Principal's Message - February 2010
Health and Safety Tips for Parents
Being a child isn’t easy with so much to learn and so many
discoveries to make. Many physical, health, and emotional dangers lurk
along their way that can take away the carefree days of childhood. Here
at Arlington, one of our primary goals for your children is to provide
the opportunity for learning about all kinds of safety. Helping students
build skills to avoid the many risks in our complex and challenging
society is a critical element of our educational program. As your
principal, I am reminded daily of today’s threats to our children that
are rooted in preventable social, behavioral, and
environmental factors. You want to keep your child safe from all harm,
but you can’t and don’t want to be your child’s shadow 24 hours a day.
Plus, it is important to build independence in our children. What is a
parent to do? The problems may be frightening, but we are far from
helpless to respond. It is sound health and safety education that
involves students building knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that
promote healthy and safe decisions throughout adulthood. Here are some
helpful tips:
Internet Safety
• Keeping the computer in a centralized location can allow for parental
monitoring.
• Be aware of all internet sites that your child is using. You can check
the history file to see where your child has been on the internet.
• Be aware of sites such as MySpace.com. This is an adult site and does
not contain appropriate pictures, graphics and information for students.
There is no cost involved so young people can mislead about their age
and get an account. Without safe guards and adult supervision, this site
is a potential breeding ground for predators. Many elementary and middle
school students have put their real name, school, age, address,
phone number, pictures and personal information on these web pages not
realizing the potential harm involved.
Media Safety
• Monitor the amount of TV/ Media your child watches or engages in daily
and the type of program they are viewing or playing. Watching a lot of
violence on television, in the movies, or on video games can lead
children to behave aggressively.
• When purchasing video games, make sure it is age appropriate. Many
games are for adults only.
Stranger Awareness
• Teach your child how to recognize feelings of danger, this can help
your child if approached by a stranger. Teaching your child that if they
get
a bad feeling inside, something’s probably not right and they need to
get help.
• Teach your children to be empowered to tell an adult “NO”, to run away
and tell a trusted adult about the situation that is making them
uncomfortable.
• Teach your child that there are no secrets in families. Secrets that
hurt people are never okay.
• Teach your child never to get within close proximity of a stranger in
a car. Children need to stay at least 3-5 feet away.
Gun Safety
• Our children need to be carefully taught about gun safety since
statistically they will visit a home where there is a gun even if there
isn’t one in
their own home.
• Guns always need to be locked up separately from the bullets in the
home. Never store firearms, even if unloaded, in places where children
can
find them.
• Make sure your children know what to do if they find a gun. Instruct
him/her to: Don’t touch it, Go away from it, Tell an adult.
Fire Safety
• Have a family escape plan. Make sure children know where to go to exit
and that they may need to crawl on the floor to avoid the smoke.
• Be sure your child can open their window in their bedroom if needed.
• Use smoke detectors and be sure to change the batteries twice a year
when the time change happens in October and April.
Bicycle/Skateboard Safety
• Buy a helmet that fits your child correctly and make sure they wear it
every time they ride their bike or skateboard. For skateboarders elbow
and knee pads are a must.
• Obey all rules of the road. Do not ride skateboards where they are not
permitted such as on school grounds, in malls or shopping centers.
Walking Home from School
• Make sure your child knows the route home and that you know what route
they take. Have your child walk with a group or a least one friend.
• Do not allow children to stop off at liquor stores or fast food
restaurants before coming home. That way the parent can monitor when
they
leave and return.
Kindergarten Round Up: Dates for Arlington
If you or a family you know has an incoming kindergartener spread the
news and call Arlington to schedule your child’s Kindergarten Round Up
appointment. Times begin at 2:15 – 3:30 p.m. Monday, April 19th, Friday,
April 23rd, and Wednesday, April 28th.
OPEN ENROLLMENT APPLICATIONS
Open Enrollment applications are now available in the school office
until March 13th, 2010.
Principal
Arlington Elementary
|
