Parent LInk-September 2012

PARENTLINK

SEPT ’12

TIMEOUT

STUDENT SMALL GROUPS

SEPTEMBER CALENDAR

Summer has ended and school is back in session. What are some important things to keep in mind for your student and family?

Get the details on the Student Small Groups which begin September 9 for all Middle School and High School students. Details about groups, pricing, and times online.

Want to know what’s happening in the Student Ministry @ Northside? Check the Student Calendar for events and activities happening at NSM.

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TIMEOUT

For Parents: Helpful information and advice to encourage you to better understand your teeneager.

SEVEN TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL YEAR Moving into a new school year can be a time of stress for any family. For teens, stress accompanies new classes, new teachers, new friends and new academic challenges. There’s even more stress for students who are changing schools! But, there is also stress for parents as we get our kids back into school year routines, and as we help our kids deal with their stress. As parents, our goal ought to be to intentionally work to keep the stress levels down in our homes. Lowering the stress levels will not only help your family, but will also do a lot to make sure your kids experience a successful school year. Here are seven tips to help you along in the process:

a safe, calm haven of escape from the madness going on in the outside world. Perhaps this means starting with the noise level in your home. Turning down the volume of television and music can help. Try not to overreact to circumstances of home life.

Sure, many issues need to be addressed, but when you get angry or frustrated, overreactions are common and family stress levels rise. Look to cool down before you respond to such situations. Your family will thank you for it. When your home is peaceful, chances are, your kids will do better in school.

1. Create a Peaceful Home Environment Your teens don’t need a perfect home, but to thrive, they need a peaceful one. Students are at battle all day long at school. They battle peer pressure, body image, academic pressures, relational issues with peers, and some struggle with being bullied. They need to come home to a place where they can retreat, drop their battle gear at the door and be in a shelter where they can just be themselves. Your home ought to be the one place your kids feel truly safe, where they can be loved, known and cared for. So, even though there will be stress and conflict at home from time to time, do your best not to let the “stuff” of everyday life turn your home into a tense, stressful environment. Make your home

2. Encourage Your Kids to Make Time for God Consistenly In 1 Timothy 4:8, we read, “Training your body helps you in some ways, but serving God helps you in every way by bringing you blessings in this life and in the future life, too.”

Encourage your kids to have a regular devotional time. Having consistent time with God is a great way for them to refresh their spirit in the presence of God. Your modeling this discipline can go a long way in setting the example that your teen will follow.

As kids get caught up in all the demands of school and other activities, it’s key for them to understand the truth that “if the Lord doesn't build the house, the builders are working for nothing.”(Psalm 127:1).

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3. Make Physical Needs a Priority 1 Timothy 4:8 is also a good reminder to us that “training your body helps you in some ways” To keep kids healthy and functioning at their peak, as well as to keep the stress monster at bay, we need to help ensure that they maintain a balanced physical lifestyle.

This means that they need to get regular exercise, plenty of rest (9 to 9.5 hours per night for teens!), and eat a healthy diet! Making sure that your kids’ physical needs are being met takes a lot of effort, but again, teens tend to do better in school when their bodies are wellcared for.

significant amount of your son’s or daughter’s time. Help evaluate the effects that these various activities have on their lives. Don’t be afraid to initiate a cutback in order to protect their most important involvements.

Help your teens learn that no one can do everything! Watch for emerging

4. Keep the Safety Net Strong I mean your family, of course. Within your family, your kids find the important relational connections that will sustain them through the good times, as well as the bad. Strained or broken family relationships affect other areas of your teens’ lives – like their school performance. So, take the lead in your family to make sure your relationships become and stay healthy. Start by evaluating whether or not you are currently “enjoying” or “annoying” your family… then make the changes necessary to strengthen those family ties.

signs of stress. If your kids are demonstrating stress, be sure to reevaluate their schedules.

5. Protect the Balance of Scheduling Parents will help their teens have a successful school year by protecting a balanced lifestyle, in terms of scheduling. Look at the big picture.

School, homework, athletics, hobbies, church activities all add up to a

6. Keep an Eye on Academics There’s no doubt that your teens’ schoolwork is important! It’s wise to take an active role in regularly checking on how your students are doing academically. Don’t just look for the bottom line (grades), but keep an eye on whether or not they are learning disciplined study habits, if they are turning in assignments on time and what areas they might need additional help with. Having said this, let me also say, as parents we need to maintain balance in this area! Too many parents hover over their kids like helicopters, making sure every assignment is completed, on time and done correctly.

This actually serves to hinder our kids’ development toward independent adulthood. Teens need to learn to

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become responsible in this area of their lives. Many parents today wrap their own self-worth in how their kids are doing in school. I’ve known parents who actually do their kids’ homework for them! “Just say no” to this type of behavior!

7. Roll With the Punches!

No young person is exempt from facing at least occasional difficulties associated with school. Some are just brief “moments” while others are “seasons.” How they respond to the hard times is a key determining factor in whether or not anxiety will wreak havoc in their lives; anxiety that soon begins to affect their school performance. The people who enjoy the highest level of contentment in life are the ones who can stay flexible when the tough times happen – and they are the ones who end up standing when those times have passed. So, teach your kids to roll with the punches: To face difficulties with faith and courage, to get up off the carpet when they fall, to dust themselves off, work to constructively resolve their problems and to move on is a key life lesson they’ll thank you for – for years to come!

Written by: Jim Burns Ph.D. Jim Burns is the President of HomeWord and Senior Director of the HomeWord Center for Youth and Family at Azusa Pacific University.

T.I.

HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET

Background: Once called “the Jay-Z of the South,” T.I. is a hip-hop artist, producer, and actor. He also started Grand Hustle Records. T.I., 31, has had some runins with the police, including probation violations and weapons charges. He’s worked with almost every name in hiphop, been nominated for Grammy Awards, and won numerous Billboard Music Awards—including Rap Artist and Rap Album of the Year. He works with the Boys and Girls Clubs and once gave 200 bicycles to kids in Atlanta.

Genre: Horror, Thriller Rating: PG-13 Synopsis: A woman and her teenage daughter move next door to a house where terrible things happened years ago.

When the girl begins a relationship with the only survivor of that night, things start to go badly.

Critique: This fall’s horror-movie features Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence. So it’s a good bet that teenagers will be interested.

RATCHET & CLANK What T.I. Says: He once talked a man down from a ledge, where he was threatening to kill himself. Afterward, T.I. said, “I’m not taking any credit. … The fact of the matter is that God put me in a position to help, and I can’t take any credit for that.”

LECRAE Background: Hip-hop artist Lecrae, 32, was raised by his Christian grandmother.

He ran with gangs and did drugs, using a Bible as a “good-luck charm.” After going to Bible studies in his late teens, Lecrae realized the characters were just like him—but had hope and love. Five years after becoming a Christian, he started his own label and has won two Dove Awards. Lecrae is incredibly popular and a positive role model.

What Lecrae Says: In response to people accusing him of selling out the gospel, Lecrae writes: “[Christians] limit spirituality to salvation and sanctification. … Most Christians have no clue how to engage culture in politics, science, economics, TV, music, or art.We tend to leave people to their own devices there.”

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This game collects three classic Ratchet & Clank games—fully remastered—in one place. They’re fun, clever, and mostly teen-friendly. Some titles are full of innuendo: Up Your Arsenal, Going Commando, etc. (Rated E10; PS3)

BORDERLANDS 2 This first-person shooter has a unique celshaded art style, plus technology that can create thousands of different gun combinations when you kill bad guys and loot their stuff. It also has foul language and lots of gore. (Rated M; Xbox 360, PS3)

COMING THIS MONTH. . . .

Student Small Groups and a NEW Student Teaching Series STUDENT SMALL GROUPS KICK OFF SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9th Sunday Mornings at 9:30 am & 11:00 am in the Life Center

to Student Ministry

RSVP your spot in a Student Small Group online @ www.enorthside.org

Kicks Off Wednesday, September 5th During the NSM Student Worship Service Learn how to take Jesus to your campus using 5 everyday places you would encounter.

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IN THE LOOP. . . .

Stay up to date on what is taking place in the Student Ministry for Jr & Sr High Students NEW STUDENT TEACHING SERIES Kicks off Wednesday, September 5th @ 6:35 pm at NSM’s Student Worship Service.

Schooled is a 5 week series on how to take Jesus to your school using 5 everyday

DNOW FINAL PAYMENTS Sunday, September 2nd final payments

places you would encounter on campus.

Northside and can be placed in the offering boxes. Payments can also be made online at www.enorthside.org

PROMOTION SUNDAY Sunday, September 2nd. All Students

Begins Sunday, September 9th at 11:00 am in Room 206 of the Life Center.

STUDENT SMALL GROUPS

for both Middle School and High School weekends due. Checks are payable to

STUDENT CHOIR

Kick Off Sunday, September 9th @ 9:30 am. Generation Change; The Me I Want To Be; Welcome to the Student Ministry-Now What? will be offered each Sunday Morning. Co-ed Middle School / High School Growth Groups will also be

Students will learn about what worship is and how to live a life of worship. We will move into a time of rehearsal as we apply these principles preparing to lead our congregation in worship. Students interested in being a part of the Student Choir can register online at www.enorthside.org

offered at 9:30 am in the Life Center.

Students can register online at

will be promoted up to their current school

www.enorthside.org to participate in NSM

grade in our main computer system.

Small Groups.

SEE YOU AT THE POLE

COMPLETE YOUR MEDICAL RELEASE

Wednesday, September 26 @ local

FORM

school campuses.

Wednesday, September 5th from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm in the Life Center. Notaries

DNOW WEEKENDS

will be on hand once you have completed

Middle School Weekend September

the necessary documentation. Medical

22-23; High School Weekend September

Release Forms are good for one year.

29-30 @ Fort Caswell. Busses depart Campus at 8:00 am Saturday and return Sunday at 1:00 pm. $65.00 per person.

Sunday Schedule: • • • •

8, 9:30, & 11 am - Worship Services 9:30 am - Student Growth / Small Groups 11:00 am - Student Choir 11:00 am - Student Growth Groups

Wednesday Student Night

Shane Becton Northside Student Pastor

• 6:00 pm - Doors Open / Food Served • 6:35 pm - Service Begins • 8:30 pm - Doors Close

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NORTHSIDE STUDENTS 2501 North College Rd Wilmington, NC 28405 (910) 791-6053 www.enorthside.org