Welcome to the Reedy Creek Student Services Page

Respect and Cooperation Mean Success!

TOPICS OF INTEREST 

I. Study Skills

II.   Parent Involvement

III. Careers

IV. Bullying

V. Summer Camps

VI. High School Registration

Reedy Creek Middle School has two counselors.  Please contact us with any questions or concerns you may have. To schedule a parent conference for a 7th or 8th grader, you should contact the appropriate counselor.  To schedule a conference for a sixth grader, please contact one of his/her teachers.

              Grade 6 (A-L) & Grade 8 Mrs. Carol Breckheimer (460-3512)
   Grade 6 (M-Z) & Grade 7  Ms. Sunshine Evans-Salter (460-3513)

We will provide information on this site about various topics, including study skills, issues affecting middle schoolers, parenting strategies, etc.  New information and links will be added periodically.  

I.  Study Skills  

      We provide periodic study skills groups from which your child may benefit.  Students can be referred by their parents, teachers, or they can self refer.   A useful website to help your child learn study skills is: 
         http://www.how-to-study.com/

Just a reminder that we maintain a list of available tutors.  Feel free to stop in the Student Services office to check out the list. The list includes anyone who has indicated to us an interest in tutoring.  You would need to interview any potential tutor  to determine if he/she is a good match for your child.  We do not endorse or recommend particular tutors.

II.  Parent Involvement 

Parents Still Make the Difference Newsletter

Developing Thinking Skills

Teach your preteen a five-step process to solve any problem

Boost your preteen’s self-assurance by boosting his problem-solving skills. When he’s faced with a tough dilemma, help him tackle it by following this problem-solving model:

1. Define the issue and set a goal for handling it. If the problem is a poor grade in math, your preteen could say (and write down), “I want to bring my grade up to a B.” Simply saying, “I want to do better,” doesn’t give him anything concrete to work toward.
2. Brainstorm ways to reach the goal. Sit with your preteen while he thinks of ways to reach his goal, and write down his ideas.
3. Evaluate options. Go over his ideas together. Help him weed out unrealistic ones by having him ask himself, “Is this really doable?” At the end of this step, he should have a list of reasonable things that he can try.
4. Develop a plan for trying his ideas. If one option was to stay after school every Tuesday for tutoring, help him make it happen. “If you bring your soccer uniform to school with you and change after tutoring, you’ll have time to get to practice by 4:00.”
5. Assess and modify the plan. After a while, check to see how his plan is going. Is he reaching his goal? Great! If not, have him evaluate his options again and choose another course of action.

Reprinted with permission from the February 2008 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2008 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Susan Carney, “Problem Solving Skills for Teens,” Suite 101, http://youthdevelopment.suite101.com/article.cfm/problem_solving_skills_for_teens.

Destrezas analíticas

Enséñele a su hijo este proceso de cinco pasos para resolver problemas

Estimule la confianza de su hijo en sí mismo, ayudándolo a mejorar su capacidad para resolver problemas. Cuando enfrente un dilema difícil, ayúdelo a abordarlo siguiendo este modelo:

1. Defina el problema y fije una meta. Si el problema es una mala nota en matemáticas, su hijo podría decir (y anotar), “Voy a subir mi calificación a una ‘B.’” Decir simplemente, “Quiero mejorar,” no le proporciona un objetivo concreto.
2. Piense en todas las maneras en que podría lograr esa meta. Siéntese con su hijo mientras analiza todas las posibilidades de lograr su objetivo, y anote estas ideas.
3. Evalúe las opciones. Revisen juntos las ideas. Ayúdelo a eliminar las que sean poco realistas preguntándose, “¿Esto es en realidad factible?” Al finalizar este paso, debería tener una lista de cosas razonables que podría probar.
4. Elabore un plan para probarlas. Si una de las opciones es quedarse en la escuela todos los martes para una sesión de clases particulares con la maestra, ayúdelo a llevarla a cabo. “Si llevas tu uniforme de fútbol a la escuela y te cambias después de la clase, tendrás tiempo para entrenar después de las 4:00.”
5. Evalúe y modifique el plan. Después de un tiempo, vea cómo está funcionando el plan. ¿Está logrando su objetivo? ¡Estupendo! Si la respuesta es no, pídale que evalúe sus opciones nuevamente y tome una medida diferente.

Reprinted with permission from the February 2008 issue of Los Padres ¡aún hacen la diferencia!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2008 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Fuente: Susan Carney, “Problem Solving Skills for Teens,” Suite 101, http://youthdevelopment.suite101.com/article.cfm/problem_solving_skills_for_teens.

Ensure your preteen gets enough sleep to remain focused in school

A key part of your preteen’s education exists far outside the classroom. It’s sleep, and it’s critical to his success in school. Why? Because research shows that a lack of sleep can make it tough for kids to focus on learning.

Although everyone is different, kids between 11 and 13 years old need roughly 9.5 to 10 hours of sleep per night.

To figure out whether your preteen is getting enough shuteye, ask yourself:

• Does he fall asleep within 30 minutes of going to bed?
• Can he wake up fairly easily in the morning?
• Is he alert all day—with no reports from school about him dragging in class?

If you answered yes to all these questions, chances are your preteen is getting the right amount of sleep. But if you answered no, it’s time to take action. To help your preteen get enough sleep:

• Enforce a regular bedtime.
• Limit his caffeine intake. Watch for this stimulant in things like cocoa, soda, iced tea and chocolate.
• Ban before-bed TV watching, and don’t put a set in his room. Studies link watching TV to sleep problems.

Take these crucial sleep-saving steps tonight, and your preteen may arrive at school bright-eyed and ready to learn tomorrow!

Reprinted with permission from the February 2008 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2008 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Kyla Boyse, R.N. “Sleep Problems,” University of Michigan Health System, www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/sleep.htm.

Asegúrese de que su estudiante de intermedia duerma lo suficiente

Una parte importantísima de la educación de su hijo ocurre lejos del salón de clases. Es el descanso y el sueño, y es vital para que rinda bien en la escuela. ¿Por qué? Porque según los estudios, la falta de sueño dificulta que los chicos se concentren en el aprendizaje.

Si bien todos somos diferentes, los niños entre los 11 y 13 años necesitan, en promedio, unas 9.5 a 10 horas de sueño cada noche.

Para determinar si su hijo está durmiendo lo suficiente, pregúntese:

• ¿Se duerme unos 30 minutos después de irse a la cama?
• ¿Puede despertarse con relativa facilidad por la mañana?
• ¿Permanece alerta todo el día, y usted no recibe informes de la escuela que él se arrastra de clase en clase?

Si usted respondió sí a todas estas preguntas, lo más probable es que su hijo esté durmiendo lo necesario. Pero si usted respondió no, ha llegado la hora de tomar medidas. Para ayudar a su hijo a dormir lo suficiente:

• Haga cumplir un horario fijo para acostarse.
• Limite el consumo de cafeína. Esté atento a los estimulantes que consume con cosas como las bebidas gaseosas, el chocolate, el té helado y el cacao.
• Prohíba que su hijo vea televisión antes de irse a la cama. Los estudios han encontrado una relación entre ver televisión y los problemas de sueño.

Esta noche, tome estos pasos que ayudarán a su hijo a preservar el tiempo que dedica a dormir, ¡y es posible que mañana llegue a la escuela alerta y listo para aprender!

Reprinted with permission from the February 2008 issue of Los Padres ¡aún hacen la diferencia!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2008 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Fuente: Kyla Boyse, R.N. “Sleep Problems,” University of Michigan Health System, www.med.umich.edu/1libr/yourchild/sleep.htm

                III.  Careers    

Eighth graders will be focusing on learning more about careers this year.  They will have the opportunity to identify areas of interest and see how these related to various careers.  They will use this self-knowledge to help them choose appropriate high school courses. 

A good site for exploring information about health and medical sciences careers is:

http://www.science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/feature/index.htm

North Carolina's Career Resource Network can be accessed from:

http://www.ncsoicc.org/

For college planning, go to:

http://www.cfnc.org/

Students learned more about how interests are related to careers by taking an interest inventory at http://www.f4k.org/.  This site is available to them to explore various career clusters and to find out about different colleges. Students will need to know their log-on and password to gain access to the site. If they were absent the day we took the interest inventory, students can see me to obtain a password.

IV.  Bullying

Bullying is problematic in almost every school.  It can been seen in three different forms: Physical, Verbal or Psychological.  No matter which form it takes, it is harmful.   Check out this website for more information:

Stop Bullying Now

Bullying can also take place on the Internet.  Check out this site for some great suggestions on how to prevent cyberbullying:

http://www.cyberbully.org

V. Summer Camps

Please check out the following link for information about summer camps.  There is also a folder in Student Services with information about summer camps.

http://www.wcpss.net/school_to_career/summer_camp/

VI. RISING 9TH REGISTRATION INFORMATION: 

  I. PLANNING FOR HIGH SCHOOL

III. Information about UNCGiSchool

I am adding information to this site periodically.  Please let me know if there is a particular topic you would like covered.

This page is maintained by Carol Breckheimer. Updated on 2009-08-21 08:45:18.