Helping Your Child Be Successful in School

"Lifelong learning: striving to be the best." That is our vision and our mission. We want every student to have a successful school experience. When schools and parents work together our students are the winners! Here are some ways you can help build your child's confidence.
Jim Grieve, Director of Education

Family fun nights stimulate literacy

Parents interested in boosting their children's reading and writing skills can attend a series of 12 free workshops hosted at elementary schools and other locations across Peel region.

Family Fun Night, a Region of Peel initiative, offers a variety of activities focused on promoting early literacy and numeracy in infants to six-year-olds. In addition to time spent reading stories, singing songs, and having a snack, volunteer teachers, early childhood educators and professionals provide parents with simple activities they can do almost anywhere.

For more information on the Family Fun Night workshops or to sign up, visit literacy

Online resource helps parents support reading, writing and math development at home

Parents of elementary school children can access tips for reinforcing reading, writing and math skills at home in 14 different languages including Arabic, Chinese, Punjabi, Spanish Vietnamese and Farsi at www.ontario.ca/abc123.

Besides general information on communicating with teachers and making reading fun, the website offers grade-specific information, tips for completing homework as well as advice for "Helping Your Child do Mathematics" and "Helping Your Child do Reading and Writing". These online guides are also available in a print version. For more information, visit abc123: Simple steps for your child's success, Ministry of Education.

Conference helps parents 'make a difference in literacy and beyond

The Peel board hosted a one-day conference on Saturday, March 29, 2008 for parents of elementary and secondary school students in Peel. Participants chose from more than 40 workshops and heard from keynote speaker Mary Sheedy-Kurcinka. Read the news release.

Mark your calendar! The 2009 Make a difference in literacy and beyond parent conference will be held on Saturday, April 4, 2009. Look for information to be available at www.peelschools.org and at your child's school in February 2009.

Since 2002, the Peel board has offered Make a difference in literacy and beyond, a conference for parents in Peel. At the conference, every parent receives tip sheets featuring useful tips and easy ways to help children be successful in literacy and beyond. These tip sheets are available by visiting the following links on our webpage:

Be generous with praise

Observe your child carefully and comment on the things that are done well. When you see an area that needs improvement, find a positive way to talk about it with your child.

Encourage "personal best"

Help your child by encouraging him or her to do the best in school and at home. Remember, "personal best" does not mean "perfect", and learning is not the same as high grades. Children, like adults, need the freedom to make mistakes and to learn from them.

Make learning a priority

Your attitude toward school attendance, education and involvement in the school makes a strong and lasting impression on your child. Show your child, by example, that learning is a priority.

Show interest in school work

Talk about school each day.
Ask to see classwork.
Have your child read aloud to you.
Read to and with your child from a variety of material in your first language.
Encourage your child to discuss new ideas and opinions.
Show appreciation for good efforts.

Offer suggestions for success

Help your child use the following strategies to improve performance in school:

Read the assignment when it is given.
Keep a list of new vocabulary.
Proofread assignments to catch errors before writing a final draft.
Review notes before a test.

Schedule study time

Set up an area for homework away from noise and distractions. Post a family calendar that schedules school project deadlines, after-school activities, mid-term dates, exam periods and report card dates.

Support 100% attendance

Some kinds of absences are unavoidable, but taking students out of school unnecessarily is disruptive for learning.

Help set goals

At the beginning of each term, help your child identify three or four goals. Put the goals where they can be frequently seen. (The refrigerator is always an excellent spot.) Make sure the goals are specific.

Get involved

Attend school activities such as open houses, parent/teacher interviews and School Council meetings. When your children see you involved, they will also see education as a high priority. Interpreters are available for parent interviews.

Make direct contact with the school

Try to make early and positive contact with your child's teacher. We encourage you to visit the school or phone your child's teacher with any questions or concerns.

The Peel District School Board recognizes that e-mail is a valuable communication tool that is widely used across our society. As such, staff and students are encouraged to use e-mail to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of communication both within the organization and with the broader community. See the board's e-mail guidelines.

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