March 9, 2018

Good afternoon-

I hope all is well in Ashland. I am sure the lack of power has been a challenge for many.  Let's hope for a few days of quiet before the next potential storm.

Student Course Selection:

The iParent course approval window will close this weekend.  This is parents last chance to approve student choices.  They will be pushed through to the guidance department on Monday and we will start the process of planning the schedule for the 2018-2019 school year.  

Please don't hesitate to reach out to your students guidance counselor or administrator with any questions!

Bus Registration:

The 2018-19 Bus Registrations have been mailed home.  Please register your student(s) by the May 1st deadline to take advantage of the discounted bus fee.  This year we are happy to introduce online payment options.  Please see the information attached for forms and payment information.

2018-2019 Registration Letter
2018-2019 Registration Form
2018-2019 Registration Letter- Spanish
2018-2019 Registration Form- Spanish
2018-2019 Registration Letter- Portuguese
2018-2019 Registration Form- Portuguese

The student run Courageous Conversations: Can It Happen Here? has been rescheduled to Monday, April 2 at 7pm in the AHS cafeteria.  Join students, school staff, and others from the community to discuss school safety and the role we all play in prevention.

A message regarding Spring Sports:

Spring Sports is quickly approaching.  We will hold our annual Spring Sports Meeting  on  Monday, March 12 at 7:00pm in the High School Auditorium for all student-athletes and their parents/guardians.  This meeting is mandatory for anyone who would like to participate in Spring Athletics at the High School and Middle School.  

The Spring Registration Portal will open for all High School and Middle School sports on Friday February 16th at noon.  To register go to http://athletics.ashland.k12.ma.us/ or click on the following link https://epay.cityhallsystems.com/selection. The registration portal will close on Friday March 16th.

High School Spring Sports will start on Monday March 19th and Middle School Spring Sports on Monday April 2nd.

If you have any questions please email Mr. Grimes at mgrimes@ashland.k12.ma.us

On March 26 Ashland Public Schools, along with many other community organizations, is pleased to welcome John Trautwein, founder of the "Will to Live Foundation" as part of the ongoing POWER series.
John will speak to Ashland High School students during the day as well as coaches, teachers, and other adults who work with students through athletics after school.  I encourage you to join us at the community presentation that evening and hear his powerful message. 

I shared the link below a few weeks ago:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/02/03/conversation-with-dustin-pedroia/thro3XNO7VBdQ8Xsa7MWXP/story.html

3. Former Red Sox reliever John Trautwein has devoted his life to the “Will to Live Foundation” that he founded after his son Will, then 15 years old and a freshman at Northview High School in Johns Creek, Ga., committed suicide in 2010. Trautwein is a compelling speaker who began the foundation in his mind and made it a reality when giving his son’s eulogy. Trautwein decided then and there he was going to help kids from taking the same tragic path as Will, who was by all accounts a well-adjusted kid who was great at sports and music and had numerous friends. Trautwein will be speaking at Ashland High School and Ashland Middle School on March 26.

Red Cross Blood Drive in Support of Jake on April 4th, 2 - 7 pm at AHS

Join the entire APS community in supporting Jake Silver, grade 12, who is fighting hard against cancer every day!

-Students can sign-up in school at all three lunches starting this week.  

 Note: you must be 17 years old to donate or 16 years old with written parental consent.  The consent form MUST be dated the day of the drive.  

-Adults can sign-up at https://www.redcrossblood.org/ Enter Sponsor Code: AshlandHS

Local College Fair:

I'm Adam Chapman with the Woburn SEPAC. I wanted to reach out and let you know that our annual College Fair will be on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Our fair is unique in that it's geared towards students with learning differences (although all students are welcome to attend). Our goal is to inform these students about the options and resources available to them after high school. We have a wide range of colleges and universities from around New England that feature programs and supports for students who learn differently, and this year we're broadened our scope with two non-college, post-grad opportunities: AANE's LifeMAP program and the Northeast ARC.

The full list of presenters can be found here: http://woburnsepac.org/?page_id=82

March 2, 2018

Good afternoon-

It's a wet and windy afternoon but I am excited to say the "show will go on" at Ashland High School.  The AHSTS presentation of Pippin starts tonight and plays all weekend.  I hope you get an opportunity to see these amazing performers.  AHSTS offers online sales up to two hours before show time. AHSTS discounts tickets purchased online (Adults: $11.99, Students and AHSTS Alumni $8.99), Patrons may buy tickets at the door at full price. (Adults: $15, Students and AHSTS Alumni $10) Visit www.ahsts.com to purchase tickets.

Over the course of the week there have been many student discussions about the proposed student walk-out's planned for the March 14, the one month anniversary of the shooting at Stoneman Douglass High School.  I encourage you to review today's letter from the Superintendent and to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.  We are working with students to make sure all students feel safe and respected and that any actions students may take are handled in a responsible manner.

We are getting ready to offer a great personal finance course to students.  Please take a look and encourage your student to consider it!

Red Cross Blood Drive in Support of Jake on April 4th, 2 - 7 pm at AHS

Ashland High School is honored to be a part of the team in supporting Jake by hosting a blood drive.  Please consider donating or offering your help in other ways if you are unable to do so.  

-Students can sign-up at school, more information to come on how to sign-up (Note: you must be 17 years old to donate or 16 years old with written parental consent.)

-Adults can sign-up at https://www.redcrossblood.org/ Enter Sponsor Code: AshlandHS

Student Course Selection:
The iParent course approval (directions linked here) window is open and will remain open until Friday, March 9th for all 9-11th grade students.  Parents are asked to please approve their student's selections at this time.  The portal for current grade 8 students will open on March 9.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to your students guidance counselor or administrator with any questions!

Dear AHS Families and Students,
We'd like everyone to know that the annual "MetroWest College and Career Fair" will be held on Saturday, March 24th, from 9 am until 12:30 pm here at AHS!  Sponsored by the Ashland Education Foundation and the Ashland PTO, this is a rare local opportunity to visit with representatives from over 100 colleges, college placement experts, and representatives from a wide spectrum of professional level occupations in one setting!
Check out their website to learn exactly what colleges, college experts, and occupations will be represented by visiting http://www.mwccf.org/home.  Hover over the tab titled "Students & Parents" for an up-to-date listing of colleges, occupations, and speakers in attendance.
The guidance staff at AHS wishes to strongly encourage the participation of every family of an AHS student.  College and career fairs maximize your time and expense (there's no cost to participants of this event).  Having all of these reasources available to us right in our own back yard for free on a Saturday morning is an opportunity not to be missed!  There is much to learn in this format of condensed time and location, perhaps saving countless hours gathering this information separately from multiple sources.
Join us in supporting the Ashland Education Foundation and the Ashland PTO by attending this wonderful opportunity for our high school students!
Sincerely,
The AHS Guidance Staff

Junior Prom tickets will be on sale for $80 at lunch next week, March 5th- 9th. They can be purchased with cash or a check made out to AHS Student Activities. Dues must be paid before a ticket can be purchased. Contact the 2019 class adviser Ms. Kulik with any questions, ekulik@ashland.k12.ma.us.  

2nd Annual Color Splash Run

Registration is officially open for the 2nd annual "Ashland Color Splash Run" (our take on a "Color Run"), organized by the PTO, AHS Make-a-Wish Club, and AHS Student Council.   This family-friendly event will be held on Sunday, April 29th at 10am at Ashland High School.  We had 300 participants last year and are hoping to have even more this year!

There are two events -- the full "Color Splash Run" (which will involve a 2-mile course) and a smaller "Kids Color Splash Run" (which will involve up to 4 laps around a track.)  The "Color Splash Run" costs $25 per participant, and the "Kids' Color Splash Run" costs $15 per participant.  Registration prior to April 13th will include a race t-shirt.

For more information and to register, visit: https://sites.google.com/site/stucoashland/color-splash-run

And check-out our promotional video: https://youtu.be/1dG_iQlGmyo

We are also looking for businesses and organizations interested in helping to "sponsor" the event.  Any business or organization that donates $100 or more will get their logo on the back of the race t-shirt.  Please contact Josh Wiczer (jwiczer@ashland.k12.ma.us) if you're interested in helping us out while promoting your company.

***WIN A $5000 DISNEY VACATION AT THE CLOCKER CLASSIC***

The PTO's annual Disney Raffle is back!  $10 enters you to win $5000 worth of Disney gift cards, good at any Disney property, including Disney Cruise Lines. Tickets can be purchased online at https://squareup.com/store/ashlandpto/item/disney-raffle 

Drawing will be held at the 3rd Annual Clocker Classic on March 21st at Ashland High School.  Come cheer your teachers as they battle it out on the basketball court to see who will bring home the coveted trophy!  Teams to be announced soon!

Dear High-Schooler,

In its 8th year, Harvard's Youth Lead the Change program for high schoolers (rising 9th to 12th graders) will run for five days from August 27-31, 2018 and will be held on Harvard's campus. Youth Lead the Change is a leadership program led by a team of Harvard undergraduates that seeks to provide high school kids with tangible leadership skills and empower them to be leaders in their communities. The program features guest speakers who are foremost leaders in their fields as well as numerous projects and modules to hone strong leadership skills. More information about the program can be found at http://www.harvardylc.com/. The application deadline is  May 1^st.

If you are interested, you can apply here! If you have previously attended a YLC conference and would like to become a Junior Counselor, please apply here.

The program costs $200 for the five days and this fee includes lunch every day as well as all other materials provided throughout the program. Financial aid is available and we are need blind in our application decisions.  The financial aid application can be found here. 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions! I can be reached over email at thomasbassett@college.harvard.edu.

Enjoy the afternoon and be sure to check out the Parent Flyers .



Ashland Raises Healthy & Happy Kids:

This week is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses therefore prevention and recognition are vitally important.

Five Ways to Promote a Positive Body Image in Children

1. Focus on health, not weight. Concentrate on delicious nutrition and fun physical activity, rather than the number on the scale or the size on the clothing tags.
2. Compliment kids on what they do, not how they look.
3. Myth-Bust the "Perfect Body". Help your child become a savvy media critic by talking about what they see on television, in magazines and online. Help them understand that the pictures of models they see in ads and on social media may have been retouched or otherwise manipulated to appear "perfect”.
4. Discuss your child's struggles as they arise. Fight your knee-jerk reaction to immediately comfort your child and dismiss their concerns with comments such as, “No honey you're perfect”. Instead, respond with open-ended questions such as, “help me understand that comment” or “that surprises me, can you tell me more” in order to begin a dialogue about their concerns.
5. Be aware of how you talk about your own body. If you are criticizing your body or others, expect that your children will mirror this thinking. You are the first window through which they view the world.

February 16, 2018

Good afternoon & happy February vacation-

Today was our 2nd Student of the Term breakfast for nominated students and we are so grateful to all of the parents who donated to make it happen. Teachers and student volunteers cooked up a great breakfast for the 131 students who were nominated by a teacher for demonstrating the AHS core values on a consistent basis. We are proud to recognize so many students each term.

The front office at AHS will be closed next week as we all enjoy some down time.

After vacation Sgt. Burman of the Ashland Police Department will be presenting to all sophomore wellness classes on opioids. Please see the attached letter for more information.

Spring Sports is quickly approaching.  We will hold our annual Spring Sports Meeting  on Tuesday March 6th at 6:30pm in the High School Auditorium for all student-athletes and their parents/guardians.  This meeting is mandatory for anyone who would like to participate in Spring Athletics at the High School and Middle School.  

The Spring Registration Portal will open for all High School and Middle School sports on Friday February 16th at noon.  To register go to http://athletics.ashland.k12.ma.us/ or click on the following link https://epay.cityhallsystems.com/selection. The registration portal will close on Friday March 16th.

High School Spring Sports will start on Monday March 19th and Middle School Spring Sports on Monday April 2nd.

If you have any questions please email Mr. Grimes at mgrimes@ashland.k12.ma.us

Thank you and enjoy your February Break.

If you saw the Boston Globe yesterday you may have seen the story on Dustin Pedroia that included the following:  

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/02/03/conversation-with-dustin-pedroia/thro3XNO7VBdQ8Xsa7MWXP/story.html

3. Former Red Sox reliever John Trautwein has devoted his life to the “Will to Live Foundation” that he founded after his son Will, then 15 years old and a freshman at Northview High School in Johns Creek, Ga., committed suicide in 2010. Trautwein is a compelling speaker who began the foundation in his mind and made it a reality when giving his son’s eulogy. Trautwein decided then and there he was going to help kids from taking the same tragic path as Will, who was by all accounts a well-adjusted kid who was great at sports and music and had numerous friends. Trautwein will be speaking at Ashland High School and Ashland Middle School on March 26.

we look forward to welcoming John to AHS & AMS to hear his powerful message. Click here to find the Save the Date!

Parent-teacher conferences:

Conferences are scheduled this year on Wednesday, February 28 from 6-8pm. Given that teachers

have limited time that evening, with approximately 12 open slots, we ask that parents who need to

discuss an academic concern or an override request schedule an appointment.

Teachers are always willing to schedule a meeting, in person or via phone, at any time if this evening

is not convenient for you.

As we start course registration for the 2018-2019 school year I encourage you to trust teacher

recommendations. However, if you and your child feel you would like to override a recommendation

you must schedule a time to discuss this with the teacher as the first step of the override procedure.

Student Course Selection:

iStudent Course Recommendation window have been open for students for the past two weeks.

All students should have gone into iStudent to approve teacher recommendations and choose their electives by now.  I will leave the window open for students this week for any that have not completed the process. Our Unified Arts department has redesigned several of their courses and added some exciting new ones.  Check them out here!

Directions for course selection are on the AHS website (linked here).  Students must use their iStudent account to make their selections.  We encourage students to prioritize their electives using the comment boxes next to each course number.

The iParent course approval window will be open on Monday, February 26 and will remain open for two weeks.  Parents go through the same process of checking off approval of both teacher and student recommendations. 

Please don't hesitate to reach out to your students guidance counselor or administrator with any questions!

Enjoy the afternoon and be sure to check out the Parent Flyers .

Ashland Raises Healthy & Happy Kids: We felt it was appropriate this week to take a break from the iGen summaries and look at warning signs of violence. These are pulled from the Sandy Hook Promise Know the Signs program.

1. A strong fascination or obsession with firearms can be a warning sign.
2. Excessive study of firearms and mass shootings can mean a person is planning violence.
3. Exhibiting excessive over-reactions or aggressive behavior for a seemingly minor reason can signal someone who cannot self-regulate their emotions or control their anger.
4. Low commitment or aspirations toward school, or a sudden change in academic performance can be a sign that someone needs help.
5. Perpetrators of self-harm or violence towards others may be victims of long-term bullying and may have real or perceived feelings of being picked on or persecuted by others.
6. Extreme feelings of isolation or social withdrawal due to real or perceived actions of others can be a sign that someone is suffering.
7. Unsupervised and/or easy access to firearms, or bragging about access to firearms, can be a warning sign.
8. Making overt threats of violence (spoken, written, pictures on social media, videos, gestures) are signs that should not be ignored.

If you are ever worried about anyone, or your children are, please SAY SOMETHING.

February 9, 2018

Good afternoon & happy Friday!

It was a busy week at AHS.  Students are learning to find their Term 3 classes if they are new. The Add/Drop period for new classes ends on February 16.

Next week the 9th grade will participate in SBIRT. Please review this letter for information on the upcoming screenings being conducted with the entire 9th grade and feel free to call our nursing staff or me with any questions.
SBIRT- Español
SBIRT- Português

Below are resources from Decisions at Every Turn to help you further understand the screening:
Decisions at Every Turn (DAET) SBIRT Parent Resource Guide (English)
    DAET SBIRT Guía de recursos para padres (Espanol)
    DAET SBIRT Guia de recursos para pais (Português)
    DAET SBIRT Руководство для родительских ресурсов (русский)

We were so happy to see Jake Silver and have the Dana Farber Clinic speak to the 10th & 12th grade students about Jake's cancer and what he is going through on a day to day basis.  He is so strong!  The presentation will air on WACA for anyone else who would like to see it.  #SilverStrong

Dear Parents, 

Each term, teachers at AHS nominate students who have embodied our school’s Core Values throughout the term.  Last term, we held our first Student of the Term Breakfast and it was a huge success. Our breakfast for Term 2 nominees is next Friday, February 16^th.  We are still in need of a few donations to complete the breakfast. If you would like to donate, please add your name and email to the google doc at the following link:

https://goo.gl/7bCRmt

Thank you for your continued support of our students!

Lisa Dunn & The PBIS Team

We will begin presentations on Opioids in Sophomore wellness classes following February vacation.  Look for important information on this presentation coming next week.

Parent-teacher conferences:
Conferences are scheduled this year on Wednesday, February 28 from 6-8pm. Given that teachers
have limited time that evening, with approximately 12 open slots, we ask that parents who need to
discuss an academic concern or an override request schedule an appointment.
Teachers are always willing to schedule a meeting, in person or via phone, at any time if this evening
is not convenient for you.
As we start course registration for the 2018-2019 school year I encourage you to trust teacher
recommendations. However, if you and your child feel you would like to override a recommendation
you must schedule a time to discuss this with the teacher as the first step of the override procedure.

Student Course Selection:
Teachers spent the last two weeks making course recommendations for students in their classes.
Class meetings were held this week to review the student process for course approval and selection
of electives.
On Monday, February 5 the iStudent Course Recommendation window will open for students.
All students must go into iStudent to approve teacher recommendations and choose their electives. Our Unified Arts department has redesigned several of their courses and added some exciting new ones.  Check them out here!

Directions for course selection are on the AHS website (linked here).  Students must use their iStudent account to make their selections.  We encourage students to prioritize their electives using the comment boxes next to each course number.
Course registration for students will remain open until Friday, February 16.

The iParent course approval window will be open on Monday, February 26 and will remain open for two weeks.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to your students guidance counselor or administrator with any questions!

Enjoy the afternoon and be sure to check out the Parent Flyers .

Ashland Raises Healthy & Happy Kids:

In her book iGen, Jean Twenge, PhD describes today’s kids as “less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy and completely unprepared for adulthood”. Each chapter of her book theorizes on the “why” of this, backed up by research comparing the current generation with past generations. Since every child currently in the Ashland schools is part of this generation, a few weeks of this column will cover each of Twenge’s chapters which she cleverly titles beginning with the letter “i”. These will be very general, broad overviews. I encourage you to read the book for more in-depth information.

In Person No More: I’m With You But Only Virtually  As I write this my son is on the PS4 playing a video game with four school friends and my daughter is FaceTiming a friend. This is how today’s kids socialize. Today’s generation is less likely to attend parties and socialize in person than previous generations. As one teen stated, “The party is constant, and it’s on Snapchat”.  iGen teens are less likely to go to movies, hang out at the mall (my daughter seems to be the exclusion), drive around aimlessly together, or get together one-on-one or in small or big groups. Instead they communicate electronically.

At first glance this change seems positive - kids are not driving around with each other getting into accidents and are not partying (drinking) as much as previous generations did. Unfortunately, the rates of depression, loneliness and suicide have skyrocketed.  Teens who spend more than three hours a day on electronic devices are 35% more likely to have at least one suicide risk factor. Forty six percent more teens killed themselves in 2015 than in 2007. One factor that is likely contributing to this rise in teen suicide is cyberbullying. Teens who are cyberbullied often say there is no way to get away from their tormentors - unless they give up their phones entirely.

Teens who visit social media sites every day are more likely to agree “I often feel lonely”, “I often feel left out of things”, and “I often wish I had more good friends”. They see kids doing things without them and they base their popularity and self-esteem on the number of “likes” or views on their posts.  In contrast, those who spend more time with their friends or play sports are less lonely. It’s non-screen activities that help teens feel less alone, not social media.

There are certainly other factors that contribute to depression and suicide in teens (genetics, trauma, etc). And it is unrealistic to completely ban your teen from his/her phone and social media, after all this is how kids today socialize and we do not want them cut-off from their friends.

What can we, as parents, do?

1. Encourage your kids to have friends over, even just to “hang out” in person. When they do this, try to get them to spend at least some of that time off screens.
2. Offer to drive your kids and their friends to the mall or the movies or bowling or ice skating.
3. Make sure your kids have activities or sports that involve being with other kids in person.
4. When interacting with others, remind your children to look people in the eyes and put away their phones. They have less practice with social skills since so much of their socializing is virtual. Twenge writes, “In the next decade we may see more young people who know just the right emoji for a situation - but not the right facial expression”.

February 2, 2018

Good afternoon and happy Superbowl weekend-

By now I am sure you are aware that grades are posted for Term 2 & mid-terms.  I hope everyone is getting off to a great start with Term 3. It always takes us a couple of days to review GPA's and decile rank.  Those will be opened later next week.

Each term the faculty and staff recognizes students who go above and beyond to demonstrate the AHS Core Values.  Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered to support the Core Value breakfast coming up this Friday.  We host this breakfast to recognize all students who were nominated for Term 2.
The winners of the Term 2 Core Values awards are:

Respect - Noah Ben Maor

Responsibility - Kaitlin Merson

Integrity - Sam Schultz

Involvement - Halle Silver

Achievement - Sky Scott

Congratulations to them on this accomplishment!

Last evening all 9th grade families received a letter through ConnectEd regarding the upcoming Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) screenings. Please review this letter for information on the upcoming screenings being conducted with the entire 9th grade and feel free to call our nursing staff or me with any questions.
SBIRT- Español
SBIRT- Português

Below are resources from Decisions at Every Turn to help you further understand the screening:
Decisions at Every Turn (DAET) SBIRT Parent Resource Guide (English)
    DAET SBIRT Guía de recursos para padres (Espanol)
    DAET SBIRT Guia de recursos para pais (Português)
    DAET SBIRT Руководство для родительских ресурсов (русский)

Parent-teacher conferences:
Conferences are scheduled this year on Wednesday, February 28 from 6-8pm. Given that teachers
have limited time that evening, with approximately 12 open slots, we ask that parents who need to
discuss an academic concern or an override request schedule an appointment.
Teachers are always willing to schedule a meeting, in person or via phone, at any time if this evening
is not convenient for you.
As we start course registration for the 2018-2019 school year I encourage you to trust teacher
recommendations. However, if you and your child feel you would like to override a recommendation
you must schedule a time to discuss this with the teacher as the first step of the override procedure.

Student Course Selection:
Teachers spent the last two weeks making course recommendations for students in their classes.
Class meetings were held this week to review the student process for course approval and selection
of electives.
On Monday, February 5 the iStudent Course Recommendation window will open for students.
All students must go into iStudent to approve teacher recommendations and choose their electives. Our Unified Arts department has redesigned several of their courses and added some exciting new ones.  Check them out here!

Directions for course selection are on the AHS website (linked here).  Students must use their iStudent account to make their selections.  We encourage students to prioritize their electives using the comment boxes next to each course number.
Course registration for students will remain open until Friday, February 16.

The iParent course approval window will be open on Monday, February 26 and will remain open for two weeks.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to your students guidance counselor or administrator with any questions!

Hats for a Cause! This year Ashland Public School Special Olympians will again participate in the Seventh Annual Five Town
Special Olympics Games Day held at Medway Middle School! Athletes from Millis, Medfield, Medway,
Holliston and Ashland will participate in a Soccer themed day of skill hosted this year by Medway.
This event, co-sponsored by Special Olympics of Massachusetts and the five towns participating, is free for
the student athletes and includes the opening ceremony, 8 skill stations, the medals for each participant,
and the closing ceremony associated with an Olympic event.  Two  years ago for those who were here, we
had a memorable day of parades, celebrities (including some Patriot Football Players and Cheerleaders)
and good sportsmanship as student athletes supported by student volunteers showed off their catching,
throwing, kicking and catching skills.

Special Olympics rely on the volunteers and donations to offer these and other athletic events for students
with disabilities. We will be asking for student volunteers to help run this amazing event, and we are also
asking for donations to support the cost of running it.  On February  9th we invite all students and staff to
donate $1.00 and in return wear the hat of your choice to school.  Wearing a hat will signal your support of
Special Olympics and specifically our own student athletes who will be participating.  All money will be given
directly to Special Olympics.

Thank you!!!

A message from the nurse:

Please review the attached document for important information on Influenza (Flu) and Influenza (Flu) Vaccine from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. (Espanol, Português)

Please contact your school for any questions or concerns. 

Enjoy the afternoon and be sure to check out the Parent Flyers .

 
Ashland Raises Healthy & Happy Kids:

In her book iGen, Jean Twenge, PhD describes today’s kids as “less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy and completely unprepared for adulthood”. Each chapter of her book theorizes on the “why” of this, backed up by research comparing the current generation with past generations. Since every child currently in the Ashland schools is part of this generation, a few weeks of this column will cover each of Twenge’s chapters which she cleverly titles beginning with the letter “i”. These will be very general, broad overviews. I encourage you to read the book for more in-depth information.

Internet: Online Time-Oh, and Other Media Too  Today’s high school seniors spend about six hours a day on screens (texting, internet,social media, gaming, video chat); 8th graders about five hours per day. Their phone screens are usually the last thing they see before they fall asleep and the first thing they see when they wake up. Ninety seven percent of 12th graders use social media at least sometimes. This is the new reality of teen social life: it’s conducted online. And phones are a constant presence in teen’s lives - while doing homework, trying to sleep, etc. - unless their phones are physically taken from them. One teen describes it: “The minute I start my homework I have to have my phone by me to see what my friends are texting, it’s like someone is constantly tapping you on the shoulder, and you have to look”. I can’t imagine homework is being done as well as it could be with this distraction.

One result of all this time teens spend on screens is a steep decline in reading books, magazines and newspapers. In the late 70’s about 65% of teens read for pleasure nearly every day. In 2015 that dropped to about 17% of teens reading daily for pleasure. For a generation raised to click on the next link or scroll to the next page within seconds, books just don’t hold their attention. Unfortunately, this could be contributing to lower SAT scores in writing and critical reading. iGen’ers’ academic skills lag behind their millenial predecessors’ by significant margins.

What can we, as parents, do?

1. Do not let children/teens have their phones in their rooms at night.
2. Take phones away from kids while they are studying and doing homework (or use an app that turns off apps at certain times of the day).
3. Encourage your kids to read daily. Help them find reading material that interests them - books about things they like to do or people they admire, magazines, graphic novels, comic strip books (my kids LOL when reading the  ‘Zits’ and ‘Foxtrot’ comic strip books).