How you can help your child.
Getting to school on time
One of the main ways in which you can help your child is to ensure that they get to school on time with all the correct gear – stationery, uniform, and homework.
· An easy way to do this is to have his/her bag packed ready for school the evening before. This avoids the frantic rush in the morning trying to find things.
Breakfast in the morning
Having a good night’s sleep followed by a good breakfast are also very important. The breakfast need not be elaborate – Weetbix and milk is an excellent breakfast as well as a Kiwi tradition. Children cannot learn when they are tired or hungry or both tired and hungry.
Children of this age need around 8 hours of sleep a night, every night.
School Diary
Every student has a school diary as they came with the school stationery pack. These diaries act as reminders about homework, programme changes, and all the daily needs. This will help you to make sure that your child has the right equipment for the next day at school. They are also a great way for you to communicate with your child’s teacher.
The diaries can also be used by your child to plan the time they have after school so their homework can be finished by the due date.
Reading
Get into the habit of reading with your son/daughter each night at a time when you can both relax. Talk about the stories or articles and check that your child understands what he/she is reading. If he/she is having problems, let the teacher know as soon as possible.
Spelling
Each night go over the spelling words that need to be learnt. An idea is to make flash cards for words that appear to be a problem for your child and to keep revising these regularly.
Make a game of making up sentences for these words or nonsense rhymes. This will also improve your child’s oral skills.
Another way to improve your child’s oral skills is to discuss television programmes, items of news or interest and spend time finding out their ideas about things.
Mathematics
Tables and Basic Facts are always on the agenda. Even if your child knows these, regular revision is important for this knowledge to be retained.
If your child spends 10 - 15 minutes learning their tables each night then tables would not be a problem and all mathematics would be found to be so much easier as a result. Once again flash cards or daily quizzes can help.
Homework always involves tables, spelling, and reading. Other items related to the study topic will be added as required. The expectation is that the children will work on their homework for one hour a night for four nights of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
The most important thing you can do is to show an interest, because if you are interested your child will become interested as well.
If at any time you have any concerns about anything at all, do contact your child’s teacher, the Principal, or the respective Dean: Year 7 (Mrs Brooks), Year 8 (Mr McKenzie).
We want your child to enjoy school and to succeed. We can do this best of all when home and school work together.
