Prince Edward Island Home and School Federation

Featured Stories

"Home and School and You" March 2010

Written by Bill Whelan, President
Prince Edward Island Home and School Federation

Remember your first junior high school exam? Tests and exams can be stressful. How a child copes with stress can have a direct impact on academic success. Teachers and parents have a shared responsibility to ensure children do well on tests, as tests are the primary means by which student and school performance are measured. Experts offer tips on what parents can do to help their children better prepare for tests. Keep on top of the dates for upcoming tests and learn more about the test format. Talk to your children about the test and reassure them if they are anxious. Help your children develop good study habits, no cramming. Make sure your children get plenty of sleep and a brain boosting breakfast. Review the test results with your children. Good advice.

In February the School Health Action Planning and Evaluation System (SHAPES) survey results were released. Information on the mental fitness, physical activity and eating habits of students in grades 5-12 was collected. On the topic of a brain boosting breakfast, 61 percent of boys and 52 percent of girls reported eating breakfast every day in a usual school week. The government also announced $50,000 in funding that schools can apply for to implement, improve, or further evaluate one or more of the health behaviours studied.

Parents are encouraged to inquire at the school to see if their child’s school participated. Principals have a summary report for their school. Provincial average results are also available on the department of education website. Parents may want to consider partnering with the school by combining the SHAPES grant with the federation’s parent engagement opportunity fund (PEOF) grant to support health and wellness initiatives at the school.

Several parent groups have already submitted PEOF proposals and have begun work on their projects. Parents are reminded that $350 grants are available per school. Check out the federation’s website for project ideas and for a proposal kit. There is still plenty of time to organize something for this school year. Home and school associations are encouraged submit proposals in the next two weeks.

Also on the topic of health, March is Nutrition month and the PEI Healthy Eating Alliance has launched the Celebrate Island Food Recipe Challenge. School classes or student groups are encouraged to submit original, tasty and healthy recipes made with mostly local food ingredients. The grand prize will be for the class or group to cook their award recipe with PEI’s Food Ambassador, Chef Michael Smith. More information is available on the alliance’s website, www.healthyeatingpei.ca. Parents can also check out www.dietitians.ca for great tips on how to eat and live well.

Dr. Meredith Greene will present a free public presentation on school enrichment and gifted programs in Nova Scotia at the Howard Johnson Dutch Inn, North River room, on Saturday, March 6 from 9:00 am to noon. Dr. Greene is an expert on the social, emotional, and career development of gifted youth.

Local home and school association presidents and representatives on provincial standing committees are asked to submit their annual reports to the federation office by March 8. Also, April 1 is the deadline for parents to register for the federation’s upcoming 2010 annual general meeting to be held at the Charlottetown hotel on April 17.

Finally, the federation met with Eastern School District trustees on February 22 to discuss school rezoning. The federation recommended that rezoning be expanded to include all schools in the board, that a new process be initiated immediately that involves meaningful input from parents, principals and trustees, and that a timeline be set to ensure rezoning recommendations take effect no later than September 2011. Parents are encouraged to share their ideas and thoughts about the issues mentioned in this column by calling Shirley Jay at the federation office.

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