"I dont' know what to do to help my child."

Parents often ask what to do to help their child do better in school. Here are a few ideas that may help you be a more effective parent.
In recent years, there has been much research conducted about students who drop out of school. There are different factors involved in a child's decision to quit school, but one of the bigger factors is attendance. One of the most important things that you as a parent can do is to be sure to get your child to school every day! Attendance at school will help your child continue to be successful.
Sleep...how many hours does your teen or "tween" get each night? Have you ever considered keeping the cell phone or iPod with you after your child's bedtime to ensure that your child has no distractions to keep him/her from sleeping?
This year we are providing an agenda for each student in the building. Have a daily routine and plan a time to check the agenda daily. After dinner, after the students get home before dinner, any time is a good time to look over the agenda. Get into the habit of checking the agenda at the same time daily.
Finally, as a parent myself, I just want to remind you of the importance of talking with your child. Even if you don't get the response you want, and they don't want to sit around and tell you about their newest "crush", your child will still know you care. They need to know you care.
Please stay in contact with the staff here at Northview. Your child's success is important to us! Thank you for your support.

July is almost over!

As the summer is quickly drawing to a close, I hope you are feeling renewed and ready to begin our new adventures in 2009.
Some of our faculty members will be attending a Sheltered Instruction workshop this week in Enka, NC, in efforts to continue to learn new strategies that can be shared with all our staff to improve student learning. We are continually seeking new ways to help our students, all of them, realize success.

I am proud that we made AYP this past school year, with 29 sub-groups. We also made expected growth! Northview continues to be a great school for students to learn and grow.

We will be hosting on orientation session for our rising sixth graders on August 18th, 2009, from 9:00AM- noon at our school. Our OPEN HOUSE will be on August 20th, 2009, 5-7PM. Please come and visit with us any time during those hours. The exact schedule for that evening has not yet been finalized. I will post an update in the next week or so.

Enjoy the last few days of summer vacation!

Hello parents! It is my focus to continue to and find better ways to communicate with you so that you and your child will feel more connected to our school! We know that you want to be involved with your child and with his/her school. Here is another attempt to do just that.

School has been out a week already, and that is hard to believe.
Please remember that we have a SUMMER READING LIST posted on our school website that you can access via the Hickory Schools home page: www.hickoryschools.net
Go to the Middle Schools link on the left side, then proceed to Northview.

I am asking that you take a few minutes and offer me some suggestions on how we can improve our school and in turn, improve your child's education and experiences.
ANYTHING that comes to mind will be appreciated!!

Thank you for your time, and check back often for updates.
Have a great summer and enjoy!

Pam Helms, Principal
Northview Middle School
Hickory, NC