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Music of the (mostly) Middle East on May 3, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. in the gym. Featuring xylophones imitating camels, improvisation, and songs of hope and celebration, this concert includes music from Turkey, Greece, Iran, Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Please come join us! [Note to parents: about May 3 concert clothing. The plan is simple! All children should wear comfortable, weather appropriate attire, solid colors if possible.]

SCIP & Data

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has published dates for the 2007 MCA test results release. The results will be given to districts on July 16 and to the public on July 19. This is great news for us as we can use the results to revise the SCIP and make plans for the coming year before it starts!

Construction Volunteers Needed for the Playground Thank you to the four volunteers who have signed up. We are working towards an installation date of Saturday, June 16. We will need about 35 volunteers to make our new playground a reality. If you are good with tools, if you enjoying putting things together, if you don't mind a little hard work, if you like to make some treats or prepare some beverages, we need your help! All you parents or family members who haven't been able to volunteer, here's your chance. Please email Jim Litwin at jim.litwin@spps.org or call 293-8965, ext. 305.

Spring Carnival and Silent Auction The planning is done, the work has begun! Our Spring Carnival and Silent Auction on Friday, May 4 5:00-8:00 p.m. There are games, face painting, food, Book Nook, Mother's Day Boutique, Cake Walk, animals, and more. I am hoping to see everyone as a participant, a volunteer, or even better both! We still need about 50 volunteers. Look for the colored flyers or contact Danica Linssen at djlinssen@yahoo.com or 651-698-1060.

Thanks to All for Testing Efforts I wanted to commend the students, staff, and families for the help and effort with spring MCA testing. It went very well. 

Support Group for Parents of Gifted/Talented Children I am interested in offering a support group for parents next year. The group's focus would be on supporting and helping children who are identified for Gifted and Talented services. If you are interested, please let me know at jim.litwin@spps.org or 293-8965, ext 305. Looking for information in the meantime to help support or challenge your child? Want to learn more about what gifted and talented is all about? Try this online resource, National Association for Gifted Children.

What Can Parents Do about Math? The other night my 6th grade daughter asked for help with her math homework. She was working on probability in multistage experiments. It took a moment to refresh myself and then I was able to help her. My eyes were opened. I can now see a day when her math work outstrips my math knowledge and skill. Most of us think that helping in math means helping our child to understand computations or concepts. Because of the kinds of homework and the difficulty, eventually almost all of us reach a point where we can no longer explain. The most we can do is monitor work completion, test scores, and grades.

We can help in an even more powerful way, a way that will help our children in math and many areas. Math boils down to one main thing, being able and willing to take on a problem, struggle through it, and come to an understanding. What can we do?

• Accept the struggle and encourage our children: How often is it a problem when a child practices sports? It's not. We tell them "good job" for their hard work and effort. We need to send the same message in math. Struggle isn't a sign of a weakness, but is needed for understanding.
• Fundamentals are fundamentals: The more automatic and confident our children are with their math facts, addition facts, multiplication facts, and a solid and ready ability to manipulate fractions the more successful they will be in math. These aren't just elementary concepts, but are absolutely necessary for high school math and higher.
• Look beyond the grade: Math grades, particularly straight percentages with Everyday Math, are not a clear indicator of success. Percentages don't indicate understanding and too often assignments and tests contain several concepts. If you just look at  grades, it gives an incomplete picture and could lead to you or your child to be discouraged or lose enthusiasm.
• Enjoy the journey: When we accept the struggle as a good and normal part of learning math, we can change the way we talk about it, the way we feel about it, and the way we learn it. When you support and encourage your child through struggle, you impart a lifeskill that helps everyone succeed.

This is excerpted from the article, "Beyond Homework Help: Guiding Our Children to Lasting Math Success," by Suzanne Sutton. Sutton is a math educator and lecturer, www.suzannesutton.com. 

The recent school shooting at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., may make your child feel vulnerable and in need of help to cope with feelings. Parents should "check in" with their children of every age to see how they're feeling about the school shooting.

It is important to know what children are thinking or feeling and be prepared to support them. Keep in mind the age of your child, as it will make a difference in how you need to react.

Preschoolers through age 5 may have seen reports on the news. Begin by saying, “That looks pretty scary, doesn’t it? What do you think about it?” For school-age children, ask if they have seen the reports and talk about your own feelings by saying, “I’m very sad for all of those people and their families.”

Go on to discuss that it is important not to let what happened scare us so much that we don’t have fun and enjoy our lives. Remember that young children react largely to the attitudes and emotional responses of those around them. The meaning of an event for children is drawn more significantly from the reactions of others than from the event itself.

With older children and teens, it is more effective to talk about your own feelings first. If you share your feelings, it may help your teen to talk about the tragedy and their own fears. For emerging adults on college campuses, you can also discuss the safety procedures of their specific campus.

Children of all ages should be reassured about their own safety. It is important to talk to your teenager about school violence whether they are at home or attending college, and listen to his or her thoughts and concerns on this issue. The following are some topics to discuss with older children and teens related to school violence:

• It is OK to express fear at what has been happening and compassion for the students and families who have survived this tragedy.
• Explain the distinction between being different from other students and having severe problems that lead to extreme violence.
• Express to your teen how important it is to let you or another adult know if they hear another student threatening violence towards himself or others.
• Talk about what it might feel like to be an “outcast” at school, and find out if your teen is having trouble fitting in.
• Talk with your teen about solving problems constructively and peacefully; help them to find appropriate solutions to problems without using violence.

Some children may glorify this tragedy by say it was “cool.” We need to continue to emphasize the unacceptability of violence to settle issues or solve problems. We need to keep on stressing with children and teens that violence does not work.

Children who are distressed may act in ways that aren't clearly connected to the event. They may mope, be irritable or be aggressive. As a parent, be available over time. For some kids, these feelings won't heal immediately.

This is a good time to make the connection of how a tragedy such as this might have been prevented. The following are several learning principles for children that parents should reinforce over time:

• Think before you act – impulsiveness doesn't work.
• Take responsibility for actions and consequences. Consider your effects on others, and the rights of others.
• Be aware and concerned about peers in distress. Early teens generally are not sensitive to their peers, but we should emphasize this anyway.
• Learn to deal with anger, loss and other emotions.
• Violence is not a solution, is not acceptable, and is not cool.
• Talk about right and wrong, conscience, empathy and compassion.

Even though the news has been filled with reports of the recent school shooting, emphasize that the majority of children are safe at school.

University of Minnesota Extension has placed resources related to the school shootings and school violence on its website to assist parents and professionals at www.extension.umn.edu.