Kuumba Academy Charter School PTA

PTA Parent - October 23, 2007

Oct 23, 2007

The PTA Parent

Biweekly Newsletter

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

In This Issue
Get Dads Involved!
Three for Me
Fire Safety
PTA Briefs

This week's issue of PTA Parent focuses on Parent Involvement. Throughout the issue, you will find a number of helpful tips to help you become more involved in your child's school.


Parent Involvement Tip #1: Ask the teacher what needs to be done and tell him/her what amount of time you are able to give. Sometimes a teacher may have needs that do not have to be done in a classroom or during school hours.



Get Dads Involved!
According to a study done by the U.S. Department of Education, children are more likely to do well academically and participate in extracurricular activities if their fathers are actively involved. Furthermore, children are less likely to drop out of school or repeat a grade when fathers are around to provide a positive influence in their lives.

Read the rest of this article online.

Parent Involvement Tip #2: Tell school or PTA leaders about talents you have that they might need. Are you a CPA? Maybe they need help filing the PTA's taxes. Are you a carpenter or handyman? Maybe they are looking for someone to build shelving or booths for a carnival. All talents are useful in helping build a partnership between parents and schools.



Three for Me: Finding Time for Involvement
For many of us, the hustle and bustle of work, household responsibilities, chauffeuring children to activities, obligations to various organizations, etc., leaves us wondering at the end of each week, "Where has the time gone?" If we're not careful, we risk ending the year asking that same question and thinking of all our intentions to get more involved in our children's schools.

Three for Me is a simple PTA program that can help you find the time for involvement. It calls on you to dedicate three hours of your time to the school over the course of the school year, and asks that you put that commitment into writing by signing a Three for Me promise card. For many parents, having that written commitment?¢???”and then getting some good tips on ways to be involved?¢???”is enough to help them find the time to participate more fully in the life of the school. Your three hours can be broken up into 10-minute increments or completed in large chunks, fulfilled in the school, at home, or in the community.

Here are just a few ideas on how to fulfill your promise:

Read a book to your child's class.
Make classroom decorations for the upcoming holidays.
Help out with class celebrations and school performances.
Tutor a child once a week in a particular subject area.
Help a teacher grade papers.
Ask your employer to make copies of the class or school newsletter.
If your school doesn't have the Three for Me program, visit www.three4me.com to learn how to get started.


Parent Involvement Tip #3: Ask your kids what they think the school or the community?‚ needs and brainstorm ideas on how to make it a reality. Kids can take pride in being part of an original idea that fulfills a need.


Fire Prevention Month: Help Your Family "Be Fire Smart" With Engaging New Safety Video
Each year more Americans die in home fires than all natural disasters combined, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. October marks Fire Prevention Month, reminding families across America to take necessary precautions to prevent home fires and prepare their families in the event of a home fire.

To commemorate the month, Liberty Mutual announces the premiere of "Be Fire Smart," an entertaining fire safety video for families to view together and facilitate open discussion about fire safety in their home. Academy Award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden teamed with Liberty Mutual to create the video, available for viewing free online at www.befiresmart.com.

Liberty Mutual is a proud member benefit provider of PTA. For more information about member benefits available through Liberty Mutual visit www.libertymutual.com/lm/nationalpta or call 1- 800-341-5247.

Parent Involvement Tip #4: Do you enjoy putting together an event? Offer to put on a lunch or a breakfast for the teachers during the school year. Don't wait for the holidays or Teacher Appreciation Week. It can be as simple as muffins and fruit, just because.


PTA Briefs
Halloween: A Great Start to Holiday Shopping
Why wait until Thanksgiving to start your holiday shopping? The PTA Online Holiday Auction opens October 31. Check out the auction catalog at www.pta.cmarket.com for books, games, electronics, gift cards, art materials, and more. Sign up for auction updates, tell friends and family about the auction, and bid from October 31 to December 3 on the items you want.

The PTA Online Holiday Auction helps you find unique gifts, offers you the convenience of shopping from home, and best of all, supports the work of PTA.


What Types of School Fundraisers Do You Like or Dislike the Most?
All schools hold fundraisers to help them fulfill their vital mission of educating our children. But not all fundraisers are created equal. What types of fundraising are most likely to get you to contribute? What types are real turnoffs? What advice would you give to fundraisers who want to have more success? We want to hear from you! E-mail your response to forum@pta.org.

If your response is selected for publication in 2008 PTA Fundraising Essentials magazine, PTA will send you a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card. (Concise responses are more likely to be published.) The deadline for submissions is Monday, October 29, 2007.

When submitting your response, please include the following:

Your name,
The name and town of your PTA,
Your position in your PTA, and
Your home mailing address
so we can send you a gift card if your submission is published.

By sending an e-mail, you will be granting PTA the right to publish your response, which may be edited for grammar, length, and/or clarity.


Share Your Thoughts About the State of School Wellness
Action for Healthy Kids is conducting a national online survey to gather perspectives and opinions on the current state of school wellness. The 10-minute survey will allow respondents to highlight what is working for and against school wellness and identify what it will take to ensure adequate nutrition and physical activity for all children.

The role of parents in shaping healthy learning environments is critical. Please take a few minutes right now to share your valuable insights. To participate in the survey, click the link below or cut and paste it into your browser:

https://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=796719

PTA is partnering with Action for Healthy Kids to improve nutrition and increase physical activity opportunities for school children nationwide, which will in turn improve readiness to learn and also promote lifelong wellness habits.


Need Help? Get Help!
Do you think your child is using drugs or alcohol? Are you looking to prevent drug or alcohol use? Call The Partnership for a Drug-Free America toll-free at (866) 281-9945 to talk with an experienced health care professional who can help.

The helpline is available through December 31, 2007, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

You will talk with a health care professional who is trained to be patient, to listen carefully to what you say, and to give you helpful information. They can also refer you to local resources near where you live.

New Resources for Growing Readers from AdLit.org!
Typically, 4th grade is when the curriculum branches out among the content areas and where reading and writing assignments become longer, more demanding, and more academic. In order to prepare for that transition from literacy basics, and for the remainder of their time in school, students need a different kind of literacy instruction and motivation to read.

To help you help young readers through the transition and beyond, PTA Book Club brings you AdLit.org, the premier resource on literacy for grades 4-12. At AdLit.org you will find research on adolescent literacy, information on instructional strategies, book recommendations, author interviews and more. This new multimedia education initiative was developed by the WETA team responsible for Reading Rockets and funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and by the Ann B. and Thomas L. Friedman Family Foundation.
Here are some tips on leading kids to books from AdLit.org's blog, the Mashup:

Many adults think length is the only criteria to consider when choosing titles for young people ?¢???” "short" equals appealing and "long" equals the kiss of death. Kids, like adults, are drawn to appealing covers and subject matter.
Remember that we're all entitled to our tastes, including tweens and teens, who, when presented with books outside of their own tastes, will offer very adult excuses ?¢???” "it looks boring" or "I don't like science fiction," etc.
There are no one-size-fits-all books. What matters is how the cover, the subject matter and the total package appeal to the individual reader. But don't hesitate to challenge young people with books that seem outside their general interest area. Either they will be pleasantly surprised or more convinced than ever of their own tastes.
Receive the latest news and highlights from the Mashup by subscribing to Word Up!, AdLit.org's free monthly e-newsletter.


100 Ways to Help Your Child and School Succeed
There are many ways that you can help your child succeed! Here are a few that you can do this week:

Promote and volunteer for before- and after-school programs.
(Promueva y ofr???©zcase para trabajar como voluntario en los programas previos al horario escolar o despu???©s de ???©ste.)
Work with school staff and teachers to develop volunteer activities you can do from home.
(Trabaje junto a los docentes y el personal de la escuela en el desarrollo de actividades voluntarias que pueda hacer desde su casa.)


Parent Involvement Tip #5: Are you good at surfing the 'Net? Offer to research grant opportunities for the school or PTA. Learn more about grant writing on the PTA website. Search for e-learning classes?¢???”they are free to PTA members!


PTA In the News
Healthy Habits on the Rise in Schools


FDA panel: No cold medicines to children under 6


Taming Baby Rage: Why Are Some Kids So Angry?
Resources in Spanish/Recursos en Espa???±ol

C???³mo fortalecer las relaciones padre-hija/Strengthening Father-Daughter Relationships


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Look for these articles in the next issue:?‚ ?‚ ?‚ ?‚
Are You Keeping Your Family Healthy?
Wellness Policies: What Every Parent Needs to Know


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Not a member of PTA? Join today?—help your school help your child!


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Join the PTA Reader Panel!
We want to hear from you. Be a part of the PTA Reader Panel and give us your opinions, ideas and comments. For more info, e-mail us.