Current Issue
In giving to others, you get back
by KATY VANCUREN, Assistant Principal
Rockford High School
During the holiday season, I always am in the mood to give. I give to local charities, donate to my church, even answer the telemarketers’ calls and donate to an organization from time to time. But after watching the movie “The Blindside” recently, I started to wonder, “Why not make a bigger effort to give year ‘round?”
Believe me, I am just like you! I don’t have extra money or time, but I do have other things that are valuable to others in need. I have a smile, a kind heart and words to share. I have nice stationary to jot a friend a note of appreciation. I have time to pick up the phone and catch up with an old friend. Despite all the things I don’t have, I still have a lot to give.
“The Blindside” really touched me and, if you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It speaks about companionate hearts, a giving spirit, and perhaps most of all, making a difference in the life of another. We all have this ability to give, but sometimes our lives get so busy that time goes by and our intentions get lost.
Giving is certainly something I hope to instill in my children as well. Once a year I have the kids go through their closets and drawers so that we can donate clothing. A few other ideas are:
• sporting equipment—Encourage children to pass last season’s athletic gear to Sports Gift (sportsgift.org), which will distribute it to kids in need.
• school supplies—If your child has extra books, markers, or other items, you can find teachers who need them at iloveschools.com, a nonprofit that connects donors with teachers in U.S. classrooms.
• DVDs—Send movies that haven’t been watched in a while to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan through AMVETS Task Force DVDE (amvets.org/taskforcedvd). Children’s titles go to families of soldiers.
• cell phones—When your kids or you upgrade, check out recyclewirelessphones.com to locate programs that recycle or refurbish old phones, then donate proceeds to various charities.
There are many local and national organizations that are looking for volunteers, goods and money. Reach out to them—make it a family event so that everyone gets the experience of helping others. The best part about giving is the feeling it leaves you with. Do what you can, when you can. Making the difference in the lives of others is a rewarding experience for everyone involved.
Print This Story
Education Blackboard — February 25, 2010
SCHOOL BEAT
RPS to utilize SchoolMessenger, another form of communication
by DOUG VANDERJAGT, Principal
Rockford Freshman Center
Starting in March, Rockford Public Schools (RPS) has signed on with SchoolMessenger, a California-based company that provides notification services for emergency broadcasts, parental outreach and student attendance communications for K-12 education.
The system is programmed to call the primary phone number of parents for a variety of reasons that impact the safety of your students. SchoolMessenger will be used to complement our emergency preparedness procedures and to inform parents of upcoming school events such as statewide testing and parent meetings.
After evaluating several notification solutions, we selected SchoolMessenger because it offers a real value to the district and is proven to measurably impact student safety, parental involvement, staff communications and student attendance. With the use of bond dollars, RPS was able to purchase this hardware, which in turn will increase communication without additional personnel.
Look and listen for more information from your child’s school on this exciting new tool for improving communication.
This system will not replace current modes of school communication. Principals are still accessible for live visits and we will still send home paper-based memoranda. Acquisition of the SchoolMessenger system is intended to reinforce the district’s commitment to remain personally connected to parents.
Print This Story
School Beat — February 18, 2010
NRMS pilots Ram Buddies program
by LARRY WATTERS, Assistant Principal
North Rockford Middle School
In the words of Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we really are, far more than our abilities.”
One of the choices we have made this year at Rockford Public Schools that I am extremely proud of is the Ram Buddies program being piloted by North Rockford Middle School (NRMS) and Lakes Elementary School. This program, initiated by parents active in the lives of their special needs children, is an opportunity for students without disabilities to develop relationships with students with special needs. This service learning activity helps to provide support, friendship and encouragement while reinforcing our goal of academic and social success through the cooperative efforts of staff, parents and peers.
The Ram Buddies application process required interested students to obtain parent permission and teachers’ recommendations prior to being selected for the program. Once selected, students received training from counseling and special education staff. The training consisted of the basics of friendship, leadership and disability awareness. When the training was completed, Ram Buddies were matched and made commitments to spend time together during the marking period. These commitments could be as simple as meeting at a locker, eating lunch together, visiting during intervention time, or possibly attending a sporting or after-school event together.
Currently at NRMS, 12 special needs children are “buddied” with 32 general education students. In most cases it is indistinguishable as to who is providing the service and who is receiving. As we assess the value of the program in the future, I am confident the benefits gained by the special needs students will be abundant, but the growth of everyone involved will be unmistakable.
It is our choices in life that help define us, and Ram Buddies is another reason Rockford Public Schools can be described as a student-centered district providing opportunities to learn and develop in a social world.
Print This Story
School Beat — February 4, 2010
How important is play and recess for your student?
by MICHAEL J. HIBBELN
Principal, Roguewood Elementary School
With increased pressure from the federal and state government to improve achievement, increase test scores, and cover an increasingly demanding curriculum, we should never lose sight of the importance of play and recess for our children. Our playgrounds are also classrooms, and recess at school serves an important role in the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of our students.
Social development begins at birth and continues rapidly throughout the early childhood years. Recess is that period of time during the school day that allows children the opportunity to interact with peers in ways not usually possible in the typical classroom. A wide range of social competencies such as cooperation, sharing, language, and conflict resolution can be actively practiced, interpreted and learned in a meaningful context during recess.
Recess acts as an outlet for reducing anxiety, too. During recess, children have the opportunity to express themselves to others, and begin rehearsing behaviors and practicing skills. Children learn about their own abilities, perseverance, self-direction, responsibility and self-acceptance. They begin to understand which behaviors result in approval or disapproval from their peers.
Recess also provides our students with opportunities to move and participate in physical activities. In October 1999, the Agriculture Department released a report that revealed a record 10 million American children—or one in five—are overweight, and that a record eight percent of the children are already overweight by preschool age. Through active play on the playground, our students learn about their bodies’ capabilities and how to control their bodies. One of the most apparent benefits of recess is the opportunity for sheer physical activity and the practice of physical skills, such as running, climbing, jumping, chasing, batting, kicking, catching, balancing, hanging, swinging, stretching, pushing and pulling.
Additionally, physical activity fuels the brain with a better supply of blood and provides brain cells with a healthier supply of natural substances. These substances enhance brain growth and help the brain make a greater number of connections between neurons (Healy, 1998). The connections make the brain better able to process a variety of information, thus leading to improved retention of facts, a greater understanding of concepts, and subsequently higher achievement.
There are volumes of recent research substantiating the link between play and cognitive gains. Children learn through play. Children develop intellectual constructs and cognitive understandings through the hands-on, manipulative, exploratory behavior that occurs during play episodes and play opportunities. “Children can remember more, focus better, and regulate their own behavior better in play than in any other context,” (Guddemi et al., p. 5). After children practice skills in play, they become ready to utilize these skills in other contexts (Bodrova & Leong, 1999).
With winter here in full force, our children may not feel as free to run outside like in the summer, but don’t let that stop them! It is important to help facilitate play even in these winter months—go get cold, wet and freezing! A warm cup of hot chocolate is always a welcomed reward.
Print This Story
School Beat — February 4, 2010
How important is play and recess for your student?
by MICHAEL J. HIBBELN
Principal, Roguewood Elementary School
With increased pressure from the federal and state government to improve achievement, increase test scores, and cover an increasingly demanding curriculum, we should never lose sight of the importance of play and recess for our children. Our playgrounds are also classrooms, and recess at school serves an important role in the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of our students.
Social development begins at birth and continues rapidly throughout the early childhood years. Recess is that period of time during the school day that allows children the opportunity to interact with peers in ways not usually possible in the typical classroom. A wide range of social competencies such as cooperation, sharing, language, and conflict resolution can be actively practiced, interpreted and learned in a meaningful context during recess.
Recess acts as an outlet for reducing anxiety, too. During recess, children have the opportunity to express themselves to others, and begin rehearsing behaviors and practicing skills. Children learn about their own abilities, perseverance, self-direction, responsibility and self-acceptance. They begin to understand which behaviors result in approval or disapproval from their peers.
Recess also provides our students with opportunities to move and participate in physical activities. In October 1999, the Agriculture Department released a report that revealed a record 10 million American children—or one in five—are overweight, and that a record eight percent of the children are already overweight by preschool age. Through active play on the playground, our students learn about their bodies’ capabilities and how to control their bodies. One of the most apparent benefits of recess is the opportunity for sheer physical activity and the practice of physical skills, such as running, climbing, jumping, chasing, batting, kicking, catching, balancing, hanging, swinging, stretching, pushing and pulling.
Additionally, physical activity fuels the brain with a better supply of blood and provides brain cells with a healthier supply of natural substances. These substances enhance brain growth and help the brain make a greater number of connections between neurons (Healy, 1998). The connections make the brain better able to process a variety of information, thus leading to improved retention of facts, a greater understanding of concepts, and subsequently higher achievement.
There are volumes of recent research substantiating the link between play and cognitive gains. Children learn through play. Children develop intellectual constructs and cognitive understandings through the hands-on, manipulative, exploratory behavior that occurs during play episodes and play opportunities. “Children can remember more, focus better, and regulate their own behavior better in play than in any other context,” (Guddemi et al., p. 5). After children practice skills in play, they become ready to utilize these skills in other contexts (Bodrova & Leong, 1999).
With winter here in full force, our children may not feel as free to run outside like in the summer, but don’t let that stop them! It is important to help facilitate play even in these winter months—go get cold, wet and freezing! A warm cup of hot chocolate is always a welcomed reward.
Print This Story
Visitors
-
Marketplace
