Although
it may seem like the last school year just ended, it is not too soon to begin preparing for the start of another. The Center for Families’ Executive Director Laura Brucia Hamm and Clinical Director Dr. Katie Garcia said beginning to think about the upcoming year can be daunting, but parents can help ease the transition by gently engaging students in conversation about how to make the school year great. They also recommend starting a project with the student to get their minds engaged and excited about learning, such as cooking a meal together, starting a scavenger hunt, taking a nature walk or other activities that encourage their math and science skills.
Parents can also excite their student about beginning school again by taking them to get their school supplies once lists are published on the school website or made available in some stores (i.e. Walmart, Target, etc.). Individualized notebooks and pens can help some students get excited about taking notes and doing homework. Summer offers time for parents to get their students caught up on immunizations,
which are required at different grade levels, and physicals if required for students to be involved in sports. Schools require proof of immunization from a physician, required at time of registration each year.
“When we don’t vaccinate, we leave the door open for the return of diseases, such as measles and whooping cough, which continue to be a threat to babies, children and adults in the United States,” said Dr. Frank Welch, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Immunization medical director. “School vaccination laws have helped eliminate major vaccine-preventable diseases. So, avoid the rush and take the time now to schedule your children for their back-to-school vaccinations.”
In addition to immunizations, parents can help their students stay healthy once they enter the school environment again by educating them. DeWayne Bricker, PA-C with HealthCARE Express, recommends providing children with a healthy diet and encouraging regular exercise to combat common illnesses that cause absences. He said the best advice to give to them to is to avoid contact with sick
children, including not drinking or eating after them, properly washing hands before eating and after using the bathroom and not to hang coats up together to prevent the transmission of head lice.
Preparing students emotionally for school is of equal importance for their ongoing success in the school year. Parents can often take their students to orientations before school begins, showing them the campus and allowing them to meet their future teachers and counselors.
“Making a visit to the school can facilitate bonding with any new teachers, especially when beginning at a new school,” Karen Kersten, counselor with the Center for Families, said. “While there, the staff and/or teachers can show a family around the classroom and familiarize them with some of the buildings, rooms and activities.”
Bossier Parish Schools works with military students to help ease their transition from other states and even from overseas schools. Georgette Price, military student transition consultant for BPS, recommends parents contact her or even the school directly to learn
about the campus, curriculum and teacher. The schools aim to help those students through her, as a liaison, school tours and peer mentoring programs, where other students help navigate the halls of campus. Military parents can reach Price at 549-6164. Garcia and Hamm said encouragement is a “tremendous, necessary and often-neglected skill that parents can use at home to support their children,” who will need it at the dinner table and also to get through homework. They recommend always pointing out and rewarding good grades to eliminate the opposite and keeping the dialogue open to all students in the home, asking them about their “highs” and “lows” of the day. For students, the summer months can be a time for staying up later and sleeping in but also an opportunity to prepare and plan for future endeavors. For more information on the Center for Families, call 222-0759, or visit www.thecenterforfamilies. com.
– Chelsea Ballard
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