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Mandatory School Uniforms for all Baldwin County Elementary and Middle Schools

School uniforms help to booster a child's self esteem and encourage the main focus in the classroom to be on education and not fashion.  The potential benefits of school uniforms include instilling discipline, helping students resist peer pressure, and helping school officials recognize intruders who come to the school.  Elementary and middle school students will be expected to wear uniforms Monday - Friday.  Principals may occasionally allow a dress down day on Friday.  Below you will find a detailed list of the approved dress codes for both the elementary and middle schools:

Elementary and Middle School Uniforms Will Consist of the Following:

Girls and Boys

Polo shirts        Red, Black, White and School Color (To be determined by principal) (No T-shirts)

Dress Shirts     Red, Black, White and School Color (To be determined by principal)

Turtlenecks     Red, Black, White and School Color (To be determined by principal)

Long Pants       Khaki, Black or Navy Blue (No Denim Material)

Shorts              Khaki, Black, or Navy Blue (No Denim Material)

Skirts               Khaki, Black, or Navy Blue (No Denim Material)

Skorts              Khaki, Black, or Navy Blue (No Denim Material)

 Dresses            Khaki, Black, or Navy Blue (No Denim Material)

Specific grade level colors for Oak Hill Middle School

        6^th Grade       Yellow or Gold

                         7^th Grade       Light Blue or Navy Blue

        8^th Grade       Hunter Green

 Approved by the Board of Education at the April 14, 2009 meeting

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Useful college-application site for parents, students, teachers. EMBARK is a student portal that allows students, parents, and counselors to find information about colleges, applications, financial aid, and more. Users can use the search tools to find the undergraduate or graduate school that fits their needs by using the advanced school finder or search by school name and make application; learn about financing a college education and apply for a loan right from the page; research information comparing federal and private loans; and read articles about the admissions process, majors, degrees, careers, and more. With a free registration students and parents can keep track of all college applications and loan applications as well as make the application process easy by storing a profile that will auto-fill the applications for each college and print them out in pdf format.

reprinted with permission from Susan McLester
                         Editor in Chief, HotChalk.com  

1. Get on the radar. Introduce yourself to your child’s teacher(s) at the beginning of the school year. Let them know you’re planning to be involved in your student’s academic life and you’re looking forward to ongoing communication.
   
   
2. Establish the best method for quick contact. Ask the teachers about the best, most timely method for contacting them, and tell them how best to contact you, as well. Options might be email, text messaging, instant messaging, cell phone or home phone.
   
   
3. Attend scheduled school events. Show your involvement by showing up at as many school events as you can, including back to school, open house, holiday events, PTSA meetings, and especially parent-teacher conferences.
   
   
4. Volunteer. If possible, volunteer a few hours a week or a month in your child’s classroom. Other possibilities include chaperoning field trips, school dances, car washes, fundraisers or other events.
   
   
5. Stay updated on your child’s progress. Set up regular times to visit the school and chat with the teacher informally, or check in regularly with friendly emails or phone calls to see how your students is progressing and what you might do to support his or her learning.
   
   
6. Share your expertise. Organize a phone or email tree to parents in your child’s class. Ask parents about their areas of expertise and see if they might be willing to donate some time to help out the school with any needs they might have. For instance, if they have technology skills, they might help them build a web presence. If they have writing skills they might send out regular parent newsletters with updates on what students are doing in class, and what is coming up.
   
   
7. Talk to your child about responsible Internet practices. Every school has an AUP (Acceptable Use Policy). Be sure to ask your child about this document, and then sit down with him or her and go over the different elements of the policy to be sure you both understand what is acceptable and safe behavior online. {Our policy is located here}
   
   
8. Spearhead a tutoring or homework help program. Math tutors, writing coaches and adults or older students who can help walk students through their assignments can often be the different between success and failure.
   
   
9. Help expand classroom resources. Point your child’s teachers to Web resources they’ll find helpful. For instance, there are numerous online tutoring sites (such as Hotmath.com) that offer free or low-cost help in core subjects, and HotChalk.com offers thousands of free, teacher-tested lesson plans in all curricular areas.
   
   
10. Raise funds. In today’s cash-strapped world of education, fundraising can be crucial to schools’ ability to purchase the education resources they need. Beyond traditional methods, such as bake sales, writing and winning grants can mean serious money for technology, digital resources and other 21st century teaching tools.

Students with better study methods and strategies score higher on their exams
as reprinted from http://www.testtakingtips.com/parents/index.htm

Everyone is different, different methods work for different people the following are only suggestions on improving upon your current studying techniques.

It is best to review the material right after class when it's still fresh in your memory.

Don't try to do all your studying the night before the test, instead space out your studying, review class materials at least several times a week, focusing on one topic at a time.

Have all of your study material in front of you: lecture notes, course textbooks, study guides and any other relevant material.

Find a comfortable and quiet place to study with good lighting and little distractions (try avoiding your own bed; it is very tempting to just lie down and take a nap).

Start out by studying the most important information.

Learn the general concepts first; don't worry about learning the details until you have learned the main ideas.

Take notes and write down a summary of the important ideas as you read through your study material.

Take short breaks frequently, you memory retains the information that you study at the beginning and the end better than what you study in the middle.

Space out your studying, you'll learn more by studying a little every day instead of waiting to cram at the last minute. By studying everyday, the material will stay in your long-term memory but if you try to study at the last moment, the material will only reside in your short-term memory that you'll easily forget.

Make sure that you understand the material well, don't just read through the material and try to memorize everything.

If you choose to study in a group, only study with others who are serious about the test.

Test yourself or have someone test you on the material to find out what your weak and strong areas are. You can use the review questions at the end of each chapter or practice tests the teacher may give out as well as other materials.

Listening to relaxing music such as classical or jazz on a low volume can relieve some of the boredom of studying.

Don't study later than the time you usually go to sleep, you may fall asleep or be tempted to go to sleep, instead try studying in the afternoon or early evening. If you are a morning person try studying in the morning.