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Dr. Umansky's Website
School Counselor
Voice Mail: 868-3679 Ext. 209 |
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Character Trait of the Month |
The character trait for August is Responsibility.
Over the course of this year, we address one character trait per month. These are Responsibility in August, Respect for Self in September, Respect for Others in October, Citizenship in November, Compassion in December, Self-Control in January, Friendship in February, Honesty in March, Cooperation in April, and Courage in May.. Each month, children at all grade levels engage in a variety of activities that emphasize the character trait of the month. At the same time, we and your child's teacher continue to reinforce character traits from prior and future months. Parents play a critical role by modeling these character traits, by talking about them at home, and by reinforcing them when your children display these qualities. Neither the school nor the home can do it alone. It takes working together to make your child successful now and in the future. Plan to devote time each day talking with your child about the best thing that happened that day. Take every opportunity to discuss and model good character. It's the only way your child will understand the importance of doing the right thing!
When you see your child after school each day, ask, "What was the best thing that happened to you today?" That simple questions conveys two important messages. First, school is a place where good things happen and you want your child to focus on those good things. Second, your child's education is important to you and you want to know about it daily. A daily check of your child's bookbag beginning in elementary school also is a good habit to start. It's then a lot easier to check bookbags in middle school and high school to keep abreast of what's going on. (Middle and high schoolers are not always the best at sharing their daily progress with a parent!) Developing these few "customs" early will keep your child on track for success in the future. Other ideas are presented later on this page.
Now, a word about the sharing of responsibilities between home and school. As educators, we often are perplexed and disappointed when our young children come to school wearing eye makeup or provocative clothes, when they wear shorts or T-shirts on freezing days, when they show consistent disrespect for adults and property at school, when they remind us that no one at home cares about how or what they do at school. You see, we consider every child at our school to be a future executive of a big corporation, a successful legislator, a "teacher of the year", a prosperous business owner, a fabulous spouse and parent. We need to work together with you in a partnership to make this happen. Let us all commit to make this school year the year of our children -- a year when we commit to developing their character more than their videogame skills, their vision for a successful and productive future more than a vision for the day's television schedule. Let us commit to developing in our children a sound mind in a sound body. Let's do that for our children.
We encourage children to get involved in activities that benefit others; volunteering at a soup kitchen, donating toys and clothes, walking in a fundraising walk-a-thon, helping an elderly or sick neighbor, and beautifying the neighborhood, for example.
How a child treats others often is a reflection of how the child feels about himself or herself. Children who are not confident in their abilities often are insecure and have a difficult time treating others well. That's why school and home must work together to be sure that every child has good models at home, that every child has productive activities in which he or she can excel (knitting, painting, piano, karate, etc., rather than videogames), that every child is loved and knows it, and that every child has the same behavior expectations at home that we have at school. It also is critical that you know where your child is and with whom your child spends time. We have been talking a lot about peer pressure, which plays a greater and greater role as a child gets older. If your child hangs out with a good group of friends, they will bring each other up rather than drag each other down. We want our kids to associate with other children who value achievement, kindness to others, and respect the law.
On Tuesday, August 31st, parents are invited to attend a free workshop at Blue Ridge entitled, "Bringing Out the Best in Your Child." One session will be from 2:00-3:15. A repeat of the session will take place from 7:00-8:15. Contact your child's teacher if you wish to attend. This is for adults only!
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The Bobcat Kids |
Early in September, each fourth and fifth grade class will vote on the two children in the class who represent the highest level of character. This group of children will be the Bobcat Kids --- the equivalent of school council. These children will serve through the end of this school term. In January, a new group will be elected. Hopefully, there will be many children in each class who qualify due to excellent character. Please model, talk about, and reinforce these qualities outside of school.
Blue Ridge has a very successful recycling program this year. Thanks to the kind people at Augusta Disposal & Recycling, each classroom and teacher work area has a recycling container for all types of paper and cardboard, plastic, and soda cans. The Bobcat Kids monitor the collection of recyclables, particularly in the younger grades. Imagine how many trees and other precious resources we will save this year! We will continue to recycle printer cartridges and cell phones, as well. Feel free to send these in to school with your child for recycling. |
News from the Gifted Program |
Congratulations to the children in the Horizons gifted program. They are Avery Miller, Ivan Nguyen, Taylor Coon, Trevor Dutton, Ethan Nguyen-Tu, Matthew Wright, Kimberly Cunningham, Madison Shivers, Zachary Hubble, Meghan Ferguson, Sirshadeep Ghoshal, Krishan Mistry, Adu Subramanian, Kathryn Folger, Caleb Garrard, Andrew Gregg, Marissa Hurst, Raghav Joshi, Kyle Kridner, Pooja Parmar, Kyle Wilkinson, Ajla Dzin, Abhay Cashikar, Madeline Roley, Hailee Carpenter, Adam Mansour, Benjamin Sumner, Calista Bruker, Shreyu Umapathy, Abhijay Suhag, Simon Levi Miller, Marielle Leahy, Alexandria Rodriquez, and Kelci WalkerA bus transports them and the other gifted program members from Blue Ridge to Westmont Elementary School one day per week for enrichment activities.
We are preparing for Fall gifted testing. This is limited to kindergarten children and students who are new to the Columbia County Schools.
Eligibility for the gifted program requires scoring at the 90th percentile or above in math, reading, or core total on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and scoring at the 99th percentile for kindergarten through second grade or at the 96th percentile for third through fifth grade on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT). A child may not be tested two years in a row. Children who move to Georgia who have been eligible for the gifted program in another state must meet Georgia criteria to be eligible for the program here.
If you want your child tested this Fall, please contact your child's teacher. |
Giving Our Children Direction |
We hear a lot about the drug problem at our middle and high schools. The thing is that problems which appear in middle and high schools had their roots during the earlier years. That's why it's so important for school and home to forge a common bond to work on some basics with our children.
Children who feel good about themselves are less likely to seek out artificial ways to feel better. They won't need to associate with "problem" kids. They won't have to rely on "substances" to feel good. How do we help our kids feel good about themselves?
-Find activities in which they can excel, which they enjoy doing, which make them feel special. These can include sports activities (not every child is a group sports person, though!), painting, musical instruments, chess, dance, needlepoint, volunteerism, and scouts.
-Every day, when they get home from school, ask, "What was the best thing that happened to you in school today?" That one little question expresses to them the value you place on school. It reinforces the importance of focusing on the positive. It prepares them for doing their homework and lets them know that you are there with them to meet the challenges that school places on our young children.
-Check your children's book bag every night. If you get them used to it now, they won't put up such a fuss when you look in their book bag when they are in middle or high school. And, again, it shows your interest in what they are doing in school. If they know you're looking, they will want to try harder to make the things you see the very best possible.
-Talk about your job and the job that other people have. Help your child develop a vision for their future. Kids who know where they are going are less likely to let themselves be sidetracked by unhealthy lifestyles.
-Limit their exposure to violent television programs and videogames. Know what they are doing on the computer. Use news items as a way to talk about making smart decisions and doing the right thing.
In everything we do, making smart decisions translates into success in the near and long term. Our most important job as parents is to teach our children to make wise decisions when we are around so they will make wise decisions when we are not around. Then, we have been successful as parents.
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CDs Available for Parents |
| Several years ago, I wrote scripts and narrated tapes for three programs that are now available on audio CD for checkout from the media center. The topics are Bringing Out the Best in Your Child, a program on discipline and behavior management; The ABCs of ADHD, a comprehensive discussion of attention problems in children and what to do about them, and; Potty Training Your Toddler, which might be helpful for some kindergarten children or your younger children. See Mrs. Mailey or Mrs. Ramsey in the Media Center to check out one or more of these CDs. |
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