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Principal’s Corner

Dear Parents,

October was quite an eventful month! Our PTA had numerous successful events that included Fall Festival, Reflections, Walk to School Day, the Sally Foster fundraiser, and Red Ribbon Week. Mountain View parents and committee chairs worked hard to make these events great. Many volunteers also helped to make these events spectacular. Also, our Foundation President, Barry Wolfert, is working diligently to get Foundation donations in order to KEEP our full-time computer lab teacher. Cobb County School District does NOT fund such a position for elementary schools, and it is important for those of you who have not donated to the Foundation, to strongly consider doing so soon.

This month, please join your children for Thanksgiving lunches. These will be held Nov. 10 for Kindergarteners and fourth graders; Nov. 11 for fifth and second graders; and Nov. 12 for first and third graders. Teachers will send home a note with specific classroom lunch times. In addition, students will be out of school for Thanksgiving break from Nov. 23 to 27.

As you share a week of family time at the end of the month, please consider 10 ways in which words can enrich family life. These come from a book that I love, Positive Words, Powerful Results by Hal Urban.

1. Model the language you want your children to use.

2. Read to your children.

3. Have a meaningful conversation – parents need to make face-to-face, meaningful

conversation a high priority.

4. Ask good questions. Instead of asking, “Did you learn anything today?” ask, “What was the best thing that happened to you today?” This question will garner better

results, and you will probably find out what was learned.

5. Celebrate the day at the dinner table.

6. Catch your kids doing something right.

7. Correct gently.

8. Use and teach the magic words “please” and “thank you.” For hundreds of years, these magic words, along with other terms of courtesy, were taught and modeled in virtually every home. This began to change in the mid -1960s for a variety of

reasons. While good manners are still stressed by many parents, it is no longer assumed that most children are learning them in the home.

9. Write a family mission statement about words in the home: a brief declaration of purpose that helps keep its members focused and reminds them of their

responsibilities.

10. Schedule a family night, and keep in mind four simple rules:

a. Have it the same time and day each week.

b. Hold family night even if a family member is absent.

c. Make sure it is at least one hour long.

d. Ensure conversation takes place during the activity.

As always, thanks for what you do for me and the staff at Mountain View Elementary. I appreciate each of you!

Sincerely,

Angela Huff, Principal

Mountain View Elementary

3448 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta, GA 30066

770-578-7265