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CLASS of 2013 - Karen S. Sweeney, Counselor |
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Parents Page
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR HIGH SCHOOLER IS TO MONITOR THEIR PROGRESS. AS LONG AS THEY ARE BEING SUCCESSFUL, YOU CAN SUPPORT BY ATTENDING THEIR SPORTING EVENTS AS A SPECTATOR AND ACADEMIC SCHOOL EVENTS AS A PARTICIPANT. USE STIHome AS YOUR BEST RESOURCE TO MONITOR GRADES, ATTENDANCE, AND DISCIPLINE. IF YOUR TEEN BEGINS TO STRUGGLE, please, for their sake, take action immediately.
Here are some suggestions: 1. Academic? - Contact the teacher of the course in question by e-mail or phone. You can do this easily through the RHS website @ http://www.robertsdalehigh.com and click on Staff or call 947-4154. 2. Discipline? - Contact the teacher if the offending behavior happened in the classroom; contact the administrator if the behavior was school related outside the classroom; contact the Juvenile Justice System if the behavior was in the community & you need help supervising your teen. 937-0297 3. Other? - Contact your high schooler's counselor. Math tutoring after school from 3:15-4:15 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in room 708. This page is intended to help parents help their high school students to be successful in high school and beyond. Sometimes it's difficult to explain the scope of what you can expect from your school counselor. At Robertsdale, we average 300+ students (Read: teenagers) per counselor. Each student receives individual attention in our offices if requested, invitations to participate in counseling if they are failing courses, are referred by their parents or teachers, notification of opportunities for which they qualify, and especially when we register students for the upcoming year's classes. We do this by sitting with each student, asking and recording what each student's career goals are at the time, and then planning their courses for next year. It may help to think of high school counselors in much the same way that athletes look to athletic trainers. Our main focus is to keep the student in the educational game. Sometimes students need a little academic coaching, sometimes they need patching up, but our goal is to do what we do as quickly and efficiently as possible and get them back to the business of school. We work VERY hard to keep students in the classroom where they can learn. However, sometimes a student needs to see a therapist for what we are not able to provide; then we call parents and discuss outside sources of help. One resource is Baldwin County Mental Health. Professional tip sheets are very good and available at www.parentingteens.com National Parent Helpline Looking for emotional support? Feeling stressed from parenting? This website is sponsored by Parents Anonymous. Phone number: 1-855-427-2736. OUTWARD BOUND is an out-of-school wilderness experience for those students who are not being successful in school. You may contact the program coordinators at fiverivers@outwardbound.org or visit their website for more information: www.outwardbound.org or call them at 251-990-0323. Click here to view the classroom PowerPoint presentation your sophomore was presented. INow Home Portal<initial passcodes: homeuser, homeuser1) is an invaluable internet resource to allow you to conveniently peer into your student's teachers' grade books to see not only the average grade but how that average came to be. Graded assignments are listed to give you an idea of whether or not schoolwork is being completed. You can also check attendance; very important with the new attendance policy that could affect credits. Discipline is also available. Unofficial transcripts can be viewed as well. An added benefit can be to discover grading mistakes before a final grade is computed. INow Home Portal can be accessed from any computer with internet access. Public libraries and coffee shops can be used if your home is not connected. Individual passwords were distributed in the fall of the year. Call or come by school if you need help. If your child has an unacceptable grade in a class, they should bring home work each night until the grade is brought up. If you check STIHome each day, you can base weekend activities on progress for that week. Become familiar with the changes occurring within and around your teenager. An excellent resource is a book that I can highly recommend - Yes, Your Teen Is Crazy... by Dr. Michael Bradley. There is a companion book for your teen to read titled Yes, Your Parents Are Crazy. In this easily understood book, Dr. Bradley describes the basic tasks of adolescence and how to support and empathize with your children without throwing in the towel. It is practical, up-to-date and humorous. I have used some classroom instructional supply money to purchase a few student copies for the school library for students to checkout. Parents may borrow a copy by coming to my office. Supervise your children's activities. They may look & act like adults and that should scare you. Do not leave them alone at home while you take a weekend off. You may come home to a lawsuit from a party held at your house. Also, very few chaperoned teens become teen parents. Do not condone use of alcohol or drugs. Get help for yourself if necessary. Support your children's activities. Sometimes parents think they can finally have a few nights to themselves, but that time is coming fast - after they leave home in a few years. It is important to them to see you chaperone a school dance or attend sporting events - especially if they 'sit the bench'. Provide a good example by taking your children to church or talking to them about the importance of integrity, honesty, and respect. Our claim to fame at Robertsdale High School is our unrivaled, respectful students. The families in our area send us the finest examples of respectful teenagers to be found anywhere. Wherever we take our students, outsiders always comment about their mature, respectful behavior. Students consistently hold doors open for adults as well as fellow students and you should see them shine crammed into our too small gym! HERE'S A BIG THANKS FROM ALL OF US WHO WORK OR ATTEND RHS - GO BEARS!!! CONTACT YOUR TEEN'S TEACHERS either by phone or e-mail. All teachers are expected to return phone calls and e-mails from parents. If you go to the school website www.robertsdalehigh.com you will be able to e-mail easily from that site. Under 'News & Events' click on 'School Staff'. You can even send positive messages to the teachers - they have a difficult job. (Imagine teaching 30 teenagers at a time (not all willing) for 1 1/2 hours per day - three times a day!) Go along on college visitation days with your high schooler. Juniors & Seniors may visit colleges during the school day as an excused absence. Trips must be pre-approved by your counselor and verified by the college or university. Parents ask much better questions, even if you've never been yourself. Become familiar with the pages on this website. Most parents are very concerned about the cost of college in addition to career choices.
Parent PLUS loans should be considered by EVERY parent because if you meet certain criteria, IN COMBINATION with the American Opportunity Tax Credit from the IRS, you may be able to get $2000 each year for your college student and owe nothing. For 2010-2011 the income limits are $80K/yr for single; $160K for married parents.
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/parentloans.jsp
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