Back to School

As I write this section I am sitting in the blazing temperatures of Orlando, Florida vacationing with my family in Disney. During my week here, one thing keeps popping back into my mind, that one thing is “back to school.” I keep thinking about the many things I have still to accomplish, but more importantly the many important things that students and parents can do to ensure a successful start to the school year. I thought I would take this month's issue to address some of my “back to school” recommendations for parents and students.

First, parents this is the best time to sit with your daughter or son and clearly go over their performance last school year. It is the best time to discuss those results before you head into the start of another school year. You should both clearly lay out some goals together and then periodically check on your child's progress as the school year goes along. Let me warn you though first, please don't make the goals just about academic performance but make sure you include behavior as well.

Parents, August is also a great time to revisit what is necessary for “back to school” shopping. I often times see many of my students coming to school with the latest and greatest clothing and footwear, but with no book bags, pens or calculators. I know it's important to look good, but if you don't have school supplies from the onset, then your telling your teachers and administrators that it's more important that you look good rather than be prepared for school. If you don't know what's needed for your school, then call them up and ask for a “back to school” supply list. I am sure they would love to provide one for you, but you can never go wrong with lots of notebooks, pens, folders and pencils.

Parents, I will stop here but I cannot emphasize it enough that our students don't hear it enough at home that being successful in school is the most important thing in their lives and that everything else will fall in place once they are successful in school.

Now, some words of advice to the students of Rochester. Let me first start out by saying I hope you have enjoyed your summer, but I also hope you have spent some time thinking about how you will continue your successes or improve on your past performance in school. I will keep my recommendations short and focused really around a couple of things, all which surprisingly you can control.

My first word of advice to you is that you take some time before school and get use to being on a schedule. What do I mean by a schedule? Well, what I mean is that you go to bed at a reasonable hour (no later then 10 P.M.) and that you wake up with the use of an alarm clock. Getting your body in a routine similar to school will help ensure that you are ready to start your school day fully engaged.

My next piece of advice is that you start to read daily, especially if you haven't been doing this at all this summer. I don't care what you read, it could be something that interests you like a good novel or a magazine. What matters to your teachers is that you are reading daily. Unfortunately for you reading alone won't do it and you must take the time to also practice your writing. Again, I am not asking for much, but after you read something take the time to write a quick blurb about what you just read, or maybe it's a paragraph asking some questions that you have about the article or book. The combination of both elements will determine your overall success in school and in life.

Now for my final recommendation for all of you students as you get ready to head back to school. Take the time to take advantage of all the programs, support and opportunities your school has to offer. School is about you, it's not about the adults that work there. In fact, many of them are there to guarantee that you succeed, but they cannot do it without your willingness to succeed in school. Regardless of whatever obstacles you face, school is the one place that can help you move beyond them but you have to want it. I will leave you with this final piece of advice. I can show you all that needs to be done in order to succeed in school, but you the parent and student must take what I give you and actually do it! If you do your part, then the rest will fall into place. Have a great start of the school year and remember to start getting ready now!

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¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Summer Vacation

The weather has finally changed for the better and May’s flowers are now in full bloom. Another school year will come to a close and there will be thousands of youth looking for things to do. There will be another group of youth who would have completed the kindergarten through twelfth grade journey and will now be entering college or the workforce.

Let me be the first to say that just because school is out that doesn’t mean learning has to stop. For the group of students who have not graduated and are still enrolled in school there are plenty of opportunities for you to engage in academic summer programs throughout the city and county. As parents we have to make sure we go out and get access to every opportunity available for our children. Often times it is just a matter of signing up. It is significantly important that we do not allow our students to take a break academically because more often then not our students spend the summer months engaging in little-to-no academic behavior. As a parent or guardian it is your job to continue to hold your child to the expectation that they will continue to learn new things even when school is not in session. Parents must look for summer programs that continue to promote and expose their child to high levels of literacy and math. Particularly important is the exposure to literacy as many of our youth do not read or write enough during the summer months, which often places them behind at the start of the following school year. Even as an adult and college graduate literacy is still my weakest area, which is why I continue to read and write as much as possible. I know I will never be the best at it, but it won’t be due to a lack of effort. If your child is not enrolled in a program, then take him or her to your local community library and have them sign out a book or two of interests that both of you could read together. I can’t think of a better way to improve your child’s reading ability while still spending time together.

Now, for those students who are completing high school let me be the first to congratulate you on your upcoming graduation. Congratulations you made it! For many of you, you are the first in your family to obtain a high school diploma. Enjoy and treasure this moment but don’t get overly excited because your work is far from over. In today’s economic condition it is critically important that you prepare yourself for college or trade school. I encourage you to not necessarily take this summer as a break but to use it as a transition period to prepare yourself for the “real world.” What you do this summer will setup your path down the road of life, therefore make sure you take advantage of every networking and academic opportunity available. If you are going away for college make sure you spend this summer with friends and family while still engaging and learning new things. In retrospect I wish I had prepared myself better for the rigor of college and spent some time reading more about my major or about topics that intrigued me.

Lastly, summer time has been meant as a time to break away from the normal challenges of the school environment but given the poor educational achievement of many that break can no longer be afforded. I challenge you and your parents to make the most of your summer and my hope is that by the end you would have become more knowledgeable then when it began.

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¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com