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Upcoming Events
(Be sure to check the website calendar out for more details)
March
9th - Jog-A-Thon
11th - Baskin Robbins Night
12th-19th - Parent Conference Days
14th - Daylight Savings Time Begins
18th - Dinner Night @ Rudy's Pub And Grill, Portola Pkwy, Foothill Ranch
19th - Booster Store
 IT'S MARCH MADNESS FOR YEARBOOK SALES!
The month of March is the only month to preorder your 2009-2010 yearbook. Last year we sold out of yearbooks so please don't wait! The quantity of yearbooks ordered depends on the number of presales! Be sure to reserve your book! Save money by ordering early. Check your child's backpack as information is being sent home this week.
Yearbook Dedications On Sale Now!
For only $5, you can include a personalized message in this year's yearbook. This is a chance to tell your child or the special people in your child's life that they are loved and appreciated! Forms should have arrived home with your children, and you can request additional copies in the front office. Please remember that the dedication must fit INSIDE the box on the form and that it will appear EXACTLY as you submit it! Any questions, call Lisa Lilienthal at 949 472 4742.
 Art Masters Silver Graphics Program
Our PTO is pleased to support a student artworks project this spring. We have gone with a new company for our annual Art Masters magnet program this year for our 1st through 6th grade. The name of the company is SilverGraphics. In years past, families would receive a
preview magnet of their student’s artwork to buy and keep or to return to the school. SilverGraphics sends each family a 4” x 5” print of their student’s artwork instead. Each family may keep this print as a gift from SilverGraphics with no obligation to purchase anything else.
Along with the print will be a catalog with items to purchase including magnets, tiles, quilt squares and many of our treasured favorites. These products may be viewed at http://silvergraphics.com/Customized_Products_Art.html.
The student’s are currently working on their project for the magnet program. The artist they will be displaying is Jacob Lawrence. They have focused on how he told stories through pictures. They are doing a great job at telling their own stories through this art project. We expect to have the prints and order forms by March 26th. Please keep an eye out for them. We are looking forward to this celebration of our children’s creativity.
 Parent-Teacher Conferences Coming Soon!
Parent-Teacher conferences are being scheduled for March 12th - 19th. A slip was sent home with your child indicating the proposed time for you to meet with your child's teacher. Please be sure to review, sign and return this to your child's teacher this week so schedules may be set.
In order to maximize the effectiveness of this brief period of time, please prepare for your conference in advance. Before the conference, write a list of questions, mark those that are most important to you, and ask these first in case you run out of time. A few ideas of things to ask include:
1) What is being taught? Write down the topics, and find out about ways to support this learning from home.
2) What are my child’s specific strengths and weaknesses? National Board certified teacher Angie Parmentier suggests that parents ask for detailed answers. “Not just the typical, ‘Math is a weakness,’ but things like, ‘He has trouble with number sense and I notice that he still has to use fingers for simple addition.” This gives you specific information, and lets you know exactly what skills to work on at home.
3) How much time should my child be spending on homework? If your child spends a lot more or less time, the work may not be at the appropriate level for him.
4) Does my child get along well with others, and does she seem to have any close friends?
The National PTA also suggests asking:
1) Have you noticed changes in the way my child acts, such as squinting, tiredness, or moodiness? These can be signs of physical problems that you may need to be aware of.
2) Is my child in different classes or groups for different subjects? If yes, ask which classes or subjects, how the groups are determined, and if a different teacher or assistant teaches him during this time.
The National Education Association (NEA) also suggests asking:
1) What skills and knowledge will my child be expected to master this year?
2) Is my child working up to his ability?
3) How can I help my child do better in school?
It's likely that the teacher will have a few questions for you as well. National Board certified teacher Erika Acklin says, “Above all else, parents should be honest with their child’s abilities. No one knows your child like you!”
For more information and helpful tips, see http://www.education.com/magazine/article/tips-successful-parent-teacher-conference/; http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Questions_Ask_During/; and http://www.education.com/reference/article/parent-teacher-conference-school/
 Kids Who Get Bullied
Kids who get bullied and snubbed by peers may be more likely to have problems in other parts of their lives, past studies have shown. And now researchers have found at least three factors in a child's behavior that can lead to social rejection.
The factors involve a child's inability to pick up on and respond to nonverbal cues from their pals.
In the United States, 10 to 13 percent of school-age kids experience some form of rejection by their peers. In addition to causing mental health problems, bullying and social isolation can increase the likelihood a child will get poor grades, drop out of school, or develop substance abuse problems, the researchers say.
"It really is an under-addressed public health issue," said lead researcher Clark McKown of the Rush Neurobehavioral Center in Chicago.
And the social skills children gain on the playground or elsewhere could show up later in life, according to Richard Lavoie, an expert in child social behavior who was not involved with the study. Unstructured playtime - that is, when children interact without the guidance of an authority figure - is when children experiment with the relationship styles they will have as adults, he said.
Underlying all of this: "The number one need of any human is to be liked by other humans," Lavoie told LiveScience. "But our kids are like strangers in their own land." They don't understand the basic rules of operating in society and their mistakes are usually unintentional, he said.
Social Rejection
In two studies, McKown and colleagues had a total of 284 children, ages 4 to 16 years old, watch movie clips and look at photos before judging the emotions of the actors based on their facial expressions, tones of voice and body postures. Various social situations were also described and the children were questioned about appropriate responses.
The results were then compared to parent/teacher accounts of the participants' friendships and social behavior.
Kids who had social problems also had problems in at least one of three different areas of nonverbal communication: reading nonverbal cues; understanding their social meaning; and coming up with options for resolving a social conflict.
A child, for example, simply may not notice a person's scowl of impatience or understand what a tapped foot means. Or she may have trouble reconciling the desires of a friend with her own. "It is important to try to pinpoint the area or areas in a child's deficits and then build those up," McKown explained.
Ways To Help
When children have prolonged struggles with socializing, "a vicious cycle begins," Lavoie said. Shunned children have few opportunities to practice social skills, while popular kids are busy perfecting theirs. However, having just one or two friends can be enough to give a child the social practice he or she needs, he said.
Parents, teachers and other adults in a child's life can help, too. Instead of reacting with anger or embarrassment to a child who, say, asks Aunt Mindy if her new hairdo was a mistake, parents should teach social skills with the same tone they use for teaching long division or proper hygiene. If presented as a learning opportunity, rather than a punishment, children usually appreciate the lesson.
"Most kids are so desperate to have friends, they just jump on board," Lavoie said.
To teach social skills, Lavoie advises a five-step approach in his book "It's So Much Work to Be Your Friend: Helping the Child with Learning Disabilities Find Social Success" (Touchstone, 2006). The process works for children with or without learning disabilities and is best conducted immediately after a transgression has been made.
1) Ask the child what happened and listen without judgment.
2) Ask the child to identify their mistake. (Often children only know that someone got upset, but don't understand their own role in the outcome.)
3) Help the child identify the cue they missed or mistake they made, by asking something like: "How would you feel if Emma was hogging the tire swing?" Instead of lecturing with the word "should," offer options the child "could" have taken in the moment, such as: "You could have asked Emma to join you or told her you would give her the swing after your turn."
4) Create an imaginary but similar scenario where the child can make the right choice. For example, you could say, "If you were playing with a shovel in the sand box and Aiden wanted to use it, what would you do?"
5) Lastly, give the child "social homework" by asking him to practice this new skill, saying: "Now that you know the importance of sharing, I want to hear about something you share tomorrow."
The studies are detailed in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. They were funded by the Dean and Rosemarie Buntrock Foundation and the William T. Grant Foundation.
Would You Like To Contribute?
We are always looking for news of events and happenings at the school. If you would like to contribute, please email your submissions to: communications@lakeforestelementaryschool.com
Articles and pictures are especially needed from teachers and committee chairs. Tell us what is going on in your classroom or how your latest event went and see it in The Wave!
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