Welcome back! It's the beginning of another school year and we are all very excited about some new things that will be happening here at HMS. Of course the vast majority of things that those of you remember from your time in school are still occurring - math, science, social studies, reading and writing - plus a few others. This year we added Spanish I for 7th and 8th graders and we have added some new resources for reading and writing.
In case you haven't heard, we are using new resources in Communication Skills this year. Students will be using online resources to enhance their learning with the Common Core State Standards. Thanks to the Board of Education, the middle school received an additional 150 Chromebooks that we have designated to be used in English Language Arts classes. We are looking forward to seeing our students grow as they learn how to utilize all of the tools and resources that we have. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your child's Communication Skills teacher.
Speaking of resources, my goal in this blog is to pass on information that parents will find useful. I will cover topics concerning the middle school child and their development for first-time middle school parents as well as technology tips for the Gen X and Gen Y parents out there who may be saying, "All of this tech is great to help me and my kids, but every time I turn around there is something new that I am just not sure about." See below for some examples of the types of things that I will be sharing.
Middle School - The Huffington Post's Liz Evans posted a blog last week that gives parents different ways to ask the age-old "How was school today?" question. In her blog post named 25 Ways to Ask Your Kids 'So How Was School Today' Without asking them 'So How Was School Today? Evans goes through numerous questions that most middle school kids would answer if asked. So if you are trying to get your middle school-er to just talk to you about school - try one of these questions. You never know, you just might find out something new.
Technology - Did you know that Facebook is quickly becoming boring and not cool to use (according to many middle school and high school students). Unlike most adults, teens have multiple social media tools that they use for sharing information, pics, and videos. Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat are probably the most popular and if I had to guess most parents have heard of them. But unfortunately just when the adults start using the tools and really getting to understand how they work (and therefore a pretty good idea of what their kids are doing on them) the teens are on to something different. Have you heard of Yik-Yak, Vine, Wanelo or Oovoo? Don't worry a couple of them appear to be o.k. and have some parental controls unlike Ask.FM and kik messenger. Click here to see a small list of apps that parents should know about (including Yik-Yak) - both good and bad- that was created by Common Sense Media.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic or a question that others may also be asking themselves? If so, email me and I will see what I can do to address it.
