The 2007-08 school year will be an exciting one for CMS. The district will shift to learning communities as part of our decentralization, and we will begin to put into place some new programs designed to boost student achievement. All of these programs are important ones, and we think they’ll help students learn. But our biggest asset in helping CMS raise student achievement is you — the parents of our students.
The beginning of a new school year can bring many new experiences for children. They may need to become accustomed to an unfamiliar routine, get to know a new teacher or perhaps ride a school bus for the first time. But whether a child is new to the school bus or a seasoned "veteran" in junior high, it’s important for them to know the rules of school bus safety.
The next time your family is making a beeline toward the video game department of a toy store, try taking a detour into the board game section. You’ll find plenty of old favorites and new variations. Along with the simpler luck-of-the-dice racing games for younger children, there are complex scenario strategy games for older kids and teens.
The school cafeteria has become a place filled with poor diet choices. From franchise fast food offerings to soda machine temptations, today’s kids are faced with a lot of unhealthy options at lunchtime. So, what can parents do? They can pack a better lunch! But many parents could use some help — the typical child’s lunch box is often filled with fat, sugar and salt, and lacking healthy fruit, protein and whole grains.
School nurses say more can be done in America's classrooms to help prevent the spread of illness, especially at the height of cold and flu season when more than half of school nurses, who were recently surveyed, send five or more sick children home each day.
At Halloween, no one is surprised to find miniature zombies at the door. Give them treats and they go away. A zombie computer is not at all cute and much harder to dismiss. Yet, according to the FBI, over one billion American computers have been converted into zombies, robots that follow the commands of remote and invisible masters.
My interest in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools isn’t just professional. It’s personal, too — my 9-year-old daughter, Katie, is a fourth-grader at Beverly Woods Elementary. It’s important to me and to my wife that our daughter does well in school so she can have a full, productive life as an adult.
I did not know what to say when my teenage son, Robin, told me one winter afternoon that he was going to be a father.
This team knows about automobiles and the angst parents feel when thinking about buying a used car for their teen.
What do teens say about . . . AIDS* Two decades after the federal government mandated in-school instruction on the life-threatening virus, American high schoolers responded to a survey:
The age of carefree high school days are over. As high school students, my friends and I are constantly reminded of the competitiveness of college applications. Our schedules are loaded with challenging classes and extracurricular activities, but each of us is looking for that something extra to put us ahead of our competition.
As families hurtle toward the holidays, many busy parents will shop online. But what about kids? Should they be using the Internet to buy gifts for family members or even things they want for themselves?
As a parent, you ultimately want your child to be well trained to tackle life’s challenges. Learning to drive is part of that training and it’s important that parents play an active role in the process.
plz hlp b4 i 4get how 2 rite english If you have a child who loves Instant Messaging, you can probably decipher that sentence: Please help before I forget how to write English. IMspeak, the cryptic language used in Instant Messaging, is phenomenally popular, not only with teens and pre-teens, but also with the millions of adults who now use it to communicate with friends, family and even co-workers.
Parents have a tendency to dismiss early relationships as trivial, but they should be treated seriously. Here are some tips for parenting through this stage.
Is your child’s lackadaisical attitude toward spending the night at her grandparent’s house bewildering? At 8 years old she longed to seek refuge from her siblings at Grandma’s house. Now, as a teen, you can hardly pry her away from her friends and the phone to spend an afternoon — let alone a good portion of the holidays — visiting her grandparents.
If dramatic scenes rivaling those of an Academy Award-winning performance routinely play out in your house, chances are you have a teen or tween-aged child. Sometime around age 11, children begin to realize the power that emotions play. From realizing the attention that a slammed door grabs to experiencing sympathetic pangs of angst for a forlorn friend, many children are drawn to drama.
Peek around a classroom door at Northwest School of the Arts and see a young dancer perfect her steps. Drop into a classroom at the Smith Language Academy and hear kindergartners receiving classroom instructions in Chinese. Stroll by an open door at Randolph Middle School and catch the sounds of students practicing the Socratic method of inquiry.
For single teens, the prospect of a Valentine’s Day without someone special may seem a bit unpleasant, but as child psychologist Christie Rizzo, will testify, it’s better to be safe and single, than dating and in danger.
Arthritis is an illness that is often associated with older adults; however, children may also be affected. Although a diagnosis of childhood arthritis can be frightening for the child and the family, most children with arthritis live a full and active life.
So your daughter went to see "Charlotte’s Web" and decided she wants to be the next Dakota Fanning, or you’ve always thought your son is a natural performer and have wondered if enrolling him in an acting class would be a good idea.
The image of a happy family sitting down to a relaxed, healthy meal is iconic and idyllic. Some families observe this ritual regularly, while others think of it as a relic from a past time when lives were less hectic.
In 2006, 33.3 percent of children in North Carolina (ages 2-20) were overweight or at-risk of becoming overweight. Sue Dissinger, director of wellness for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte calls it an epidemic of inactivity and unhealthy eating.
Before your Spring Break escape take a minute to review these sun safety tips.
