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Capital Region BOCES
Elementary
While the summer is meant to be a time for school-aged children to recharge their batteries before the start of a new school year, learning loss, sometimes referred to as “the summer slide”, can affect students when they’re not engaging in educational activities over the summer. According to a study by the National Education Association, […]
I saw something funny on Facebook the other day. It said, “Parents…tag, you’re it! From, Your Child’s Teachers.” Aside from holidays that involve time off, and birthdays, for school-aged children there’s not much on the excitement meter that rivals summer vacation. But for the parents scheduling the activities, camps or even just childcare to fill […]
Middle School. A bigger building. New faces. A bell schedule?! Students of all ages go through transitions during their academic career. For children and parents alike, it can be overwhelming moving up to a new school. Being a “little fish in a big pond” can be intimidating, but according to researchers, of all the academic […]
When I was in elementary school, one of the teachers had an incubator with chicken eggs set up in her classroom. The whole school would buzz when the eggs hatched and the adorable, yellow, fuzzy chicks made their debut. Everyone wanted to be in that class since the students helped monitor and care for the […]
On summer days when I was my children’s age, I spent a lot of time outside in the yard of our rural New York home. It was not unusual for cars to drive by our house slowly. The driver or the passenger, who looked to be as old as my grandparents did then, would gesture […]
The first time I took cupcakes in to my son’s class to celebrate his birthday, I was surprised when the school’s main office secretary asked me to stop in the nurse’s office first. The nurse pulled out a list of my son’s classmates and immediately caught one who had an allergy to an ingredient in […]
Apple CEO Tim Cook wakes up at 3:45 a.m. to get a head start on email, while former President Barack Obama, a self-proclaimed night owl, prefers to burn the midnight oil. Though for student success, it’s not the early morning and late-night hours, but the mid-afternoon hours that can make all the difference in helping […]
My second- and fourth-grade sons are currently participating in an after-school art program at their elementary school. After each class, they share funny anecdotes about something one of the other kids said or did. And each Tuesday, they are excited to go to school because they know they have art after school. This is significant […]
If John Hancock had simply printed his name at the bottom of the Declaration of Independence, would we remember who he was? The president of the Continental Congress is famous for his bold script, but would today’s students be able to read the entire document he signed? Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island is among […]
The summer before I entered fourth grade, a new girl moved into my neighborhood, just a few houses down from me. Her name was Tanya and she was from Sri Lanka. She spoke very little English, except for “hi,” “bye,” “yes,” “no,” and “thank you.” There wasn’t much dynamic conversation going on between us that […]