Back to School 2013

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l o o h c S d e t r a t s d l i h c r u t o y o t o f e t G h g i r e h t n o f f o

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New hours

Bullying

Health

See the new school schedules Page 2

Don't let your child become a victim Page 4

Have a new attitude this year Page 10

Thursday, August 22, 2013

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Page 2 – BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013

New hours for Suffolk Public Schools

By William Scott Correspondent

With the school year fast approaching, parents, students, faculty and staff at public schools in Suffolk are gearing up for some big changes.

Starting Sept. 3, all of Suffolk’s public schools will begin their operating under new opening and closing schedules.

Booker T. Washington, Elephant’s Fork, Kilby Shores, Northern Shores, Southwestern and Oakland elementary schools will open at 8:30 a.m. and will run classes through 2:45 p.m.

Parents will be required to drop off their children no earlier than 8 a.m.

Creekside, Driver, Florence Bowser, Nansemond Parkway, Hillpoint, and Mack Benn Jr. elementary schools will open at 9:15 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. with

parents required to leave their children no earlier than 8:45 a.m.

Forest Glen, John F. Kennedy, John Yeates, Turlington Woods and King’s Fork middle schools will begin classes at 7:25 a.m. and close at 2:15 p.m. with parents requiring students to dropoff students no earlier than 7 a.m.

King’s Fork, Lakeland and Nansemond River high school classes will begin at 8:30 a.m. until and last until 3:05 p.m. with schools requiring parents to drop-off their children no earlier than 8 a.m.

This new time schedule was chosen in order to solve bus transportation problems that were costing the city nearly a million dollars. The new schedule operates on four bell times, rather than the previous two. This eliminates 30 bus driver positions and saves $865,000. The new method will

use separate schedules for high and middle schools that divides elementary schools into “A” and “B” schedules.

Other improvements include easing congestion at King’s Fork middle and high schools as well as a streamlined transportation system for students participating in after-school activities, school officials have said.

The previous schedule used 163 contracted bus drivers in high and middle schools that operated from 7:40 a.m. until 2:15 p.m. and elementary schools from 9 a.m. through 3:15 p.m.

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BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013 – Page 3

Start the day without the rush From Staff Reports Suffolk News-Herald

Weekday mornings during the school year can be hectic. Parents who must get their youngsters ready for school while preparing for their own day often find themselves rushing through the morning and wishing there was just a little more time before they had to run out the door.

While parents can't add another hour to the morning unless they wake up earlier, there are ways they can be more efficient in the morning. An efficient morning is typically a less hectic morning, and the following are a few ways families can work together to make more efficient use of their time on weekday mornings during the school year.

4Get a head start the night before.

Perhaps the most effective way to make mornings less hectic during the school year is to accomplish as much

as possible the night before.

Instead of making kids' lunches each morning, make them at night right before you go to bed. Along with your kids, lay out their clothes for the next day before they go to sleep each night.

This way kids won't waste time in the morning agonizing over what to wear, and they're liable to put up less of a fuss in the morning if they had a hand in choosing their attire for the day.

4Avoid turning your kitchen into a diner each morning. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it also can be the most indecisive meal of the day. Kids likely won't want to eat the same thing for breakfast every day, but give them fewer options so you aren't wasting time discussing what they are going to eat.

The more closely your breakfast options resemble those of a diner, the more time your child is liable to waste choosing what to eat.

4Limit time in the bathroom.

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Spending too much time in the bathroom is another way families waste time on weekday mornings. Bathroom time should be limited to a set amount of time per person so everyone can get where they need to go on time.

How much time adults and children spend in the bathroom each morning should depend on how many bathrooms you have and how many people are sharing those bathrooms. But even if everyone has their own private bathroom, try to limit the time you spend in the bathroom to 15 minutes per person.

That should be plenty of time to shower, use the restroom and brush your teeth.

4Locate must-have items before going to bed at night. Your schoolaged youngsters and you will need certain things before you can leave home every morning. Car keys, cell RUSH, Page 11

Rush: You and your children should avoid watching TV while getting ready in the mornings, experts say.

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Page 4 – BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013

Learn the early warning signs of bullying From Staff Reports Suffolk News-Herald

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Children grow and develop their personalities in various ways. While many youngsters are teased or receive some good-natured ribbing at some point in their school careers, some teasing can eventually turn into bullying.

The National Education Association estimates that 160,000 children miss school every day due to fear of attack or intimidation by other students. Furthermore, more than 70 percent of students report incidents of bullying at their schools.

Although children in lower grades have reported being in more fights than those in higher grades, there is a higher rate of violent crimes in middle and high schools than in elementary schools.

According to the association Make Beats Not Beat Downs, harassment and bullying have been linked to 75 percent of school shooting incidents.

Bullying can take many forms, and learning the warning signs as a parent can help prevent harassment and potentially dangerous situations.

4Verbal — If your child reports being called names, being the recipient of racist, sexist or homophobic jokes, or being spoken to in an offensive or suggestive way, this can be a form of verbal

bullying.

4Cyber — Social media, email and text messaging has become a way for bullies to spread malicious messages or photos. In the era of digital media, this type of bullying has increased considerably.

4Physical — Some bullies engage in physical attacks, including hitting, kicking, spitting, or other forms of physical confrontation.

Destroying personal property also is considered physical bullying.

4Indirect — Gossiping and spreading nasty rumors about a person is another form of bullying. This type of bullying may go hand-in-hand with cyber bullying.

Parents can recognize certain signs that their child is being bullied at school.

Bullied children frequently make excuses to avoid going to school. While the desire to stay home is something many children may express, those who are bullied may do so much more frequently.

Bullied children tend to avoid certain places and may be sad, angry, withdrawn or depressed. They may have trouble sleeping or experience changes in appetite, and bullied youngsters' academic performance may suffer.

Also, parents may notice that children return from school missing some of their belongings.

Signs your child is the bully Parents may not want to imagine their children bullying other students, but bullies do exist.

Children who bully other kids have strong needs for power and negative dominance. They may find satisfaction in causing suffering to others. Some signs that your child may be a bully include: 4easily becoming violent with others 4having friends who bully others 4blaming others quickly

4comes home with items that do not belong to him or her 4getting in trouble with teachers or school administrators 4picking on siblings 4not accepting responsibility for actions There are ways parents can teach their children to act properly when faced with a bully. First, parents should explain that bullying is not the child's

fault and he or she does not deserve to be picked on. Next, parents can let children know that being assertive but not violent with bullies may diffuse the situation, as some bullies thrive on the fear of their victims. If the bullying behavior continues, the student should speak to an adult or authority figure.

Parents of bullies need to be mindful of their children's behavior. Counseling could be necessary to determine what is compelling kids to bully.

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BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013 – Page 5

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Page 6 – BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013

School safety tips

By William Scott Correspondent

Across the nation, many millions of children go to school every day of the school year and then return home again in complete safety. Considering the vast numbers of students involved, the percentage of incidents that result in tragedy is vanishingly small, and school administrators and faculty do everything they can to make sure those small numbers never touch their own schools and districts.

SAFETY, Page 7

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BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013 – Page 7

Safety: Parents should remain calm during school emergencies Continued from page 6

But sometimes they find their worst nightmares realized. For those times when schools find themselves or their students at the center of a calamity, preparation can be the key to the safety of students, the sanity of worried parents and the success of administrators in limiting the heartbreak and suffering of all involved.

Parents are urged to remain calm during an emergency and wait for information that will be sent to the number listed on their child’s emergency contact card, school officials said. Parents are also advised not to call the schools

during emergencies, so as to keep the facilities’ phone lines open for faculty to make outgoing emergency phone calls. The parents of students who are ill or injured will be notified first.

In addition, parents are asked to keep the roads clear for emergency vehicles by not driving to the schools during an emergency.

In the event of an emergency, staff members are trained to perform CPR and first aid. Surveillance cameras are also being upgraded in an effort to increase security on school grounds.

Those taking to the roads during

the school year should be especially careful. Thirteen percent of students either walk or bike to school, according to a press release from AAA Tidewater Virginia. Drivers should reduce speed through school areas, as a car traveling at 25 mph is two-thirds less likely to be fatal to a pedestrian than one traveling at 35 mph.

AAA also encourages parents whose children will be driving to school on their own to sit down with their children and review driving safety tips, as more than one-fourth of fatal car crashes involving teens occur during the

after-school hours of 3 to 7 p.m.

Drills are part of the regular routine of school life throughout Suffolk, according to school officials. In the first month of school, students will participate in a bus evacuation drill, with a second one happening at some point later in the school year.

Other drills are routinely held during the school year. A lockdown drill will occur once every month. Fire drills will occur once every week in the first month, with subsequent drills held once every month. A metal detector check is held once every month.

Finally, weather drills are held four times each year.

Suffolk public schools hold more drills than required by the state according to Kevin Alston, chief of operations at Suffolk public schools.

And finally, if a parent is concerned about bullying or harassment they should encourage their children to report the occurrence to teachers, school counselors, or the principal. It is important that this report be made as soon as possible, according to Alston. The bully hotline can be reached at 538-5483.

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Page 8– BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013

Encourage your kids to read From Staff Reports Suffolk News-Herald

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Reading can have a profound impact on a child's life, inside and outside the classroom.

Reading can help a young student develop a more extensive vocabulary, and a study from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics found that reading to young children promotes language acquisition, making it easier for them to learn a foreign language. That's a significant advantage for children growing up in a world that's increasingly global.

But reading has benefits outside the classroom as well. Reading can provide an escape from the daily grind, which is something even today's youngsters can appreciate. Reading also is a great way for kids to relax and unwind, while giving their brains a workout.

While many parents recognize the impact reading can have on their children, it's no secret that getting kids to embrace reading can be difficult.

Distractions such as video games, social media and even the great outdoors are all there to draw kids away from reading.

But parents who want to instill a love of reading in their children can still take steps to ensure their kids don't miss out on the benefits of a good book.

4Read to your children. Numerous studies have discovered various benefits of reading to children when they are young. The National Center for Education Statistics notes that children whose parents read to them typically become better readers and perform better in school.

Reading to children early on is the first step toward fostering a love of reading kids will develop and continue throughout their lives. Many parents read to their children at night before bedtime, but any time of day will suffice.

4Don't be discouraged if kids are not interested in books. While reading fiction can help develop a youngster's imagination, parents should not be discouraged if kids don't want to read books. Reading the newspaper, magazines and even comic books can help kids develop strong reading skills and an extensive vocabulary and, in the case of

Reading: Youngsters who have their own library cards might be more excited about visiting the library and more likely to develop a love of reading.

comic books, inspire their imaginations.

Young sports fans might be more inclined to read the sports page than a novel, so let them do so. Kids are more likely to embrace reading if what they're reading interests them, so encourage kids to read up on those interests, even if that reading does not involve picking up a book.

4Get your youngster his or her own library card. Thanks to the popularity of e-readers, many adults would be hard pressed to locate their local library if asked to do so. But visiting the library is a great way to encourage kids to read, especially if kids have their own library cards.

Kids with their own library cards tend to look at visits to the library as shopping trips where they get to make their own choices about what they're taking home with them. And once kids reach a

certain age, they can visit the library on their own.

4Share your own reading experiences with children. Kids look up to their parents and often want to mimic their behavior. So parents can set a good example by reading as well. On trips to the library, check out your own book.

While you might not want to discuss every book you read with your children, discuss the books they're reading.

Chances are you read many of those same books yourself when you were a child, and discussing books with your child is a great way to improve his or her reading comprehension.

Distractions abound for today's youngsters, who might not embrace reading as readily as they do video games or social networking. But parents can take many steps to instill a love of reading in their kids that will last a lifetime.

Reading tips Tips to help encourage your children to read: 4Read to your children 4Don't be discouraged if kids are not interested in books.

4 Get your youngster his or her own library card.

4Share your own reading experiences with children.

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BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013 – Page 9

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Page 10 – BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013

Focus on health this school year

From Staff Reports Suffolk News-Herald

Between buying new school supplies and meeting your children’s teachers, back-to-school season is a busy time. But parents should not forget to prepare for the school year by considering health and wellness.

Experts say the first step is to schedule a visit to the doctor.

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“The start of a new school year is an excellent reminder to take kids to the pediatrician for their annual checkup,” says Dr. Thomas K. McInerny, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

To prepare for a healthy, safe and happy school year, the AAP is offering these tips for parents: 4Doctor’s visit: Make the most of your visit to the pediatrician by making a list of issues to discuss.

4Immunizations: Whether you’re the parent of a young child, a teen or a young adult heading to college, ask your pediatrician what immunizations your child is due to receive. Vaccines save lives and keep kids and adults healthy.

4Nutrition: Talk with your child's pediatrician and school about healthy food choices. You can ask the school to stock the cafeteria and vending machines with nutritious food, such as fresh fruit, low-fat dairy products, water and 100 percent fruit juice. If you don’t like the options the school offers, pack lunch and snacks at home.

4Limit soda consumption. Each 12-ounce soft drink contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories. Drinking just one can of soda a day increases a child's risk of obesity by 60 percent.

4Exercise: Make sure your kids are getting plenty of exercise. Turn off the television and make time for sports teams, gymnastics classes and bike rides. Aim for at least an hour a day.

4Backpacks: Choose a backpack with wide, padded shoulder straps and a padded back or a rolling backpack. Backpacks should never weigh more than 10 to 20 percent of your child’s body weight.

4Getting there: Make sure your child has the necessary gear for getting to school. Whether your child is biking or walking, teach him or her about traffic safety. For bikers, ensure helmets fit properly. Those who take the bus should be instructed to stay seated and listen to the bus driver. If the bus is equipped with seat belts, children should wear them.

4Sleep: Children and adolescents need plenty of sleep to be alert. A regular bedtime can help your child get on a healthy sleep schedule.

4Bullies: A bully can pose a true threat to a child’s physical and mental well-being. Your pediatrician is well equipped to answer questions about mental health, too. Teach kids how to respond confidently to bullies and encourage them to tell an adult when there’s a problem.

Remember, bullying can occur online too. So keep tabs of your children’s social media use.

4College health: For kids heading to college, ask your pediatrician about coordinating health care with the school.

More back to school health tips can be found at www.HealthyChildren.org.

With a focus on safety and health, you can help make this school year successful for your kids.

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BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013 – Page 11

Rush: Gas up the car at night Continued from page 3

Back-to-school tax tips for students and their parents From Staff Reports Suffolk News-Herald

Going to college can be a stressful time for students and parents. The IRS offers these tips about education tax benefits that can help offset some college costs and maybe relieve some of that stress.

4American Opportunity Tax Credit: This credit can be up to $2,500 per eligible student. The AOTC is available for the first four years of post-secondary education. Forty percent of the credit is refundable. That means you may be able to receive up to $1,000 of the credit as a refund, even if you don’t owe any taxes. Qualified expenses include tuition and fees, course related books, supplies and equipment. A recent law extended the AOTC through the end of December 2017.

4Lifetime Learning Credit: With the LLC, you may be able to claim up to $2,000 for qualified education expenses on your federal tax return. There is no limit on the number of years you can claim this credit for an eligible student.

You can claim only one type of educaCMYK

tion credit per student on your federal tax return each year. If you pay college expenses for more than one student in the same year, you can claim credits on a perstudent, per-year basis. For example, you can claim the AOTC for one student and the LLC for the other student.

You can use the IRS’s Interactive Tax Assistant tool to help determine if you’re eligible for these credits. The tool is available at IRS.gov.

4Student loan interest deduction: Other than home mortgage interest, you generally can’t deduct the interest you pay. However, you may be able to deduct interest you pay on a qualified student loan. The deduction can reduce your taxable income by up to $2,500. You don’t need to itemize deductions to claim it.

These education benefits are subject to income limitations and may be reduced or eliminated depending on your income.

For more information, visit the Tax Benefits for Education Information Center at IRS.gov. Also, check Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education. The booklet’s also available at IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM.

phones, wallets, eyeglasses and backpacks are a handful of items all of you will need at some point during your day.

Locate these items before you go to bed each night and place them in the same convenient place each night. This saves you the trouble of running around in the morning looking for lost car keys or wondering where your youngster's eyeglasses ended up the night before.

4Turn the television off in the morning.

Watching television in the morning can be very distracting, which can make it harder for adults and kids alike to get out the door on time in the

A few time-saving tips can ensure you and your youngsters start each morning off a lot more relaxed. morning.

Kids might want to watch cartoons, which may keep them from preparing for school or brushing their teeth. And adults can grow easily distracted by news programs and morning shows, which will eat up time they need to get ready for the day ahead.

4Gas up the car the night before. A pit stop at the gas station en route to school or the office will only add to the hectic nature of the morning. Check your fuel

gauge each night before arriving home and refuel your vehicle if it's running low.

This gives you a little extra time to relax in the morning and reduces the risk that you or your child will be late for work or school, respectively.

Weekday mornings during the school year can quickly become frenetic. But a few timesaving tips can ensure you and your youngsters start each morning off a lot more relaxed.

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Page 12 – BACK TO SCHOOL, Suffolk News-Herald, Thursday, August 22, 2013

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