This week we had another fantastic parent lunch or really a parent breakfast. Thank you to all those who came and contributed food items and their time. As a teacher, I always become slightly nervous when parents come into class, however the students love it when their parents come into school and they have the opportunity to show off. Not only do students enjoy it but parental involvement in school has been shown to lead to better academic progress for students.

Ongoing research shows that family engagement in schools improves student achievement, reduces absenteeism, and restores parents’ confidence in their children’s education. Students with involved parents or other caregivers earn higher grades and test scores, have better social skills, and show improved behavior.
Becoming active in a school’s parent group is an important way to increase involvement. Involvement also encompasses:

• Setting goals with children and fostering achievement of those goals;
• Accessing and using children’s academic scores to ensure they’re on track;
• Frequently viewing the parent portal (or whichever tool their school uses);
• Developing a relationship with children’s teachers and keeping in touch with them often; and
• Advocating for improvements in the school building and with local school boards and state and federal government to ensure schools have the resources they need to provide a world class education to every student.

The most significant type of involvement is what parents do at home. By monitoring, supporting and advocating, Parents can be engaged in ways that ensure that their children have every opportunity for success. There are many ways parents can do this but of the more important ones (in my opinion) are;

Be a role model for learning.
Pay attention to what your child loves.
Practice what your child learns at school.
                                                                                        Set aside time to read together.
Connect what your child learns to everyday life.
                                                                                        Connect what your child learns to the world.
Help your child take charge of his learning.
                                                                                        Don’t over-schedule your child.

This week we also continued making our planets. With the base made it is time to start adding color. We tried adding some glitter into the paint to see if it would give the planets a bit of a sparkle when the paint dries. Next task is to add the rings and any other details needed.