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By Melanie Loxton, School Teacher September 2011 article This month I would like to touch on parent responsiveness. I think that at photo-money collection time in the year I always muse the same frustrated musings about the lack of responsiveness in some parents. (This will happen again next month when we try to get Sponsor [...]

By Melanie Loxton, School Teacher July article 2011 This month I would like to pay some attention to Parent Interviews, having just completed a round with my Grade 2 parents. 1.    Be punctual. When 27 (or more) sets of parents have been scheduled for after-hours time, it really is important to arrive on time and [...]

I would like to return to one of my previous ‘pointers’ seeing as it is presenting a great problem for me at this present moment, and recurs yearly with one student or more. I want to highlight my concerns in case ‘that one student’ is your child! My current bugbear is that of chronic absenteeism.

This month we deviate from our normal format and discuss a few topics in answer to the question, “Does your child …?”. Some of these questions are adapted from a first term Life Skills assessment that we set for our Grade 2s. Older children should definitely be able to do the following …

Last month we were checking whether you are the parent who is likely to get things right or likely to forget or be disorganised, either way influencing how your child’s school day will go. We continue with our checklist, this time focusing on food. As with last month, my main point here is that the one or two times that you will do this in your child’s school career is not only understandable, but is to be expected. I even forget my own carefully-prepared lunch sometimes. It is only a problem if this is a frequent occurrence.

We have a reading book in Grade 2 about a class going on an outing to the museum on a bus. As each unfortunate incident happens, the wise old driver chimes, “There’s always one”, because he has had the (mis)fortune of driving many classes on outings. One child is late, one child eats his lunch on the bus and then gets sick in someone’s hat, one child needs the loo as soon as the trip starts even though they all had a chance to go before they left. My question to you: “Is your child always the one?”.

On my heart this month are single parents. If you are fortunate enough to have a partner, or even a helpful partner, read on in order to either appreciate what you have, or to empathise more deeply with single parents you know. There are also tips for times when you and your partner are in conflict about discipline. Here are some thoughts …