TLC Charter Chatter

A weekly newsletter written to parents of the TLC

Virginia Stewart

I read this article recently and heard the research that seems to indicate that our young children are experiencing greater anxiety than ever before. I also heard a broadcast that indicated that parents of students 18 to 28 are checking grades, calling college professors and even calling to be sure their college students are remembering to complete assignments on time. The research seemed to indicate that parents are helping their students long after they should be flying away from the nest on their own wings. No one ever said that parenting was easy, but here are a few suggestions for helping your child with anxiety.

When children are chronically anxious, even the most well-meaning parents can fall into a negative cycle and, not wanting a child to suffer, actually exacerbate the youngster’s anxiety. It happens when parents, anticipating a child’s fears, try to protect her from them. Here are pointers for helping children escape the cycle of anxiety.

1. The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety, but to help a child manage it.

None of us wants to see a child unhappy, but the best way to help kids overcome anxiety isn’t to try to remove stressors that trigger it. It’s to help them learn to tolerate their anxiety and function as well as they can, even when they’re anxious. And as a byproduct of that, the anxiety will decrease or fall away over time.

2. Don’t avoid things just because they make a child anxious.

Helping children avoid the things they are afraid of will make them feel better in the short term, but it reinforces the anxiety over the long run. If a child in an uncomfortable situation gets upset, starts to cry—not to be manipulative, but just because that’s how she feels—and her parents whisk her out of there, or remove the thing she’s afraid of, she’s learned that coping mechanism, and that cycle has the potential to repeat itself.

3. Express positive—but realistic—expectations.

You can’t promise a child that his fears are unrealistic—that he won’t fail a test, that he’ll have fun ice skating, or that another child won’t laugh at him during show & tell. But you can express confidence that he’s going to be okay, he will be able to manage it, and that, as he faces his fears, the anxiety level will drop over time. This gives him confidence that your expectations are realistic, and that you’re not going to ask him to do something he can’t handle.

4. Respect her feelings, but don’t empower them.

It’s important to understand that validation doesn’t always mean agreement. So if a child is terrified about going to the doctor because she’s due for a shot, you don’t want to belittle her fears, but you also don’t want to amplify them. You want to listen and be empathetic, help her understand what she’s anxious about, and encourage her to feel that she can face her fears. The message you want to send is, “I know you’re scared, and that’s okay, and I’m here, and I’m going to help you get through this.”

5. Don’t ask leading questions.

Encourage your child to talk about his feelings, but try not to ask leading questions— “Are you anxious about the big test? Are you worried about the science fair?” To avoid feeding the cycle of anxiety, just ask open-ended questions: “How are you feeling about the science fair?”

6. Don’t reinforce the child’s fears.

What you don’t want to do is be saying, with your tone of voice or body language: “Maybe this is something that you should be afraid of.” Let’s say a child has had a negative experience with a dog. Next time she’s around a dog, you might be anxious about how she will respond, and you might unintentionally send a message that she should, indeed, be worried.

7. Encourage the child to tolerate her anxiety.

Let your child know that you appreciate the work it takes to tolerate anxiety in order to do what he wants or needs to do. It’s really encouraging him to engage in life and to let the anxiety take its natural curve. We call it the “habituation curve”—it will drop over time as he continues to have contact with the stressor. It might not drop to zero, it might not drop as quickly as you would like, but that’s how we get over our fears.

8. Try to keep the anticipatory period short.

When we’re afraid of something, the hardest time is really before we do it. So another rule of thumb for parents is to really try to eliminate or reduce the anticipatory period. If a child is nervous about going to a doctor’s appointment, you don’t want to launch into a discussion about it two hours before you go; that’s likely to get your child more keyed up. So just try to shorten that period to a minimum.

9. Think things through with the child.

Sometimes it helps to talk through what would happen if a child’s fear came true—how would she handle it? A child who’s anxious about separating from her parents might worry about what would happen if they didn’t come to pick her up. So we talk about that. If your mom doesn’t come at the end of soccer practice, what would you do? “Well I would tell the coach my mom’s not here.” And what do you think the coach would do? “Well he would call my mom. Or he would wait with me.” A child who’s afraid that a stranger might be sent to pick her up can have a code word from her parents that anyone they sent would know. For some kids, having a plan can reduce the uncertainty in a healthy, effective way.

10. Try to model healthy ways of handling anxiety.

There are multiple ways you can help kids handle anxiety by letting them see how you cope with anxiety yourself. Kids are perceptive, and they’re going to take it in if you keep complaining on the phone to a friend that you can’t handle the stress or the anxiety. I’m not saying to pretend that you don’t have stress and anxiety, but let kids hear or see you managing it calmly, tolerating it, feeling good about getting through it.

Safety First!

This is a friendly reminder that all students must be using the crosswalk when crossing the street. Please talk with your students about street safety, we have noticed many students not using the crosswalk and crossing the street through oncoming traffic before and after school.

Ways we can avoid an accident:

· Have a conversation

· Lead by example

· DO NOT wave your student over to your car so that they have to cross traffic

· Walk with your student

Lunch Menu for this week…. YUM!

Lunch Menu – Week Mar. 25 – 29

Mon. – Pizza

Tues – Chicken Patty Sandwich

Wed- Meatball Sandwich

Thurs – Beef Hot Dog

Fri – Cheese Raviolli

Personal Days for Next School Year 2019/2020

VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE for our upcoming 2019/2020 school year Beginning August 5, 2019, we are reducing personal/family days for students from 10 days down to 7 days. Allowing 7 days is still much higher than what the district schools allow and we feel 7 days is more beneficial for the school and for each students’ education.

In anticipation of Spring, we participated in several Spring-themed activities this week. We enjoyed a picnic outdoors on the grass, created our own kites to fly outside, and followed-along with a Hungry Caterpillar activity. The weather was perfect for soaking up the sun and enjoying Science time outdoors this week!

Best of all, we devoted some time on Thursday afternoon to developing and creating leprechaun traps to use on St. Patrick’s Day. Those tricky leprechauns didn’t stand a chance with our creative inventions … we used boxes, rods, and blocks galore, to capture any leprechaun who might try to create mischief in our classroom!

Initial Phase

The first week of our third trimester sure has brought a lot of different weather! As the saying goes, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb!” Hopefully we are seeing fewer rainy days and more sunshine! Both students and teachers loved getting outside and playing at recess during the warm days that we had. We were even able to take our learning outside!

Students did a fun STEM activity this week where they had to create a shade structure for a little monster. It was so much fun seeing their unique designs and how they executed their plan.

We really need help from our parents in partnering with us in respecting our neighbors. We have had a lot of complaints about cars blocking driveways, hitting homeowners cars, etc. We want our neighbors to be happy!

Phase One

The students in Phase One started a new unit in science and learned about the properties of sound. They learned how sound travels through the vibrations of air particles. They used cups with string attached to talk to a friend across the table. Next week we’ll be learning about properties of light.

Thursday at unity, Senora Wharton gave out Outstanding Achievement Awards for Spanish for trimester 2. Great job to all those students who were recognized for their outstanding performance in Spanish!

A couple reminders for our Phase One students:

-AR goals are due NEXT week!

-Our field trip to the Chabot Space and Science Center is on April 4th.

Phase Two:

Please help keep our students SAFE! Third and fourth grade students were given “walking permission slips” at the beginning of the school year. This allowed students to wait off campus for older siblings or parents to pick them up. We are trusting that our phase 2 students are being safe and responsible while waiting. However, we have seen several dangerous behaviors while “walkers” are getting picked up. Please do not encourage your child to jaywalk or wave them across the street. Those that are waiting for siblings outside the gate should not be running around, especially around the parking lot. Please remind your child about appropriate after-school behavior. Thank you, parents!

Some of our 3rd and 4th graders performed their PE tinikling routine at Unity on Thursday! We were impressed with their creativity and coordination. Great teamwork! Senora Wharton also gave out Outstanding Achievement Awards for Spanish (trimester 2). We are proud of all of our talented and amazing students in Primary!

Discovery Middle School ⅚

Note:VERY IMPORTANT CHANGE for our upcoming 2019/2020 school year Beginning August 5, 2019, we are reducing personal/family days for students from 10 days down to 7 days. Allowing 7 days is still much higher than what the district schools allow and we feel 7 days is more beneficial for the school and for each students’ education.

5th-8th Grade DCS Physical Education:

To whom it may concern:
Here at the Tracy Learning Center, our Physical Education and art programs strive to encourage health and wellness for a lifetime. The Tracy Learning Center believes in teaching the mind and body from a young age to stay fit and eat healthy. Our Primary students receive physical education every day for 35 minutes and our middle school students receive physical education for 48 minutes. We teach our students that it is important to take care of their bodies physically, socially, and mentally no matter their age.

Tracy Learning Center, is currently planning our 5th annual Jog-A-Thon to raise funds for our education programs. Both schools Primary (k-4th grade) and Discovery (5-8th grade) would like to raise funds to help purchase supplies for our music and art electives as well as PE equipment. We are currently seeking sponsorships for our event t-shirts. We would like to supply a t-shirt to each participant that will display their “race day bib,” keeping track of how many laps they complete on the front. Each of our sponsors will have their logos proudly displayed on the back of each shirt!

On behalf of Primary and Discovery Charter, we would like to invite your company to help promote our youth’s healthy active lifestyles by being a proud sponsor of this event. We are asking for a $250-$500 donation ($250 = your logo printed on 400 shirts, $500 = your logo printed on 800 shirts) to help us purchase our shirts and sponsor our event. The Jog-A-Thon will take place on Friday, May 10th, 2019. If you are interested in being a sponsor please contact me at mpenirian@tracylc.net or call me at (209) 290-0511 .

The Discovery Charter School greatly appreciates your time, support, and consideration. Our federal tax ID number is 68-0479762.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Maegan Penirian &The Physical Education Staff at the Tracy Learning Center
⅚ Upcoming Dates to Know:

Saturday, March 30: Math Olympiad Competition at the SJCOE for 5th & 6th Grade

A Glance into ⅚ Classrooms:

DCS Career Fair with Ms, T & Mrs. Zuniga

We would like to thank all parents and families for attending our DCS Career Fair Thursday and Friday of this week. We also appreciate MHS & PCS staff and students for attending and showing us support! Students have worked very hard practicing and were proud to present to such a wonderful audience!

Ms. Rodieck’s Language Arts and Humanities

Spring time is here and so are allergies. After the last few weeks if cold and flu, D1 is in need of tissues, table wipes, and hand sanitizer.

We are continuing to learn what it was like at home when your brother was shipped off to Vietnam in our book Shooting the Moon.

Next week we will be learning about Art and Politics during the 60s. We will also be reading and writing about Rachel Carson and how her book Silent Spring has impacted our world today.

Physical Education:

Happy Spring!!!!” 🙂 Students are “Finishing Up” Preparing for “State Testing” in PE for next week 03-25/29-2019 “5th & 7th Grade Students” will not only be “Running The Pacer Test” but also measured on Height, Weight, Flexibility, Push-ups & Sit-ups!“ 6th & 8th Graders will be “Graded on Participation” as the State Testing does not apply to them this year unfortunately!!!

A HUGE Heartfelt Thank you to ALL that participated in our “Fund Raising Efforts” for Sponsoring “DCS 5th Annual Jog-A-Thon” this year as we are excited about the upcoming event on May 10th & The New Design of The Jog-A-Thon Shirts That each student will be receiving!!!!! 🙂

Also, as a quick friendly reminder, Since an increase in “Sunny Days” please remind students that they should be applying “Deodorants/Antiperspirants/Baby Powder or Sanitary Wipes” in the morning before they are coming to school and showering daily; as their bodies have already begun puberty even though there may be no signs of it showing physically!!!!

Thank You!!! 🙂

Your Dedicated DCS Falcon PE Staff

DCS 7- 8

⅞ Upcoming Dates to Know:

Spring Picture Day and Promotion Picture Day will be on Tuesday,
April 9, 2019.

Language Arts:

This week is all about debate preparation! Students were given groups and a topic to research, discuss, and cultivate into a viable and live debate! Students have been exposed to various debate styles and techniques all year long, but this will be their opportunity to have autonomy in their debates. They will: research the topic entirely themselves, determine what information validates their claim/side, prepare a speech, and then perform the debate live and in front of their peers.

I am excited to get to see the students utilize the skills that they have been practicing all year long.

Debates will take place next Tuesday!

Math:

With Mr. Singh

Science with Ms. Dominguez:

This week, 7/8 science will be wrapping up our unit on plants. Students will have the option to take their plant seedlings home which we cared for in class during our Plant Growth and Development study. Next up, we will have a unit on animals and classification, and then end life science with a short unit on Bioethics.

Social Studies with Ms. Zaca

Students put their knowledge of the Three Branches to test by participating in two different classroom activities this week. First, students participated in a good ole’fashioned game show “Let’s Make a Date!” where our Bachelor/Bachelorette had to choose between three contestants: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. Each contestant represented a branch of the government, and as our students participated in the skit, the rest of the class, our audience, had to figure out which branch each contestant represented. Students also participated in our buzzer game but this time, another good ole’fashioned game was added to the mix: Jeopardy! Students took turns becoming participants in the game, and the points they earned were turned into Nest Points.

Technology with Ms. Ferguson

This week the students took their first vocabulary quiz and began their first slideshow project. Next week the students will be working on a partner project in Google Slides with one of their classmates.

Choir with Mr. Dougherty :

Music is getting off to a great start. Students are settling in to new routine. We are gearing up to start our street busking unit.

Physical Education:

“Happy Spring!!!!” 🙂 Students are “Finishing Up” Preparing for “State Testing” in PE for next week 03-25/29-2019 “5th & 7th Grade Students” will not only be “Running The Pacer Test” but also measured on Height, Weight, Flexibility, Push-ups & Sit-ups!“ 6th & 8th Graders will be “Graded on Participation” as the State Testing does not apply to them this year unfortunately!!!

A HUGE Heartfelt Thank you to ALL that participated in our “Fundraising Efforts” for Sponsoring “DCS 5th Annual Jog-A-Thon” this year as we are excited about the upcoming event on May 10th & The New Design of The Jog-A-Thon Shirts That each student will be receiving!!!!! 🙂

Thank You!!! 🙂

Your Dedicated DCS Falcon PE Staff

Millennium High School

Youth Advisory Commission (YAC) in currently Accepting Applications

The City of Tracy is currently accepting applications from teens and adults interested in serving on the Youth Advisory Commission (YAC). The Commission operates in an advisory capacity to the Recreation Division – Youth & Teen Services staff, the Parks and Community Services Commission, the City Council and other community groups on matters relating to youth in Tracy.

Members of YAC recommend and assist in the planning and implementation of youth programs and events and host forums on health, safety and recreation. Adult Commissioners will work with teens from all Tracy high schools, as well as City leaders and staff, to implement programs that positively impact the youth of our community. Adult Commissioners will also mentor the teens as they work with them on subcommittees and special projects. Both adult and teen commissioners attend monthly and scheduled meetings.

Youth Advisory Commission meetings take place on the second Wednesday of every month at 6 p.m. at Tracy City Hall, Room 203.

Teens between the ages of 14 to 18 and attending high school in Tracy, as well as adults that live in Tracy, are welcome to apply. Applications may be obtained at the Tracy City Hall, located at 333 Civic Center Plaza, or by visiting www.cityoftracy.org and clicking on the Elected Officials & Policy link.

The YAC application deadline is Friday, May 3, 2019.

Millennium High School Homework Support – Schedule Change

Hours for MHS Homework Support have changed, please note the new schedule below:

Millennium High School Internship Brunch – Wednesday March 20, 2019

Millennium High School Juniors got an opportunity to network with local organizations and businesses for their potential internships during their Senior year.