), the troop leaders said that he could no longer participate in the camping and hiking...according to Boy Scout rules, they were supposed to make accomodations for him...with DAD in charge of the "new" troop, we will make sure that ALL of the boys are able to participate to the fullest.  My husband has had a lot of years experience with Scouting...it was frustrating to watch the leader of the other troop run it into the ground...a lot of boys have left there...hubby applied with that troop to be Scout Master, when the position became available.  They elected the other guy because he is a school teacher, and "knows everything" there is to know about kids...apparently NOT how to make leaders out of the boys...I hope that our local troop will be sucessful...we will be having a hot dog barbeque to bring some more boys and their parents into the troop...the boys will learn to run the troop, but adults are needed to teach the boys how to lead.

 

I don't think that our new Boy Scouts will be able to get to Boy Scout camp this summer because usually a troop needs to reserve their space by January...plus, being  "newly formed", we will not have had the opportunity for fundraisers to pay for camp...it is $205 per boy...kind of out of reach without some donations...we'll see...the paperwork is still underway for reviving the troop...my husband meets Friday with the head guy from the local Scout office, as well as the head of the Lions, our sponsoring organization...all of the signatures have to be in place before it is official.

 

When we are gone to camp, hubby is going to take that week off from work, and have his own private vacation...he plans to do some of the projects he has been wanting to do (wood working), and maybe some day-rides on his motorcycle.  He will be home to take care of the dogs and cats...and the gold fish pond...

 

August plans include a family reunion for my family...if everybody from my immediate family comes...siblings, spouses, children, grandchildren...there will be 52 people...plus there are the cousins on my mom's side...lost count there...it's going to be a huge gathering...will be fun.  Later in August, there will be Band Camp for Scott, to get ready for marching season.

 

Matthew auditioned and made it into the 4th grade Marimba Band...and 8-member group.  He is on the Base Marimba.  They will be performing at their school concert, as well as the elementary school, and possibly at a major art show, taking place in June, right here in our tiny town...they might be featured during the benefit dinner, as well as doing an outdoor concert in the park.  There will be people coming over from Seattle just for the art event.  I hope that they will get to do that one...it is still in the works.  Our neighbor is the owner of the company putting on the event.

 

Well, I have to get the kids going on their bedtime routine...Becky

Rut roh! about geting that externship ball rolling.

 

As far as rain goes, if you prefer desert, you'd HATE it here -- we may be "the Sunshine State," but over the summer, we generally get a thundershower between 3 and 5 PM most days of the week. I don't know if I'd like the rainfall of Portland or Seattle -- I'd have to have a direct IV line to Starbucks, LOL!

 

Scouting -- sounds like a good deal for the boys. Although Anne was never interestged in Girl Scouts, my nephew, Neil, was in Scouting for several years, until some time in middle school. My sis & BIL were heavily involved with a troop in their area. Then he discovered the trumpet. Now that I think about it, Neil is the same age as Scott, 15 --?? (YIKES)

 

Woo-hoo for Matthew making the Marimba Band. It sounds as thoguh it's a fairly significant undertaking. The elementary school that Anne went to had something similar, something called an Orff ensemble. She wasn't interested, though.

 

Your summer will be quite eventful!! Hope you'll be able to check in for the news once in a while ---

=)

 

Prof

 
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May 6, 2008, 10:30 am PDT

climate

Quote From: profmaryann

Rut roh! about geting that externship ball rolling.

 

As far as rain goes, if you prefer desert, you'd HATE it here -- we may be "the Sunshine State," but over the summer, we generally get a thundershower between 3 and 5 PM most days of the week. I don't know if I'd like the rainfall of Portland or Seattle -- I'd have to have a direct IV line to Starbucks, LOL!

 

Scouting -- sounds like a good deal for the boys. Although Anne was never interestged in Girl Scouts, my nephew, Neil, was in Scouting for several years, until some time in middle school. My sis & BIL were heavily involved with a troop in their area. Then he discovered the trumpet. Now that I think about it, Neil is the same age as Scott, 15 --?? (YIKES)

 

Woo-hoo for Matthew making the Marimba Band. It sounds as thoguh it's a fairly significant undertaking. The elementary school that Anne went to had something similar, something called an Orff ensemble. She wasn't interested, though.

 

Your summer will be quite eventful!! Hope you'll be able to check in for the news once in a while ---

=)

 

Prof

When I was in my teens, we lived in Mobile, Alabama for 2 years.  We moved a lot...my dad was a welding engineer, and we were in Alabama for my dad to design big oil tankers.  Anyway, the weather took some getting used to.  We would look out the door and see that it was cloudy, and we would assume that it meant that it was cold out...WRONNNNGGGG!!!!  Cloudy weather there just means more humidity...couldn't use hair spray...too sticky...and the public pool closed from 3-5 pm every day, due to thunder storms...like clockwork.  There were a few times where it was raining so hard that we could have gone out and taken a shower, complete with shampoo...if not for the lightening, that is...when I was in 8th grade, lightening struck our school, and it shot out of an electric plug and hit the desk that I would have been sitting in, had it struck 5 minutes later...that really was my LUCKY DAY!!!  We also had several trees right in our own back yard get struck by lightening...boy was it loud!!  And, there were a couple of hurricanes that blew through while we lived there...we learned all about boarding up the windows, opening the window at the Leeward end of the house...and switching in the eye of the storm, in preparation for the wind to blow the other way...it was kind of scary, but we survived it, unscathed...I really feel for hurricane vicitms who aren't so lucky.

 

And speaking of horrible storms...I've been reading the news about Burma...22,000 people have lost their lives in the huge cyclone that struck there earlier this week, and another 41,000 are missing...I can't imagine...international help is still awaiting visas...their military did decide to allow help from other countries...

 

Here in our desert, we have some high winds, but nowhere near hurricane-force...and we have our snow...usually not too deep...one year, we had 7 feet, and it caused some roof cave-ins...but that was really unusual...and we are not in the middle of earthquake country...we're not immune to natural disasters...we do have a few volcanoes nearby...Mt. Raineer, and Mt. St. Helens, that blew on May 18, 1980, and darkened that skies in mid-day, and spread several inches of ash all over the state...it has had some minor eruptions since...

 

Well, I had better get to my chores...have already cleaned the pump filter on the fish pond this morning...have had my coffee already...and have started the laundry...the kids need socks...

 

Becky

 
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May 7, 2008, 10:51 am PDT

bus incident report

I went with Matthew this morning, so he could fill out a "bus incident report" today.  It seems that there are several HIGH SCHOOL students who pick on him and his friend (a girl), whom he sits with on the bus.  They are relentless in teasing him about having a "girl friend"...personally, I think they're just jelous because they can't even get a girl to look their way...but really, high schoolers picking on 4th graders??  They should be more mature than that!!  I also emailed the high school principal to give him a heads-up.

 

We live in a small town, with a small school district, so the same busses are used to transport kids of all ages...4th thru 12th grades all ride the same bus...I don't really like that...not just because of the teasing...I see potential problems of "peer pressure", and older kids dominating over the younger ones...but the district doesn't have the money to bus the kids separately.

 

Matthew wants me to start picking him up "on foot" after school, so we can walk home together...that was my plan anyway, with the nice weather coming...for exercise...but I don't want him to be afraid to ride the bus...the weather doesn't permit year-round walking.

 

Scott brought home work for his classes...his English journal is "missing" again...I bought him another one, but he is still using individual pieces of binder paper...he needs to find the old journal...this isn't the first time it has gone "missing"...

 

On the up side, Scott is bringing home his work on a more consistent basis...not perfect yet, but getting better.

 

It is extremely windy today...sustained winds of 25-30 mph...the wind chimes have been clanging all night...but the roof is still intact, so I think we'll survive it...LOL

 

Have a good day...Becky

 

 

 
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May 7, 2008, 7:41 pm PDT

I

I just wanted to say  HELLO, well read,answer past posts been down with the flu,and other  sickness
that is where I been ,
Take Care all
Deb
 
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May 8, 2008, 2:03 pm PDT

Deb

Quote From: sunshine97

I just wanted to say  HELLO, well read,answer past posts been down with the flu,and other  sickness
that is where I been ,
Take Care all
Deb

Hi Deb...I wondered where you were...I hope you are on the mend now...hope to hear from you soon...

 

Becky

 
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May 12, 2008, 5:17 pm PDT

more art...

I have finished the dog rock for our youngest son's teacher...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Same rock...different view...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it's way past time for the kids to start their homework...gave them extra time outside, since it is really nice out...gotta go make them get busy...Becky

 

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