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"Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success."

- Henry Ford

What is your vision for the school year? Is academic achievement at the top of the list or will this be the year your child breaks out of his social shell? Will your family grow closer or more distant as they face the challenges of another school year? Who will guide your child’s development?

A vision defines a direction towards a goal. Realizing a vision requires support from a motivated group of individuals; a team of people, who band together through adversity, acknowledge achievements and inspire motivation.

This video offers some tips for a successful school year.

Who’s on your team?

According to the United States Census Bureau, today’s generation of school-age children spends the majority of their waking hours in the care of someone other than their parents. Given the influence that teachers, coaches, mentors, and extended family members have on a child’s development the necessity for building a relationship with this group of people has never been greater. Creating a team of focused and motivated individuals who will continually support the ongoing growth of your child requires a new set of parenting skills.

5 Steps to Building Your Support Team

• Create a roster. Who will impact your child’s life this year? Begin by creating a list of the adults who

According to reports, the number of children who are allergic to peanuts has doubled in just the last several years! Specifically, in a nationwide survey, over 3 percent of American homes have family members with serious peanut allergies.

As the number of allergy cases continues to rise, many public schools have gradually implemented “peanut bans” in order to protect all of their students from these health threats. However, many parents and community members pose the question: are peanut-free public schools overreacting?

This video offers an overview of peanut allergies.

Peanut Allergies and Public School Students

As WebMD reveals, despite the increasing number of peanut allergies in the United States, many individuals are unaware of the serious implications of peanut exposure. Alarmingly, nearly 80 percent of children who are allergic to nuts experience symptoms such as:

• Throat tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Hives
• Difficulty breathing

Since allergic reactions to nuts can actually inhibit or halt breathing, many officials assert that public areas, especially schools, should regulate the consumption of these products. While schools are certainly hoping to protect their students who are known to be allergic, school officials are also striving to protect those who are unaware of their own allergies. In fact, only? of children have been reported to visit a doctor to investigate their own allergies.

Yet even when students are aware of their own allergies, sometimes the mere exposure to various forms of

Amidst the recent H1N1 virus scare, public schools are being celebrated for their proactive efforts to minimize student illness and the spread of disease. As the explains, “Schools play a critical role in protecting the health of their students, staff, and the community from highly contagious, infectious diseases such as seasonal or pandemic influenza.”

To contain the pandemic threat, a number of public schools chose to close their doors upon reports of symptoms of the H1N1 virus. Many experts assert that public school leaders have helped contribute to the diminished threat of this potentially serious illness.

Public Schools and Health Regulations

Based upon extensive studies and investigations conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asserts that public schools’ proactive efforts to administer schoolwide closures amidst health threats have been proven to mitigate the incidence of pandemic influenza viruses. With this precautionary step, public school leaders have the ability to help protect their students, families, and extended community members from the dangers of serious contagious diseases.

While public schools have historically closed for weather-related factors and illness-related incidents, public schools are not actually legally required to close their doors amidst times of non-emergency illnesses. As each school district, county, and state hold varying authorities over closing their schools, leaders are urging parents to find out about their local schools’ pandemic response plans. Parents and community members should

With the startling rise in obesity among young children, many schools are striving to combat issues of weight and poor health by enforcing new dietary restrictions. For example, some schools are creating workout and wellness plans that help students lose weight through fun activities. Similarly, some schools are prohibiting their cafeterias from selling certain types of foods to prevent poor eating habits.

Ultimately, while all can agree that children are best served when they are at their optimal health and physical size, many individuals assert that the schools’ new focus on weight can lead to an array of mental and personal issues in young kids.

The Obesity Issue

According to reports, approximately 1 in 3 kids is considered to be overweight or obese. As the percentage of overweight children continues to rise at a startling rate, leaders are striving to seek out solutions to this serious crisis. According to , children today are spending less time playing outdoors and engaging in physical activities due to the new appeals of technology, video games, and television. Subsequently, children are becoming lethargic, lazy, and large. Adding to the change in children’s activities, Kids Health further asserts that busy parents no longer have the time to prepare healthy and balanced meals: “From fast food to electronics, quick and easy is the reality for many people in the new millennium.”

This video suggests that school lunches and too much TV time play a role in childhood

Depending on your child’s school and state policies, your son or daughter may not be able to attend their first day of class until they’re fully vaccinated. In an attempt to reduce common illnesses and eliminate potentially fatal or harmful diseases, medical leaders have created mandates that command all kids to be vaccinated. According to many experts, students who are not vaccinated are susceptible to an array of prospective health issues.

While these regulations were created to help protect all children, many parents argue that the vaccines pose too many unknown risks. Ultimately, a new debate has emerged: are these mandatory vaccines helping or hurting our children?

Why Vaccinate?

According to , by the time a child is 2 years old, he or she has most likely been injected with over 20 vaccines to prevent various health problems. Aligning with this early treatment method, most public schools demand that all children are vaccinated for common child-related sicknesses, including vaccines to prevent illnesses such as:

• Mumps
• Measles
• Chickenpox
• Flu
• Meningitis
• Tetanus

In addition to a wide spectrum of other potential preventative vaccines, the (CDCP) asserts that immunization regulations must be enforced to protect all children in society. Ultimately, with the support of vaccinations, medical leaders, along with CDCP, believe that optimal immunization against illnesses is the best way to prevent a widespread breakout of common contagious diseases. Since children are forced into a small classroom area with countless physical interactions in a given