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Community Corner

Hitting the Books and Making the Grade

As students get set for the end of the school year, it is important to stay focused and finish strong.

Seniors are not the only grade level of students that get the urge to stay out and up as the days gets longer and (hopefully) warmer. As a teacher, I know that we keep lessons going through to our finals. This end-of-the-year information is just as important for the student as the beginning of the year.

Many times students see that their time in school after CMTs, CAPT, SATs, etc. is just extraneous topics that are unimportant to their learning. However, teachers are aware of what the next grade level will be starting with and we take this time of year to reinforce the previously taught items and make sure our students are ready to go on to the next level. Teachers are also planning when their final will be given or final projects will be due. If the teacher does not tell students right away, I would encourage you to have your student take the initiative to ask his/her teachers.

The final poem I have chosen in honor of National Poetry Month is 'Pass/Fail' by Linda Pastan.

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Pass/Fail

You will never graduate
from this dream
of blue books.
No matter how
you succeed awake,
asleep there is a test
waiting to be failed.
The dream beckons
with two dull pencils,
but you haven’t even
taken the course;
when you reach for a book -
it closes a door
in your face; when
you conjugate a verb -
it is in the wrong
language.
Now the pillow becomes
a blank page.  Turn it
to the cool side;
you will still smother
in all of the feathers
that have to be learned
by heart.

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~Linda Pasten

This poem sums up the major fears of inadequacy and failure that many of us have experienced in connection with school, tests and the dreaded final exam.

There is one major pointer I want to make separate as it takes more explanation. Have your child study for just 15 minutes or so a night on each subject in preparation for finals about two weeks in advance of the exam. Studies have shown that we tend to remember the first and last thing that we read or study. The middle has a tendency to get muddled. Therefore, if your child studies in short bursts, they will have more firsts and lasts of information. They will remember more and not feel as much pressure the night before the exam.

Parenting Pointers

  • Do not let your child “cram” for exams. They will most likely be tired and unable to focus on the test.
  • Make sure your child gets a good nights sleep the night before.
  • Give your child a breakfast full of protein, not sugar.
  • Encourage your child to get to the classroom before the bell rings so that he/she can get organized and comfortable and will not feel rushed.

So help keep the children's pencils and minds sharp for these last weeks of school. Through the end-of-the-year dances, picnics and other events, it is important for our children to realize that their academic success is the reason for all these festivities.

Parent's Homework

Sit down this week with your child and make a schedule that includes when their final exams/ projects are planned for tentatively and how they will manage their studying or completing of these so that there is not a “cramming” session right at the end.

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