Posts Tagged ‘back-to-school’
Back-to-School Safety Tips
With the new school year fast approaching everyone is preparing. Parents and students are buying school supplies. While teachers and administrators are finishing up lesson plans a schedules. They are many things that have to be done to be prepared for back to school. There are also several things that should be considered to increase safety for the new school year. The following tips come from Universal Protection Service.
- Walking to and from school: map out the route your child will take and know who lives along it. While you don’t have to know every house owner, it is important you research for any possible sexual predators that may live in the area. Also advise your children to stay on the preselected path and avoid any parks, alleys, fields, etc., where there aren’t a lot of people around. Find out beforehand if there will be crossing guards at the intersections, and arrange for neighborhood children to walk together. Ensure your child knows their address and phone number.
- Riding a bike or scooter: make sure they know and obey the traffic laws and wear proper safety equipment. Bike helmets, sturdy shoes and a backpack that isn’t overloaded will all help make the trip easier and safer for your little one.
- If you plan on driving your child to school, make sure you see them enter the school yard or building before you leave.
- If your child will be taking the bus, instruct them to arrive at the stop early, stay out of the street while waiting and always keep themselves visible to the bus driver.
- Dealing with bullies: teach your child to stand tall, remain calm and walk away from difficult confrontations; if you suspect your child is being bullied, visit the school immediately and explain the situation to the principal.
- Playground safety: check out the equipment your child will be playing on and report any potential hazards. Remove the drawstrings from around the neck of clothing; any drawstrings at the waist or bottom of a garment should be trimmed to no more than three inches long.
- “Latchkey” kids need strict rules in place while they’re home alone: set a check-in time for them to call and let you know they made it home, and make sure they understand to keep the doors locked once they’re inside. Additionally, you and your children should make plans beforehand for what they need to do in emergency situations, such as fires, accidents, earthquakes, etc.
(For the rest of the article click here.)
In regards to bullying, SchoolTipline encourages students and parents to contact school administrators before the problem becomes too large.
SchoolTipline encourages families to be sure they are prepared for the new school year in every way possible. The tips above will help to increase safety for students and help the new school year begin smoothly.
Anti-bullying Programs
This story from Kansas City infozine.com:
“Evidence demonstrating the long-term effects of bullying combined with high-profile incidents of school violence have led to greater support for anti-bullying initiatives. More than three-quarters of elementary and middle schools participated in anti-bullying programs in 2006, according to the National School Boards Association.
Anti-bullying efforts have focused primarily on prevention through character education programs. Rona C. Kaufman said she began infusing character education into Hannah Penn Middle School in York, Pa., soon after becoming principal in 2003.
The in-school suspension room was converted into a character education room, in which a teacher and students work together to improve attitudes. This often focuses on discussing and analyzing neighborhood problems. All students received lessons in ethical decision making and proper manners.
A curriculum focused on social and emotional development also boosts students’ academic success, Poland said.
Many speakers emphasized the need to put students at the forefront of any anti-bullying campaign. Students generally know who the bullies are and where the bullying occurs, Poland said.
Jacquelyn Andrews, 16, a junior at the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J., developed a 180-hour anti-bullying program for grades three to eight that includes activities such as drawing and writing picture books about how to form alliances against bullies. Andrews is the daughter of Rep. Robert E. Andrews, D-N.J.
And Cassady Tetsworth, 17, a senior at Northwest Guilford High School in Greensboro, N.C., and is a youth advisory board member for Students Against Violence Everywhere, said her chapter role-plays bullying situations so students know how to respond when somebody else is being bullied.
Kaufman’s efforts at character education have had a dramatic impact. Discipline referrals at Hannah Penn fell nearly two-thirds during the 2007-2008 school year, vandalism had virtually disappeared and there were fewer reports of bullying.”
(Click here for complete story.)
SchoolTipline applauds these students and schools for taking the initiative and creating anti-bullying programs.
SchoolTipline agrees that it is the involvement of students that will make an anti-bullying program successful. With the new school year approaching there needs to be an increased effort going toward these programs to help increase school safety for the new school year.
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