Just for Parents provides parents with tips, school policies, the RHS school calendar, and college application and financial aid information that may come in handy.

Parent Tips
Your Child's Weekly Homework Assignments
Safety Tips: Keeping Children Safe on the Internet
Homework: It Can Help
Discipline: It Doesn't Have to Mean Bad
College Information
CampusTours Index: Virtual College Tours
U.S. News Colleges and Careers Center 
Send your Child to College: The Internet Guide for Parents
Publications
Student Handbook
Curriculum Guide
School Calendar
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More coming soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Internet Tips: Teach Your Children to Surf Safely

Tell Your Children...

Don't give any personal information--your name, address, telephone number, school name, or password. If you have a user profile in one of the online services, give false information.

Don't respond to messages from strangers. If you receive an email from a stranger that makes you uncomfortable, tell your parents. Parents should notify police and the Internet provider if someone asks to meet their child.

Let your parents telephone your new online friends, the same way they meet your new neighborhood friends. Never agree to meet an online friend in person, unless your parents give their permission and accompany you.

Don't buy anything online or give out any credit card information without asking parents.

Parents...

Consider having the computer in a family room, rather than in a child's bedroom. Parents should be involved with what their child is doing on the computer.

                                                                                from The Bergen Record

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homework:  It Can Help

WHY DO TEACHERS GIVE HOMEWORK?

  1. Teachers feel homework extends learning experiences beyond the classroom and reinforces learning by giving children a chance to practice without the pressure of time.

  2. Homework has value as a process: one that teaches a child to organize time, work independently, use good study skills, and develop self-discipline.

  3. Homework fosters good study habits and gives the child with learning difficulties the extra time - and the extra opportunity - to improve skills.

  4. Teachers realize that homework can be the link between school and home that lets you get involved with your child's education. Your child will work better if you're interested too.

HELP YOUR CHILDREN DO THEIR HOMEWORK PROPERLY

Provide a study area.

Homework can be in a child's room or at the kitchen table - the specific room makes little difference. The important elements are adequate lighting, comfortable seating, sufficient work surfaces, good ventilation, and a space to store study materials. Noises and distractions such as radio and television should be shut out. Reference material such as a dictionary, an atlas, and an encyclopedia should be available, either at home or from the public library.

Plan a specific time.

Setting aside the same time each day develops the discipline most children need. Establishing rules against using the phone and watching TV means better concentration.

Think of homework as "helpwork."

Homework's the perfect opportunity to review and practice with your child what's learned in the classroom. Give the encouragement and assistance your child needs, but don't do the homework for your child. Check to see that it's completed.

Homework difficulty? Call or email the teacher.

Teachers can most likely clarify or solve the problem. Do not complain to your child; this may cause a loss of confidence in the teacher or, worse, loss of interest in school. Check with the teacher first. If you feel there's just too much homework too often, talk it over with the teacher, too. Your attitude towards homework, teacher, and school can influence your child's success.

Watch for signs that help is needed.

Check your children's study habits. Do they have difficulty completing homework? Move their lips when reading? Write slowly or unclearly?

Poor study skills are signs that children may have problems that reduce their ability to complete homework and keep up with the class. Try to pinpoint personal problems that might be affecting their ability to concentrate.

Look for homework every day.

When your children don't bring work home, find out if they're completing it in school or forgetting to bring it home. If you find they actually have little or no homework to do - relax. Some teachers do give less. Just make sure that whatever is assigned is understood and completed.

HOMEWORK HINTS

  1. Show your interest by helping with homework!
  2. Help with memory work. Drill or review by calling out words or questions and by listening to recitations.
  3. Help them learn where to find information books, newspapers, magazines. And a trip to the library is a must.
  4. Offer ideas for projects related to school studies. Let them talk their ideas over with you.
  5. Review homework that's been completed. Discuss it, and encourage your child to discuss it.
  6. Praise the things your child does well. Don't dwell on shortcomings.
  7. Let your child take a homework break. A few minutes can often refresh a busy mind.
  8. Be persistent in your daily attention to your child's schoolwork.
  9. Your caring makes the partnership between you and the teacher mean so much more. Caring is more than a matter of love and dedication. Your children's teachers have plenty of both. But a teacher's caring alone is not enough. Your children should know you care, too.

For a schedule of daily homework assignments go to Homework Notepad.

School staff and parents . . . the more we work together, the more we'll help our children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discipline: Instruction or Punishment?

Discipline isn't easy. All children misbehave. The challenge for parents is to approach discipline as a learning experience, not simply a way to punish.

Most parents realize that discipline in their homes is the daily practice of pre-determined rules ... rules they've agreed on with their children...rules that encourage the development of responsible behavior in the family, the school, and the community. School staff members know that repeated physical punishment is ineffective in maintaining discipline. So are unjustified rewards. The solution? Think positively.

Let's praise good behavior. Let's help correct misbehavior. Let's set the pattern for self-discipline...the key to your child's success.

ARE YOUR CHILDREN MISBEHAVING?

Create an atmosphere of trust let them know they can turn to you.

YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR

  1. Share the problems that cause your children distress.
  2. Encourage your children's respect for authority.
  3. Examine your own attitudes toward authority and discipline. Are they clear? Firm? Consistent? Most important, are they fair?
  4. Be firm but not dominating; children should be able to express their views.
  5. Watch for signs that your child is "turned off" - to you, to school, to valuable friends.
  6. Help your child understand the need for personal precautions - to avoid danger spots in school, with friends.
  7. Allow your children to experience the results of their actions ... to take responsibility for what they say and do.
  8. If your child gets into trouble in school, get all the facts before reacting and get the teacher's point of view. Visit the school and talk to the teacher.
  9. Remember that children do not feel comfortable with more responsibility than they can handle and often wish their parents would take over. The responsibility of discipline starts with us - parents and school staff.

DISCIPLINE + LOVE = GROWING TOGETHER

Discipline begins with communication: telling your children what you need, listening to their needs, developing fair rules - together.

  1. Keep cool. Don't lose your temper. Children need to know that you're in control.
  2. Don't give your children a mixed message by behaving in one manner and asking them to behave in another.
  3. Be strict but consistent. Children like the security of strong support.
  4. Be a parent. Children need their parents to be responsible adults, not "buddies."
  5. Be a guide. Let them know about your beliefs and encourage theirs.
  6. Impress on children the importance of not repeating wrong behavior. Stealing, lying, cheating, being cruel, getting tough - all hurt other people in ways we would never want to be hurt ourselves.
  7. Punish no more than the misbehavior warrants - and always do it with love, not anger.
  8. Be honest. Be truthful and straight. Be generous with sincere praise. Even criticism is more easily accepted when it's sprinkled with praise.
  9. Have fun together. When parents and children share fun time, few serious discipline problems arise.

DISCIPLINE:  IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BAD

Discipline should mean constructive guidance…positive guidelines to help your child now and later. That's not an easy job. You will, at times, lose your temper, do things you wish you hadn't, but if those times are few and only temporary setbacks. You will, at times, lose your temper, do things you wish you hadn't, but if those times are few and only temporary setbacks, you will still accomplish a great deal.

If a child misbehaves in school, it may be a carry-over from something that happened at home ... just as a blow-up at home may have started in the classroom. That's why everyone on the school staff wants to keep in touch with you about school programs, school policies - and especially your child.

REMEMBER

  1. The old "do it or else" just doesn't work with today's children.
  2. Create an atmosphere of mutual respect ... a sense of give and take.
  3. Let your children learn the satisfaction that comes from their own sense of contribution and participation.

Be involved, interested and concerned. Then and only then can your children get the most out of the caring their teachers give them.

School staff and parents . . . the more we work together, the more we'll help our children.