Help-seeking is a skill that lasts students forever and one that applies in every domain in their lives. Our staff spends a lot of time discussing and honing how we teach students help-seeking behavior. We want to be strategic and intentional with our 6th and 7th graders giving them constant encouragement to seek help during class (raising a hand, answering a question, indicating when we don't understand something) and outside of class (help studying, getting caught up after absences, reviewing notes every day they're given and coming to class with questions).
What Can Parents Do?
Parents should be aware that no matter what your child's elementary school experience, s/he likely has a stigma associated with seeking out help from a teacher outside of class.
Consider:
- Science and Social Studies change dramatically in middle school. Instead of 3 discrete units like students experience in elementary school, both are cumulative and the concepts build through the year. There is no possible way a student relies on memorization can succeed in middle school like they might in elementary school. Scroll to my post from February last year about 'Brick Masons' to read more about this.
- Foreign language is exactly that... Foreign! Students have never taken a language before and for us parents who've been through this we likely forget the enormous amount of dissonance that comes learning our first foreign language.
Parents, like our teachers do, should encourage your students to teach you what they are learning and where they present gaps, or where you can find them you should compel your student to seek the teacher out for help. Ask your child the next day if they did and do not be surprised if they are reluctant. If you discover send the note below to your teacher:
- Dear (Teacher - insert name)
- (My child - insert name) and I were reviewing the notes from class and we discovered that s/he did not understand (insert whatever they did not understand). I compelled her / him to make you aware of this and when I followed up to find out if s/he did, I found out s/he did not. I don't think this is anything personal but rather that s/he is intimidated to ask for help. Could you try to draw him / her out to discuss (insert the thing they did not understand).
I don't have any data to support how many students have to be taught how to seek help from teachers but my ballpark estimate would be 100%.
We want our middle school students to know that every day, our high school is full of classrooms after school full of students following up with teachers. We use our homebase for this but it's not the best time to get 1:1 support. The best time is before or after school and our teachers will tell students each week when they will be available on various days (before or after school). At any time if a student is unsure they are always encouraged to ask teachers when they can come to see them.
Our most successful students are NOT students who get everything the first time. They are the students who recognize (sometimes) that they need help!
End of Week Notes
Awake for a Cure
- Every day this week we will be reminding students to register for our event that is on October 9th. When students register they should stop into our main office to pick up their wrist band. Students can register online below, or bring back their paper form to the Main Office
- Students can sign up to raise funds for this event at this link: http://www.ifopa.org/calendar-of-events/icalrepeat.detail/2015/10/09/236/49/bcms-awake-for-a-cure.html
- High School Students who want to volunteer please email: frizzyisy2000@gmail.com or tklugman@rocketmail.com
- Parent Volunteers and Business Sponsors please email: fopashleyscurebc@gmail.com
- We announced last week that we will be having our first-ever 3 on 3 basketball tourney during the event. There will be two divisions; a combined NCAA division of 6th & 7th graders and an Olympic Division that includes all of our 8th graders
- We also will be having many local college athletes coming to share with students how to be a successful student-athlete at the college level.
- A gong show, games, contests, DJ's and more - SIGN UP TODAY!
FASS - Friday After School Support
Every Friday we have FASS, which is an opportunity for any student to stick around to get work done in our library from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. I supervise this and I enjoy assisting students with any work they need help with but we often have math and ELA teachers present to assist students also. A reminder that there is no late bus on Friday so if students want to stay they have to do the following:
1. they have to make sure parents know they are staying
2. they have to have their own transportation home
Some students may be 'assigned' FASS by their teams if they fall behind in their homework completion. At each FASS we routinely have about a 50:50 mix of students who have to attend with those who opt to attend
MOHAWK Open House Thank You
Many parents offer our staff gratitude after our Open House presentations but I know I speak for our staff universally when I say how grateful we are to have such an engaged audience. It is this partnership that continues to propel our Bethlehem success and we are aware of this all the time and remain grateful to our parents for all you do. We genuinely appreciate all the support you provide to your children / our students!
BCHS Homecoming
I want to thank all of our middle school students who attended our homecoming events this past Saturday. Their behavior was outstanding and their spirit as well. Very Well Done!
The Week Ahead
Monday, September 28
- No Late Buses
Tuesday, September 29
- Late buses
Wed, Sept 30
- Late Buses
Thurs, Oct 1
- Scarecrow Building... postponed until October 14!
- Late Buses
- FASS (Friday After School Support) 3:00 - 5:00 PM
- School Pics - staff can take today too!
- (The 2nd day of pics is Monday, October 5)
Have a great weekend!
