Parent Information
Law
Enforcement Update
Working Together To Keep Children Safe Online
Texas’ greatest resource is its children. From toddlers to
teenagers, young Texans are truly the future of our great state. As
concerned citizens, we must do everything in our power to protect
children from sexual predators. That’s why local, state and federal
law enforcement agencies across Texas work together to arrest and
prosecute criminals who exploit children.
Since 2003, the Office of the Attorney General’s Cyber Crimes Unit
has aggressively cracked down on sexual predators that use the
Internet to sexually exploit children. Cyber Crimes Unit
investigators work undercover, posing as underage teenagers in
Internet chat rooms and social networking Web sites. These highly
skilled officers have one goal: to catch would-be sexual predators
before they harm a child……
As law enforcement authorities continue to locate, arrest and
prosecute child sexual predators, parents and guardians must help
us keep their children safe.
The most important safety tip is simple: Parents must be
involved with their child’s online activities. Parents should
educate themselves about cyber safety and speak openly with family
members about the Internet and its dangers. Children and teens
are more likely to come to an adult that they feel is calm and
comfortable discussing the subject matter. Parents can contact the
Office of the Attorney General for a copy of our Cyber Safety
Brochure, which offers valuable information on chat room “lingo”
and provides online security tips for both children and adults.
….To reduce the risk of a child finding child pornography online,
parents should keep the computer in a common room and limit the use
of Web cameras. Digital images are easily captured online and are
difficult, if not impossible, to retrieve once they are circulated
on the Internet.
We must speak openly with our children about making good decisions
in life, including safely using the Internet. By working together,
the law enforcement community can foster a safe, bright and happy
future for young Texans.
The Parenting Library-A resource for Parent of children 6 to 16. (You will need a log-in for this sight. Please use parents as the user id and hornets as the password)
The ability for students and/or parents to prepay for lunches or put money on breakfast and lunch accounts can be made daily from 7:30-8:00 in the Snack Bar of the Cafetorium. Please take care of charges, the limit is $10.00.
Immunization Requirements for Attendance
The Parent Institute
Education's #1 source for family involvement
information.
Discipline
Help
A discipline model for handling over
100 misbehaviors.
FITNESSGRAM®
GUIDE for
PARENTS and GUARDIANS
This guide will help parents understand the requirements,
justifications and implementation strategies surrounding the
physical fitness assessment initiative for students in grades 3-12
in the state of Texas. These documents have been compiled by
the Texas School Health Advisory Committee with special assistance
from the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Department of State
Health Services and the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Access the entire guide (ZIP 3MB) by clicking on the Guide Cover to
the right; or, you may choose single documents from the following
list:
1. Cover of Guide – In Word and PDF. (Word 192K) (PDF 51K)
2. Cover letter – Explains the intent of the guide and provides contact information and helpful links. (Word 39K)
3. Summary of Fitness Test Principles – Provides the principles that guide the FITNESSGRAM® initiative. (Word 29K)
4. Administrator Letter – Letter sent to school administrators from the Texas Education Agency announcing the FITNESSGRAM® initiative and detailing the district’s responsibilities as they relate to the assessment testing. (Word 42K)
5. Physical Fitness Assessment Legislated Requirements – The Texas Education Code and Texas Administrative Code that address the mandated physical fitness assessment in schools. (Word 42K)
6. Texas FITNESSGRAM® Training Test Protocols – Information for FITNESSGRAM® trainers on how to set up a training and what to teach. (Word 81K)
7. FITNESSGRAM® Training Agenda – A detailed working agenda for the FITNESSGRAM® trainer providing a step-by-step guideline of what to teach that can be modified as needed. (Word 55K)
8. Sample parent letter – Letter sent by the district to parents announcing the FITNESSGRAM® initiative and detailing the student and parent roles during the assessment. (Word 86K)
9. Frequently Asked Questions about FITNESSGRAM® - Answers to common questions about FITNESSGRAM® - sent with Parent Letter. (Word 89K)
10. FITNESSGRAM® Exemptions for Students with Disabilities – Questions and Answers – The Texas Education Code that provides for exemption from the assessment for students with disabilities and answers to frequently asked questions relative to the code. (Word 45K)
12. Physical Fitness Assessment Exemption Forms (Englishand Spanish) – Form to complete by physician for the exemption from the assessment of a student with disabilities. (Word 29K) (Word 38K)
13. About FITNESSGRAM® - Basic information about FITNESSGRAM® and physical activity and children from the Cooper Institute, the program developer. (PDF 534K)
14. FITNESSGRAM® Test Items – The six categories of assessment and their tests included in the physical fitness assessment. (Word 36K)
15. FITNESSGRAM® Tests – How to conduct all of the tests in each of the six categories in the physical fitness assessment. (Word 205K)
16. FITNESSGRAM® Report for Parents – How to interpret the report parents will receive after their child’s physical fitness assessment is complete. (PDF 1MB)
17. July 1, 2008 Texas Tests Fitness of 2.6 million StudentsPress release announcing state-wide FITNESSGRAM® results. (PDF 58K)
18. Physical Fitness Assessment Initiative (2008)– Chart showing state-wide FITNESSGRAM® results by gender and grade level. (Word 54K)
Social Networking
MySpace.com and other similar sites are designed to allow people to share their personal information, including pictures, names and addresses, schools they attend, cell and home phone numbers, and pretty much any information they can think of. The minimum age requirement of MySpace.com is 13 years old; however the safeguards they use to verify age are not foolproof. The content contained within MySpace.com is not monitored nor are contacts that your child may make. Below is an excerpt taken from MySpace.com:
NetSmartz - A helpful site for parents.
“…However, there are problems with minors lying about their age and posting profiles; there are problems with some adult members using the site to harass members or solicit illegal activities; there are problems with sexually explicit images posted as well—all of which violate MySpace’s Acceptable Use Policies”.
http://www.myspace.com/misc/WiredSafety_ORG.html
We advise you to find out if your child has a profile on MySpace.com or any other social-network website. MySpace.com allows you to search using an e-mail address or even narrowing it down by school. To protect your student, use of MySpace.com in the Highland Park School District is prohibited and filtered. However, we will take every measure we can to prevent additional access to such sites while at school.
Beginning Monday, November 6, 2006, consequences of accessing any social network (MySpace.com) while at school will be as follows:
1st offense- Removal of laptop for 6 weeks.
2nd offense- Removal of laptop for semester.
3rd offense- Laptop will be taken from student for remainder of year.
In addition, the student will spend 1 or more days in ISS for any of these offenses.
As in many schools, we have found that some students use technology to communicate with peers in inappropriate and hurtful ways. Consequently reactions and emotions spill over into the students’ school work and their relationships with classmates. Our Staff will deeply appreciate any efforts that you make to monitor your child’s use of the Internet and phones/cell phones while at home, so that we can help all students concentrate on their academic work while in school rather than be focused on interactions outside of school.
Thank you for your assistance with this matter.
Highland Park Independent School District
| Kudos to Our Parents and Students! |
How to help your child succeed in school
and in life.
Why Get Involved?
Research reveals many benefits when parents are involved in their
child's education, including:
- Higher grades and test scores;
- Better attitudes and behavior;
- Better school attendance;
- More homework completed;
- Less chance of placement in special education;
- Greater likelihood of graduating from high school; and
- Better chance of enrolling in post secondary education.
Showing an interest in your child's education, setting high
expectations for achievement and letting your child know you
believe in his or her abilities sets a positive context for growth
and achievement.
How Do I Get
Involved?
Make school important
You can reinforce the importance of school if you:
- Speak positively about your child's teachers and counselors.
- Talk to your child about the benefits of education.
- Make sure your child gets to school on time.
- Attend open houses and parent-teacher conferences.
- Answer notes and calls from your child's teacher.
Encourage reading and writing
You can help your child perform better at school if you:
- Keep books, magazines and newspapers in your home.
- Take your child to the library.
- Discuss what your child reads.
- Read with your child.
- Encourage your child to write notes to grandparents and other relatives.
- Suggest that your child keep a journal.
What Can I Do at
Home?
Home environment
You can foster school success at home if you:
- Make sure your child arrives at school well-rested.
- Make sure your child has a good breakfast before school.
- Set a regular time and ensure a quiet place for your child to do homework.
- Ask your child what he or she has learned in school each day.
- Limit his or her television, computer and video game time.
- Praise and encourage your child.
- Celebrate your child's successes.
Teachable moments
You can turn ordinary time together into teachable moments if
you:
- Use car time to talk to your child (about what you see from the car, about his or her day, about your day).
- Plan to eat at least one meal each day as a family and use this time for positive family discussions.
- Let your child help prepare the meal, and talk about each step.
- Look for things to do together as a family.
What Can I Do at
School?
You can strengthen the connection with school if you:
- Attend open houses and back-to-school nights.
- Attend school programs.
- Read the school newsletter.
- Join the parent-teacher association.
- Take part in after-school events.
- Get to know your child's teachers.
- Support your child in school activities.
- Spend time at the school as a volunteer or visitor. By doing so
you can find out:
- How your child is doing with class work;
- How your child interacts with other children; and
- Whether the teacher is having any discipline problems.
If you can't spend time at school because of work and other
commitments, you can still connect from home. For example, you
could:
- Offer to call other parents to notify them of school events.
- Help edit the school newsletter.
What About the Teenage
Years?
Teens are developing a sense of self and independence, but parents
still have a strong influence in these years. You can provide
positive support if you:
- Keep the lines of communication open.
- Set fair and consistent rules with your teenager's input.
- Support his or her future and continue to show that education is important.
- Set a good example through your own involvement in school and community.
- Continue to make time for family activities.
