Kenton Elementary PTA

The Parent-Teacher Association of Kenton Elementary School in Independence, KY

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Archives for August 2015

August 28, 2015

Bullying and Teasing: No Laughing Matter

Unfortunately, teasing is often part of growing up — almost every child experiences it. But it isn’t always as innocuous as it seems. Words can cause pain. Teasing becomes bullying when it is repetitive or when there is a conscious intent to hurt another child. It can be verbal bullying (making threats, name-calling), psychological bullying (excluding children, spreading rumors), or physical bullying (hitting, pushing, taking a child’s possessions).

How Bullying Starts
Bullying behavior is prevalent throughout the world and it cuts across socio-economic, racial/ethnic, and cultural lines. Researchers estimate that 20 to 30 percent of school-age children are involved in bullying incidents, as either perpetrators or victims. Bullying can begin as early as preschool and intensify during transitional stages, such as starting school in 1st grade or going into middle school.

Victims of bullying are often shy and tend to be physically weaker than their peers. They may also have low self-esteem and poor social skills, which makes it hard for them to stand up for themselves. Bullies consider these children safe targets because they usually don’t retaliate.

Effects of Bullying
If your child is the victim of bullying, he may suffer physically and emotionally, and his schoolwork will likely show it. Grades drop because, instead of listening to the teacher, kids are wondering what they did wrong and whether anyone will sit with them at lunch. If bullying persists, they may be afraid to go to school. Problems with low self-esteem and depression can last into adulthood and interfere with personal and professional lives.

Bullies are affected too, even into adulthood; they may have difficulty forming positive relationships. They are more apt to use tobacco and alcohol, and to be abusive spouses. Some studies have even found a correlation with later criminal activities.

Warning Signs
If you’re concerned that your child is a victim of teasing or bullying, look for these signs of stress:

  • Increased passivity or withdrawal
  • Frequent crying
  • Recurrent complaints of physical symptoms such as stomach-aches or headaches with no apparent cause
  • Unexplained bruises
  • Sudden drop in grades or other learning problems
  • Not wanting to go to school
  • Significant changes in social life — suddenly no one is calling or extending invitations
  • Sudden change in the way your child talks — calling herself a loser, or a former friend a jerk

How to Help 
First, give your child space to talk. If she recounts incidences of teasing or bullying, be empathetic. If your child has trouble verbalizing her feelings, read a story about children being teased or bullied. You can also use puppets, dolls, or stuffed animals to encourage a young child to act out problems.

Once you’ve opened the door, help your child begin to problem-solve. Role-play situations and teach your child ways to respond. You might also need to help your child find a way to move on by encouraging her to reach out and make new friends. She might join teams and school clubs to widen her circle.

At home and on the playground:
Adults need to intervene to help children resolve bullying issues, but calling another parent directly can be tricky unless he or she is a close friend. It is easy to find yourself in a “he said/she said” argument. Try to find an intermediary: even if the bullying occurs outside of school, a teacher, counselor, coach, or after-school program director may be able to help mediate a productive discussion.

If you do find yourself talking directly to the other parent, try to do it in person rather than over the phone. Don’t begin with an angry recounting of the other child’s offenses. Set the stage for a collaborative approach by suggesting going to the playground, or walking the children to school together, to observe interactions and jointly express disapproval for any unacceptable behavior.

At school:
Many schools (sometimes as part of a statewide effort) have programs especially designed to raise awareness of bullying behavior and to help parents and teachers deal effectively with it. Check with your local school district to see if it has such a program.

Schools and parents can work effectively behind the scenes to help a child meet and make new friends via study groups or science-lab partnerships. If you are concerned about your child:

  • Share with the teacher what your child has told you; describe any teasing or bullying you may have witnessed.
  • Ask the teacher if she sees similar behavior at school, and enlist her help in finding ways to solve the problem.
  • If she hasn’t seen any instances of teasing, ask that she keep an eye out for the behavior you described.
  • If the teacher says your child is being teased, find out whether there are any things he may be doing in class to attract teasing. Ask how he responds to the teasing, and discuss helping him develop a more effective response.
  • After the initial conversation, be sure to make a follow-up appointment to discuss how things are going.
  • If the problem persists, or the teacher ignores your concerns, and your child starts to withdraw or not want to go to school, consider the possibility of “therapeutic intervention.” Ask to meet with the school counselor or psychologist, or request a referral to the appropriate school professional.

Article courtesy of Scholastic.com – http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/social-emotional-skills/bullying-and-teasing-no-laughing-matter

August 24, 2015

2015 Fall Festival

PTA’s largest fundraiser of the year includes games, food, cake walk, raffles and silent auction. This is a great chance for kids, teachers, and parents to get to know each other and have fun!


There are many opportunities available to serve in all areas of the event! Please sign-up using our volunteer sheet on the PTA Volunteers page.

Some of the games to be featured are:

Safe Inflatable Archery
Cornhole
Duck Pond
Bozo Buckets
Life-Sized Candyland
Eggs In a Basket
Football Toss
Frisbee Golf
Frog on a Log
…And many, many more!

The classroom baskets to be raffled off are:

Comics & Superheroes – Preschool & Kindergarten
Fairytales and Dreams – 1st Grade
Crayola Crazy – 2nd Grade
All About Sports – 3rd Grade
Family Night – 4th Grade
His/Hers – 5th Grade

An admission wristband is $6 for all those that want to play games. You must purchase tickets to participate in games and purchase items not included in the cost of the wristband.

TICKETS Cost $1 for:

Cake walk
Water Drop
Drinks
Popcorn
Raffle Baskets

MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN BASKETS AND SPLIT THE POT

August 18, 2015

Parents’ Guides to Student Success

The Parents’ Guides to Student Success were developed by teachers, parents and education experts in response to the Common Core State Standards that more than 45 states have adopted.

Created for grades K-8 high school English language arts/literacy and mathematics the guides provide clear, consistent expectations for what students should be learning at each grade in order to be prepared for college and career.

Parents’ Guides

The guides include:

  • Key items children should be learning in English language arts and mathematics in each grade, once Common Core Standards are fully implemented.
  • Activities that parents can do at home to support their child’s learning.
  • Methods for helping parents build stronger relationships with their child’s teacher.
  • Tips for planning for college and career (high school only).

PTAs play a pivotal role in how the standards are put in place at the state and district levels. PTA leaders are encouraged to meet with their school, district and/or state administrators to discuss their plans to implement the standards and how their PTA can support that work.

The goal is that PTAs and education administrators will collaborate on how to share the guides with all of the parents and caregivers in their states or communities, once the Common Core Standards are fully implemented.

August 16, 2015

Dealing With Back-to-School Jitters

Going from long, lazy summer days back to the rigors of a classroom can be a bumpy road for your child. It’s normal for her to experience a range of emotions about returning to school. Though each child responds to going back to school differently, you can take steps to address jitters and make the transition time smoother. Could one of these issues be causing your child’s fears?

  • Life Changes
    Starting at a new school can present an especially daunting challenge. Similarly, if your child has recently experienced an upheaval at home, such as moving or divorce, he may be especially susceptible to feeling stressed about returning to school.
    If this is the case for your child, asking open-ended questions can give your child the space to figure out his own feelings. If he expresses a specific worry, you might say something like, “What makes you feel that way?” and see where the conversation leads.
  • Academic Challenges
    A new grade brings new challenges. Perhaps your child will be expected to do homework or write a research paper for the first time. With fears of not measuring up academically, the best defense is a good offense. Getting organized and establishing reassuring routines can go a long way to making a child feel competent.
    Rumors of a particularly hard teacher may fuel fearing or disliking a new teacher. Do help your child keep in mind that one person’s dreaded teacher can be another kid’s favorite. While it’s okay for your child to express her dislike of a teacher, she should be expected to remain respectful. You can encourage her to be open-minded and approach this as an opportunity to help her learn how to deal with a person she finds difficult. Listen to her issues and plan to attend parent-teacher night to get your own take on the situation.
  • Social Worries
    A new class roster can mean adjusting without friends who have provided a social base in previous years. Try to present this as an opportunity for your child to widen his group of friends, rather than a tragic loss of familiar faces. If possible, get the class list and set up a play date before school starts, so that your child will have a new friend to look for on the first day. Establish time for him to catch up with old friends too.
    A new school or classroom may spark concerns about finding friends at all. An outside class or hobby such as ballet or a sport can provide a conversation starter and the opportunity to meet kids outside your child’s usual circles. Talking to her about other challenging situations that she successfully navigated also boosts self-esteem.
  • Getting Help
    Most back-to-school anxiety is anticipatory. If the level and type of anxiety seems a marked departure from your child’s usual behavior and lasts well past the beginning of the school year, consider seeking outside help. Start by talking with his teacher. Next, a school counselor or psychologist can provide valuable tips and resources. Anxiety disorders do affect children and are often overlooked because such children do not tend to act out.
  • Be Supportive
    It is normal for every child to react to going back to school in her own way. This can make it tempting to apply your own experience to your child’s life. Although harkening back can provide insight, remember that your child is not you. Be calm and matter of fact. Listen and provide reassurance, but try not to heighten anxiety with old memories and good intentions.

In the end, the most important tool you can use is to know your own child. Observe the situation, but also try to keep it all in perspective. For most kids, back-to-school jitters will melt away as easily as summer slips into fall.

Article courtesy of Scholastic.com – http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/article/back-to-school/dealing-back-to-school-jitters

August 13, 2015

Be A PTA Virtual Volunteer!!

Let’s Spread the Word! It’s Easy!

Advertising through Social Media happens in two ways:

  1. Pay for advertising
  2. Word of mouth

We’re looking for volunteers to help us share our posts and tweets to all of the Kenton Elementary Parents, friends, and families. This is how you can help:

First, “Like” our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter.

Whenever we post on social media, you’ll receive an email asking you to log on and spread the word. It only takes a couple of minutes.

On FACEBOOK you would visit the Kenton Elementary PTA page. Once there:

  1. Like the post
  2. Comment on the post (It can be whatever you like… as simple as a “.”).
  3. Share the post (Whatever you post is only shared on your timeline to your approved list of friends. No one else will see it unless you have your privacy settings on Public).

Likes, comments, and shares are how Facebook boosts posts to the top of newsfeeds. It’s important that we do all three of these in order to fully maximize our posts reaching those following our FB page.

On TWITTER you would visit our Kenton Elementary PTA page. Once there:

  1. Favorite the tweet.
  2. Comment on the tweet (It can be whatever you like… as simple as a “.”).
  3. Retweet the tweet (Just as with FB, your tweets are only seen by those on your approved list if your profile is set to PRIVATE).

Favorites, comments, and retweets are how Twitter pushes tweets to the top of everyone’s feed. It’s important that we do all three of these in order to fully maximize our tweets reaching those following our Twitter page.

social minions

August 10, 2015

Be a Learning Hero!

National PTA announces public service partnership with ‘Be A Learning Hero”!

This year, come prepared—a new school year is just around the corner, and our partners at BeALearningHero.org have the Super 5 important steps parents can take to prepare!

Be a Learning Hero – The Super 5

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