Looking Ahead to the New School Year

As the summer winds down, parents start to plan for the school year ahead.  It's a time of anticipation and anxiety for many students, and parents can help by being supportive and taking steps to ease the transition back into the school year routine.

Parents can also help in a broader sense by becoming more involved in their child's education.  The Thames Valley School Board recently published its 2009 Report to the Community, and suggests ways to do so, including volunteering for classroom support, reading and math tutoring, library assistance, music support, and team coaching.

The Board also suggests other ways to get involved, such as:

• Calling and/or visiting with your child's teacher
• Keeping the teacher/school informed about things going on at home, such as family illness or any other major issues
• Attending school concerts, sporting events, parent teacher interviews and meet the teacher nights
• Creating a positive learning atmosphere at home
• Joining school councils, home and school committees, or other parent organizations
• Attending school board meetings to learn more about the school system and how it is governed.

In addition, the Thames Valley District School Board is unveiling its new website in September.  Each individual school will have its own website which will be interconnected to the others and where they can share information, videos, photos and documents.  Emergency closures and special events can also be found on the new site.  Currently available information on topics such as Safe Schools, Aboriginal Education and Special Education will remain on the new site, and podcasting will be offered.

For parents of kids involved in special education, the start of the school year is a good time to communicate with your child's teacher, and to go over the student's Individual Education Plan to ensure it still meets his or her learning needs.  (More on IEPs in later posts.)  Each school board in Ontario has a provincially mandated Special Education Advisory Committee - known as SEAC  - that advises on issues pertaining to special education.  Parents can find information on the Thames Valley website (www.tvdsb.on.ca)   or on the London District Catholic School Board site (www.ldcsb.on.ca)  on special education policies, programs and other resources.  As well, the Ministry of Education's website ( http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/speced.html) has information that will be helpful to parents regarding legislation on special education under the Education Act.

The HOPE program will be holding parent group meetings throughout the school year to discuss school and other issues. Dates and times will be posted as soon as they are finalized.