By Mike McDowell, Assistant Principal, Hutchinson Middle School 

As we move into the second trimester of our 2022-23 school year and reflect on our students’ success or possible areas of improvement, it’s important for us as parents and mentors to collaboratively engage with our children in reflective conversations. Within these discussions, we can discuss areas that we feel are going well or need improvement. Reflection is a skill that many of us tend to forget about, due to the fast pace of life, school and work. Although this takes time, it’s an incredibly important part of working with our children and teens. These conversations encourage them to reflect on skills and habits that will help them as they mature into young adults.

Reflective conversations start with an open mindset and honesty. They must be handled with care and at times, our children and teens may not seem ready. None-the-less, their importance is invaluable. Some conversations and topics might be easier to approach than others, depending on the topic. In this article, I’d like to propose several topics or habits to reflect on with middle school students, but these could be adjusted for any age. These topics include promoting healthy peer relationships, healthy technology and social media use, and encouraging a growth mindset to overcome challenges.

Students at the middle school level (ages 11-14) are often met with the challenges of managing a variety of friends in their social circles. Many of these peer relationships take place in person and on social media. As students move into their middle school years, they may continue to spend time with past peers from former years, or may meet new friends. As parents, it’s important to note that this is a normal part of growth, but it’s also important to have a good sense of who your child or teen is spending time with in and out of school. Regularly opening the door to the reflective conversation about friends with your child and talking with other friends’ parents may provide insight into their friendships. In addition, if your child or teen has or uses social media, being in tune with their online friends or habits can encourage positive experiences and can help mitigate unhealthy behavior choices. This leads us to the next reflective conversation topic, which focuses on healthy technology and social media use.

Tech Expert Dave Eisenmann states that parents with children and teens who engage with social media regularly, should talk with their kids often about their social media use. It is suggested that parents start slowly with social media use and gradually release independence to their kids, similar to first riding a bike as a child. Parents with students of all ages and experiences, especially those with children who have their own personal devices, are encouraged to outline basic expectations for their use and consequences for when expectations aren’t being met. Setting boundaries and limits on social media use can be a proactive step in encouraging healthy online habits. According to Eisenmann, parents should be a part of your child’s social media life by checking in often and should feel empowered to intervene if they feel like boundaries are being pressed.

The final reflective topic I’ll reference when talking with children and teens, is the use of a growth mindset. As our children and teens grow and face a variety of challenges, their grit and resilience is continually being tested. As adults, we understand that set-backs occur and have a more fine-tuned ability to have perspective when working through challenges. For children and teens, this mindset is still being refined. Helping your child see the big picture in any situation, gain perspective and view themselves as individuals who can overcome hard things, can help them gain insight into their own strengths and weaknesses. This in-turn can continue to promote reflective thinking and continuous improvement for their future.

Reflective conversations allow us to get a glimpse into our children’s lives and offer them a chance to confide in an adult about a variety of important topics. By engaging in these topics and modeling the habit of taking time to reflect, we as adults can continue to find opportunities to guide and promote continuous improvement with our youth.

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By Brenda Vatthauer, Principal, Hutchinson Middle School

We are living in a very different world from the way we knew education three years ago. There is fear of the unknown, a lack of trust in our societal system and many judgments placed on our educators. As we lead into the final weeks of the school year, it is healthy to reflect and learn from the past two COVID years as well as vision forward to next fall. It is certain that our middle school, with the students in the center of our work, would benefit if we prioritized reinvesting with our families.  With this commitment, families and staff need to work as a team, learning about our combined challenges, and unite together to problem solve barriers and support students. It takes a true partnership of parents and school staff working together to improve learning, support adolescent development and the health of middle school students. Stronger partnerships should be a shared responsibility in which schools are reaching out to engage parents in various ways and parents are committed to actively supporting their son/daughter during the middle school years. This is a critical time in adolescent lives where a supportive “partnership” between home and school is essential. Research shows that parent engagement and partnership in schools is closely linked to better student behavior, higher academic achievement and enhanced social skills. 

Starting the 2022-23 school year, HMS plans to emphasize parent involvement by providing a variety of activities and frequent occasions to fully involve parents. This will include:

• Parent support – focusing on sharing information with parents to help parents improve their child’s learning and to identify and develop social and emotional skills for students to be successful. 
• Parent Camps – parents involved in discussion around topics of interest to them.
• Book studies – Middle School Matters by Phyllis Fagell and Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen by Michelle Icard.
• Increased communication – we are looking for ways to maintain two-way communication between families and the school.
• Encouraging parents to be part of decision making in our middle school in collaboration with the community. 

Developing a stronger parent/school partnership is a necessary variable in the equation of student success. This includes shared beliefs, values and attitudes. If we expect students to do their personal best each day, we need to do our part to develop a stronger partnership between parents and school. Thanks to all the parents for your support this year and we look forward to building a stronger network next fall. ​

By Valerie Huepenbecker, Licensed School Counselor

January is a great time to start thinking about starting a new healthy habit. People are creatures of habit. A habit is something we do daily without thinking. As parents and educators we need to help our children establish healthy habits for learning. Try not to get overwhelmed by changing everything at once, start small and build off of one small change at a time. Here are some ideas for healthy habits for students.

CREATE SLEEP ROUTINES

According to The National Sleep Foundation, “Inadequate sleep can lead to mood swings, behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and cognitive problems that impact on their ability to learn in school.” You can help your child establish a good sleep routine by limiting TV and computer time before bed, make the child’s room dark and quiet, and set and keep a regular and consistent bedtime. The Mayo Clinic recommends school-age children receive 10 to 11 hours of sleep every night. Set a bedtime routine with reading and keep it consistent. Practice deep breathing or mindfulness exercises before bed to prepare the body and mind for rest.

CREATE NUTRITION AND EXERCISE

Good nutrition and daily exercise is essential to healthy brain development which is critical to learning. The American Psychological Association states that children who eat a healthy diet and exercise daily are more likely to perform better academically, feel better about themselves and their abilities, and avoid feelings of low self-esteem, anxiety and depression.

Simple things can lead to big health improvements for your child. Start your child’s day with a healthy breakfast, pack healthy snacks, and have fun being active with your child. Take a family bike ride or play catch in the yard, it is recommended that children get at least 60 minutes of exercise a day. By starting these habits early, maybe we can change the almost 30 percent of American children who are overweight. (Retrieved from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health)

CREATE ORGANIZATION/HOMEWORK ROUTINES

Provide your child with a time and place to focus, study and read their school work. This environment might look differently for different students. Some children need a quiet place, like a desk in their bedroom. Others prefer the kitchen table. What is most important is that the time and place be consistent, so the child forms the habit of doing daily school work.

Keep things organized by helping your child prepare for the next day. Keep backpacks in the same place every night, lunches packed the night before, and clothes laid out. This will help the morning run smoothly and create the environment for an organized good morning. Help your child create checklists of things that need to be done at night and in the morning. Hang the checklists in their room or on a bathroom mirror.

Remember to not get overwhelmed by changing too many things at once. Start small, be consistent and before you know it you will be creating a healthy habit!​